To tell a (long) story, you always need to start from the foundations, from the roots. It is no coincidence, therefore, that the ‘Modena Belcanto Festival’, in its first edition, will kick off the day after tomorrow evening traveling… ‘To the origins of bel canto’. The inaugural event – Tuesday at 8.30 pm in the church of Sant’Agostino in Modena – is organized in collaboration with Grandezze & Meraviglie – Associazione Musicale Estense and will bring to light unpublished scores preserved in the Estense Library: the interpretation will be entrusted to the Compagnia dei Violini (photo), with Alessandro Ciccolini, violin soloist and director, and the voice of soprano Monica Piccinini.
The concert will be dedicated in particular to the sacred female figures who were exalted in music during the historical period dominated by the figure of Duke Francesco II d’Este, a great music lover, who made Modena a prominent musical center thanks to the presence of the major composers of the era. “The culture of singing – explains maestro Ciccolini – has always been the protagonist in Modena. The Este court recognized and supported the importance of musical performances”. Music by Antonio Gianettini (1649 – 1721), Alessandro Scarlatti (1660 – 1725) and Giovanni Bononcini (1670 – 1747) will then be performed, including the oratorio ‘La Maddalena at the feet of Christ’ which, recalls the director Enrico Bellei , “on 6 May 1998 the first edition of the Estense Musical Festival was inaugurated”. The strong religious vocation of the Este court found a perfect union with the music and singing of the orators, and this model of sacred theater spread throughout Europe.
The Modena Belcanto Festival will continue throughout the month of May at the Pavarotti Freni Municipal Theater and in other art venues in Modena and the province, and then continue in June and July with initiatives in the park of the Luciano Pavarotti House Museum. The new festival was born from the experience of the “Modena Città del Belcanto” protocol, promoted by the Municipality of Modena, the Teatro Comunale Foundation, the Modena Foundation and the Vecchi – Tonelli Conservatory.
Stefano Marchetti
