The twelfth edition of the “Vicenza in Lirica… goes flying light” Festival was presented yesterday morning at the Odeo of the Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza.
The festival, conceived and promoted by the Concetto Armonico association with the artistic direction of Andrea Castello, will inaugurate the program with the majestic “Stabat mater” by Rossini on 1 September at the Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza and continuing with a new production of Rossini’s opera “La Cenerentola”.
There is also great anticipation for the performance of “Das Lied von der Erde” by Gustav Mahler, the musical pearl of the 2024 edition. There will be a baroque interlude, a tribute to Morricone and, of course, a tribute to the great composer Giacomo Puccini on the hundredth anniversary of his death. Concerts, operas, master classes, book presentations, young artists and big names in opera will be that “light cloud” rich in music and culture that will differentiate the Vicenza festival again this year.
The Festival enjoys the support of the Ministry of Culture, the support and collaboration of the Municipality of Vicenza, AGSM AIM and the Veneto Region, the patronage of the Teatro La Fenice of Venice and the Municipality of Sabbioneta.
The Festival, which is among the most anticipated at a national and international level, also enjoys the support of some private sponsors who remain the lifeblood for the event, partners and collaborations. Among the main institutions of the city involved in the Festival both in support and hospitality, the Galleries of Italy – Vicenzaamong the first to believe in the event starting from 2013.
“Vicenza in Lirica” finds hospitality at the Teatro Olimpico with a program full of proposals articulated bySeptember 1st to September 15th. The 2024 Festival also involves other places of particular prestige in Vicenza such as: the Odeo and the garden of the Teatro Olimpico, the Loggia del Capitaniato, the Oratory of San Nicola and Villa Valeri.
The Festival has always presented itself as a space of attention to young artists in training supported and perfected by the great names of opera, including Barbara Frittoli and Sara Mingardo. “Vicenza in Lirica” confirms its support for the new promises of opera, offering them the opportunity to get involved in the productions on the bill through an Opera Studio course and thanks to opera singing master classes. Precisely because of the attention that the Festival reserves for the new generations of singers, the 2024 edition will open as a preview to the public with an opera concert dedicated to the opera “La Cenerentola” by G. Rossini on the 11th June at 8.30 pm at the Teatro Olimpico. The concert represents the final of Tullio Serafin opera competition with guest and president the famous tenor Ernesto Palacio and the presence of the artistic leaders of some of the major national and international theatres: Teatro dell’Opera in Rome, Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin and the National Opera Theater in Bucharest. During the concert, the young opera singers scheduled for the roles of the opera “La Cenerentola” by G. Rossini, scheduled for September, will be selected. Maestro Fausto Di Benedetto at the piano.
The performance of G. Rossini’s “Stabat Mater” will officially open the program of the twelfth edition of the Festival, on Sunday 1 September at 9pm at the Teatro Olimpico (general rehearsal open to the public on Saturday 31 August at 9pm). The protagonists of Rossini’s masterpiece will be Claudia Pavone, Ekaterina Gubanova, Bryan Lopez Gonzalez, Riccardo Zanellato and the choir Iris ensemble prepared by Marina Malavasi. Colli Morenici Orchestra directed by Maestro Benedikt Sauer which will debut at the Teatro Olimpico. Part of the proceeds from the general rehearsal open to the public will be donated to charity, to support families with children affected by rare genetic diseases. For this reason the Festival has confirmed the collaboration with Villa Berica Nursing Home of Vicenza and CMSR.
The opera on the bill and new production of the twelfth edition of the Vicenza Festival will be “La Cenerentola” by Gioachino Rossini. The protagonists of the work will be the winners of the Tullio Serafin opera competition 2024 whose names will be revealed with the concert on June 11th at the Teatro Olimpico. The soloists will participate in the Opera Studio starting from July 2024 held by the mezzo-soprano Daniela Barcellona who will take care of the recitatives, the conductor Alessandro Vitiello and the director Bepi Morassi, applauded several times in the context of “Vicenza in Lirica”. The intense work will make the soloists debut on one of the most coveted stages of the international opera scene, with theColli Morenici Orchestra, a consolidated musical reality that returns to Vicenza after the successes obtained in 2022 with “Don Giovanni” and 2023 with “Così fan tutte”. The choral part is entrusted to Vocè – classical choral workshop prepared by Alberto Spadarotto. The sets, costumes and light design were entrusted to the prestigious Academy of Fine Arts of Venice with which the Festival has begun a collaboration to confirm the modus operandi aimed at new generations of artists in the world of opera theatre: Bruno Antonetti (scenic design), Anna Fabris and Ester Campagnaro (costumes). The makeup part was once again entrusted to Rosanna Carollo, as was the hair part which will be developed by the Vicenza salon GB Hairdressers. Performances 14 and 15 September at 8.30pm – general rehearsal open to the public 12 September at 8.30pm.
Also for the 2024 edition, the Festival brings to the Palladian Theater one of the least performed titles (especially in Italy), but of particular musical beauty. It is “Das Lied von der Erde” by Gustav Mahler produced in collaboration with the highest musical institution of Vicenza, the “Arrigo Pedrollo” Conservatory and the “Lucio Campiani” Conservatory of Mantua. The part reserved for soloists is supported by Laura Polverelli (mezzo-soprano), highly acclaimed performer inHecuba by Malipiero performed in the last edition of the Festival and Joseph Dahdah, tenor who will debut at the Olimpico. The musical part was entrusted to the instrumental ensemble of the Conservatories involved in the project. Conducting one of Mahler’s greatest masterpieces will be Maestro Marco Tezza, one of the most acclaimed pianists internationally.
