At the foot of the historic Walls, the magic, charm and beauty of Puccini, through the sensitivity of maestro Riccardo Muti and thanks to the interpretation of the 125 elements of the Luigi Cherubini Orchestra and the great voices of Eleonora Buratto, Lidia Fridman, Mariangela Sicilia, Luciano Ganci, Dmitry Korchak and Francesco Meli. Yesterday evening, with the last lights of the day, in a truly unique atmosphere, an audience of six thousand spectators was literally kidnapped by emotions and suggestions coming from the stage of the Lucca Summer Festival, which this time gave space to Giacomo Puccini, celebrated by his hometown, on the occasion of the centenary of his death.
An event broadcast worldwide, thanks to the live television broadcast on Rai3, “Puccini secondo Muti”: a two-hour concert, presented by Serena Autieri and produced by the Ministry of Culture, in partnership with the Municipality of Lucca for the Committee promoting the Puccini Celebrations and the Teatro del Giglio, in collaboration with Rai Cultura, Siae, Lucca Summer Festival and D’Alessandro e Galli.
The program opened with the symphonic prelude “Un bel dìspettiva” from “Madama Butterfly“, soprano Eleonora Buratto, to continue with other very famous arias by the Maestro: “Recondita armonia” from “Tosca (tenor Luciano Ganci)“; “Che gelida manina” from “La Bohème (tenor Dimitry Korchak)“; “Vissi d’arte” from “Tosca (soprano Eleonora Buratto)“; “Ch’ella mi creda” from “La Fanciulla del West (tenor Francesco Meli); the duet “O soave fanciulla” from “La Bohème (soprano Mariangela Sicilia, tenor Dimitry Korchak)“; “Donde lieta” from “La Bohème (soprano Mariangela Sicilia)“; “Senza Mamma” from “Suor Angelica (soprano Lidia Fridman)“; “And the stars were shining” from “Tosca (tenor Luciano Ganci)“; “Tu che di gel sei cinta” from “Turandot (soprano Eleonora Buratto)”. Finally, the Intermezzo and Fourth Act from “Manon Lescaut (soprano Lidia Fridman, tenor Francesco Meli)“. It was maestro Riccardo Muti himself who dedicated sweet words to Puccini, directly from the stage. “He was a modern man, who loved life so much. If he hadn’t loved it so much in all its forms, he wouldn’t have written what he wrote. He was an extremely rigorous man, creator of immortal melodies, but also of rigorous scores Despite this, however, he knew how to dig into the scores, trying to make the emotion shine through.”
The male and female singers, the musicians and of course Muti, who expertly guided the stage and enchanted the audience with overwhelming presence and unquestionable charisma, were applauded. “Puccini is a great composer, recognized at all latitudes, his works are always performed all over the world. In the year of the centenary of his death it is right to pay homage to him – said the minister Gennaro Sangiuliano – I thank maestro Muti for having accepted the invitation. The art of Italian opera singing is one of the most important expressions of our national identity”. With Sangiuliano there was the undersecretary for culture Gianmarco Mazzi; Also present were the president of the Constitutional Court, Augusto Antonio Barbera, the general secretary of the Court, Umberto Zingales, the president of the Tuscany Region, Eugenio Giani, the mayor of Lucca Mario Pardini and the actor Dustin Hoffman accompanied by the director Peter Greenaway. In the audience personalities from the world of entertainment including Simona Ventura.
