VINTAGERuby concert combines actor’s solo performance with Renaissance choral works.

Ars Nova Singers is stepping into the world of Elizabethan England this February with VINTAGERuby – Elizabeth I: Words and Music, a unique collaboration between the acclaimed Colorado choir and actor Tamara Meneghini.

The production combines Meneghini’s one-woman play Elizabeth I: In Her Own Words with music from the queen’s own era, creating what the company calls “a touching portrait of a queen both feared and loved.”

Drawing from her solo performance, Meneghini will give voice to Elizabeth I’s private reflections while Ars Nova provides the musical context through works by English Renaissance composers. These artists were not just masters of their craft but also skilled diplomats navigating the dangerous political waters of Tudor England.

The evening’s program includes Thomas Tallis’s monumental Spem in alium, a work featuring 40 independent vocal parts, William Byrd’s gentle prayer “O Lord, Make Elizabeth Our Queen” and madrigals from The Triumphs of Oriana.

Edinburgh to Colorado

Meneghini, who is on the faculty at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Department of Theater & Dance, premiered the full-length version of Elizabeth I: In Her Own Words in 2025 at multiple venues including the Dairy Arts Center in a BETC production and New York’s United Solo Festival, where it won “Best Classical Play.”

A shorter version played to sold-out houses at the Edinburgh Fringe 2024 and received outstanding reviews. The original play, written by Carole Levin in collaboration with Meneghini and Sabin Epstein, features guitar arrangements by Rick Pruitt. This special edition with Ars Nova marks the first time the play has been presented with sung period music.

The production features artwork by Scott Fraser titled “Heaven and Earth.”