For the centenary of the death of the great composer Giacomo Puccini, “Vicenza in Lirica” has a concert entitled “W Puccini” on the program at the Odeo of the Teatro Olimpico on 2 September at 9 pm. The collaboration will be renewed for the realization of the concert with the Puccini Festival of Torre del Lago.
Speaking of rarely performed titles, two comic interludes from the 18th century will be proposed for the “Siface” by Metastasio entitled “Rosicca e Morano” by the Neapolitan composer Francesco Feo and performed for the first time at the San Bartolomeo Theatre of Naples in 1723. The interludes will be performed in the courtyard of the Gallerie Italia – Vicenza on Friday 8 September, 5pm. The protagonists of the interlude will be Maria Elena Pepi (Rosicca) and Said Gobechiya (Morano), with the musical accompaniment ofBaroque ensemble of the Vicenza in Lirica Festival conducted on the harpsichord by Luca Oberti, a conductor already applauded at the Festival with Mozart’s “Mitridate Re di Ponto” in 2021.
The concert reserved for the seventieth anniversary of is also worthy of particular attention Vicenzaoro with whom the Festival has a particular collaboration. The musical event will be dedicated to the great Ennio Morricone and performed byEnsemble of the Colli Morenici Orchestra directed by maestro Nicola Ferraresi with the voice of soprano Anna Consolaro. The event (by invitation) is organized in collaboration with Italian Exhibition Group, Vicenzaoro and ViOff, at the Loggia del Capitaniato on 6 September starting at 8pm.
The schools will once again be protagonists in the program dedicated to young people wanted by the artistic direction. There are several schools from the area, but also from outside the region, which will participate in the festival by taking their students to the theater accompanied by their teachers, family and friends, perhaps unfamiliar with theatre. The collaboration concerns the “Alessandro Rossi” Institute of Vicenza, the “Guarino Veronese” High School of San Bonifacio and the “Tito Lucrezio Caro” High School of Cittadella which will become the protagonist during a concert scheduled for the month of October at the Teatro Comunale of Cittadella organized as part of “Vicenza in Lirica Outside the Walls”.
There are many collaborations confirmed by the Festival that are useful in making young soloists debut (and work), but also in creating “cultural bridges” with other cities and musical institutions. The project with the Municipality of Sabbioneta and the Teatro all’Antica, “twin” of the Teatro Olimpico of Vicenza, deserves particular attention, thanks to a new Festival created by the artistic director Andrea Castello. The Festival which will officially begin in 2024 bears the name of “Sabbioneta Chamber Opera Festival”. Other collaborations have been confirmed with: Aria di Musica di Roma, the Puccini Festival of Torre del Lago, Villa Pisani of Bagnolo di Lonigo, the Municipality of Verona, the Municipality of Zonvecendo (Vi) with a concert in September at the Cava Municipal, the Municipality of Cittadella (Pd) which will host a concert dedicated to the opera “La Cenerentola” in October at the Municipal Theater and the town of Camponogara. The collaborations established by the Festival with the Italian Embassies and the respective Italian Cultural Institutes deserve particular attention. With the Italian Cultural Institute of Bucharest and the National Opera Theater of Bucharest, “Vicenza in Lirica” has planned an opera singing master class held by Barbara Frittoli and a concert starring the soloists of the opera “La Cenerentola” by Rossini accompanied by the orchestra of the Teatro Nazionale dell’Opera on 17 September; with the Italian Embassy in Turkey and the Italian Cultural Institute of Istanbul the Festival has scheduled 4 concerts from 30 May to 6 June dedicated to Italian Republic Holiday on June 2nd and featuring the soloists of Mozart’s opera “Così fan tutte” on the program of the 2023 Festival, accompanied on the piano by maestro Fausto Di Benedetto. Thanks to the sensitivity of the Superintendent Fortunato Ortombina, the patronage of the Teatro La Fenice in Venice has been confirmed once again, enriched with the usual collaboration regarding season ticket holders who will be able to access the Festival shows with a discounted ticket.
As regards training in opera singing, “Vicenza in Lirica” has scheduled three opera singing master classes which will be held between June and September. The first master will be performed from 12 to 15 June at the Oratory of San Nicola with teacher Barbara Frittoli and the final concert of the soloists on 15 June at 9pm; the second master class will be held by mezzo-soprano Renata Lamanda from 27 August to 30 August at the Oratorio di San Nicola with a final concert by the soloists on 30 August at 9pm; the last master class of the Festival will be held by soprano Barbara Frittoli from 10 September to 13 September in the prestigious setting of the Odeo of the Teatro Olimpico with a final concert on 30 September at 9pm. The master classes will be accompanied on the piano by Maestro Alessandro Marini. From August 20th and thanks to the hospitality of the Hotel Viest, the Opera Studio will begin in preparation for the opera “La Cenerentola” by Rossini, the new production of the “Vicenza in Lirica” Festival.
