A hidden legacy. A lost masterpiece. A musical mystery waiting to be solved.
In 17th and 18th century Europe, children born out of wedlock were outcast. In Venice, many babies were drowned in the canals to avoid the stigma of illegitimacy. After increasing outcry, orphanages were set up with an unprecedented solution - the young girls were trained as professional musicians. Composer Antonio Vivaldi defied societal norms by training orphaned girls to become Europe's top musicians. Among them, Anna Maria de la Pietà, rose from abandonment to stardom - his greatest collaborator. This meeting between an extraordinary new composer and a brilliant young girl, changes music forever. Now, a new investigation uncovers her lost music and forgotten role in Vivaldi’s enduring legacy. What happened to Anna Maria - and can we find her voice in the music of Vivaldi? Discover brilliant, long forgotten works of the young women of la Pietà - performed for the first time in nearly 300 years...
Madeleine Hetherton-Miau is a multi-awarded director and producer with a track record in creating programs that captivate, inspire and surprise global audiences. Inspired by the adage ‘truth is stranger than fiction’ her documentary filmmaking has taken her around the world from diamond diving in Africa to wildlife trafficking in Burma and through the remote Australian outback. In 2012 she co-founded the independent production company Media Stockade with Rebecca Barry. She is a key creative on a wide range of programs which have broadcast across National Geographic, Netflix, ABC, BBC, Discovery, Hulu, Al Jazeera and more. Recent work includes show running the award winning 8 part series ‘The Surgery Ship’ for National Geographic Channel, Producing the true crimes series ‘Debi Marshall Investigates’ for FOXTEL and ‘Back to Nature’ for the ABC. She is currently directing 'The Day We Saved the Zoo' and is driving Media Stockade’s expansion into formats and series, finding new ways to tell great stories. www.mediastockade.com
Director - Madeleine Hetherton-Miau
Production company - Media Stockade
