Hope College will feature Linn Maxwell in the play “Hildegard of Bingen and the Living Light” on Friday, Jan. 17, at 7:30 p.m. in Dimnent Memorial Chapel.
The public is invited. Admission is free.
In this one-woman show, international mezzo soprano Linn Maxwell embodies the extraordinary life of 12th-century German prophetess, healer and composer, Hildegard of Bingen. Hildegard of Bingen was canonized in 2012 and named a Doctor of the Church. Way ahead of her time and surviving in a male-dominated world, Hildegard challenged the established authority of the Church, both philosophically and musically.
Accompanying herself on authentic medieval instruments including psaltery, organistrum and harp, Maxwell performs seven of Hildegard’s original songs. Through the mystic’s actual letters and writings, Maxwell transports the audience to the turbulent times of the Crusades in Western Europe.
Her performance of “Hildegard of Bingen and the Living Light” at the 2010 Edinburgh Fringe Festival culminated in many positive reviews. “The Times (London)” remarked that “Hildegard is reborn as mezzo Linn Maxwell... hypnotically beautiful songs.”
Maxwell has performed on the stages of major orchestras, opera companies and recital halls across the United States and 25 foreign countries. “The New York Times” has called her "A true mezzo soprano,” while the “San Francisco Chronicle” in a review noted, “Her technique was flawless, her control spun out the long florid passages; her tone and phrasing were beautiful.”
Dimnent Memorial Chapel is located at 277 College Ave., on College Avenue at 12th Street.