UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State Opera in the School of Music and College of Arts and Architecture will present "Non più nascoste" (“Hidden No More”), a fully staged Baroque pastiche opera that illuminates the remarkable yet often overlooked musical culture of Venice’s historic orphanages. Performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. April 13 and 14 in the Recital Hall, with the April 14 performance also available via livestream.
Set in Venice in 1709, the opera invites audiences into the city’s famed "ospedali" — charitable institutions and music schools where young women received exceptional musical training. Their performances were celebrated across Europe, yet the musicians themselves often remained hidden from public view.
“Venice, Italy. 1709 — the home of glorious scenic beauty, unparalleled music and… intrigue,” wrote co-author Bev Patton, associate professor emerita of music and former musical director of Penn State Opera Theatre. “'Non più nascoste' immerses audiences in the world of Venice’s musical orphanages, where young women cultivated extraordinary artistic lives long kept out of public view.”
The story follows Gianna, a 20-year-old musician studying with Antonio Vivaldi, as she searches for both her musical voice and personal identity. The opera features an original English script alongside curated music researched by students in the graduate seminar "Masterpieces and Neglected Gems of Italian Baroque Music."
Spearheaded by Assistant Professor Dawn Pierce and Distinguished Professor Marica Tacconi, the yearlong project bridges music, history, scholarship and creative practice across departments. More than 50 Penn State students are participating, including singers, instrumentalists, musicologists, designers, and directors, alongside faculty and students from the School of Theatre and the Department of Art History, further expanding its interdisciplinary scope. Faculty leadership includes Pierce, Tacconi, Jim Lyon, Parker Konkle, Charlene Gross, William Kenyon and Robin Thomas.
In January 2026, Pierce and Tacconi led seven graduate students on an immersive research trip to Venice, supported by a grant from the Drew Stewart Popjoy Fund for Travel and Experiential Learning in the College of Arts and Architecture. Students explored historical sources, visited the city’s historic "ospedali," and worked with artists from the Venice Music Project in masterclasses on Baroque performance practice — gaining firsthand insight into the cultural world that inspired the opera.
Audience members can begin exploring Baroque Venice before the curtain rises. An art exhibit in the Recital Hall lobby, curated by art history doctoral candidates Emily Hagen and Holli Turner with Tacconi, highlights images and materials that evoke the visual and cultural world of the Venetian "ospedali."
A pre-show video, beginning at 7 p.m. each night, created by graduate student and co-author Cole Denton, offers a behind-the-scenes look at the project and its collaborative creative process. Denton, involved since the project’s earliest stages, also plays Vivaldi in the opera.
Through music, scholarship, and storytelling, "Non più nascoste" brings to life a vibrant artistic community whose voices once resonated throughout Venice — even when the performers themselves remained unseen.
Tickets are available through the Arts Ticket Center at this link. Prices are $12.50 for adults and $5 for students, with the box office opening one hour before each concert. A livestream will be accessible for remote viewers via the Penn State School of Music livestream page.