On the occasion of the celebrations of the Italian Republic Day, the Italian Embassy in South Africa, the Italian Consulates of Johannesburg and Cape Town and the Italian Cultural Institute of Pretoria, present the important tour in South Africa of the Accademia del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino.
The concerts will take place over three different days: in Johannesburg, Thursday 1 June at 7 pm, at the “Great Hall” of Wits University; Saturday 3 June, at 18, the performance will take place in the Pam Golding Theater hall of the Baxter Theater Center in Cape Town, while the final evening of the tour will be at the Playhouse Theater in Durban on Tuesday 6 June at 18:30.
An equally prestigious masterclass, held by artistic coordinator Gianni Tangucci and maestro Gianni Fabbrini is scheduled for June 5 at 11, again at the Baxter Theater Center in Cape Town.
The five singers of the Academy, engaged in a cycle of concerts, are: Caterina Meldolesi, soprano, who made her debut in July 2021 at the Teatro del Maggio in the performances of Siberia by Umberto Giordano conducted by Gianandrea Noseda; Lulama Taifasi, tenor, born in the Eastern Cape in South Africa, who was among the protagonists of I due Foscari by Giuseppe Verdi, directed by Carlo Rizzi, alongside Plácido Domingo, an opera staged during the 84th Festival of the May; Lorenzo Martelli and Lodovico Filippo Ravizza, respectively tenor and baritone, both protagonists of the performances of Carmen by Georges Bizet staged last March under the direction of Zubin Mehta and Matteo Mancini, baritone, engaged in the performances of Othello, again under the direction of the maestro Mehta, within the 85th Festival of May. To accompany them on the piano during the evenings, Gianni Fabbrini, maestro and teacher of the Accademia del Maggio.
An extraordinary occasion therefore, not only artistically; the tour that brings the talents of the Accademia del Maggio, together with its artistic coordinator Gianni Tangucci and its president Mario Curia, to South Africa is not only a great international showcase, but a way, as declared in a note by the Italian Institute of Culture of Pretoria, to witness the ties between the Republic of South Africa and Italy.
Great enthusiasm also demonstrated by Jeremy Silver, director of the Opera School of the University of Cape Town: We know the Accademia del Maggio as one of the most important opera training centers in the world, as well as being right in the city which is the cradle of the Opera: not only are singers of exceptional caliber trained there, but also the boys are trained, from every point of view, in the staging of a show. All the young boys who have had the good fortune to attend it have been given the opportunity to be among the protagonists in the representations of our times despite being the ‘direct heirs’ of the original lyrical tradition. I would therefore be really happy if the Accademia concert in the Concert Hall and the Masterclass on 5 June marked a long collaboration between our two institutions, helping us to enhance and support, in our country, the economic transformation of our musical realities aimed at young singers , with the aim of enhancing Italian and European inclusiveness and multiculturalism.
The concerts:
• Thursday 1 June 2023, Wits University Great Hall, Johannesburg (7.00pm)
• Saturday 3rd June 2023, Pam Golding Theatre/Baxter Theatre, Cape Town (18:00)
• Tuesday 6 June 2023, The Playhouse Company, Durban (6.30pm)
The program:
“Il mio tesoro intanto”, da Don Giovanni di Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Lorenzo Martelli tenore
“Madamina, il catalogo è questo”, da Don Giovanni di Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Lodovico Filippo Ravizza baritono
“Largo al factotum”, da Il barbiere di Siviglia di Gioachino Rossini
Matteo Mancini baritono
“All’idea di quel metallo”, da Il barbiere di Siviglia di Gioachino Rossini
Lulama Taifasi tenore, Matteo Mancini baritono
“Ritorna vincitor”, da Aida di Giuseppe Verdi
Caterina Meldolesi soprano
“Venti scudi”, da L’elisir d’amore di Gaetano Donizetti
Lorenzo Martelli tenore, Matteo Mancini baritono
“Una furtiva lagrima”, da L’elisir d’amore di Gaetano Donizetti
Lulama Taifasi tenore
“Bella siccome un angelo”, da Don Pasquale di Gaetano Donizetti
Matteo Mancini baritono
“Questa o quella”, da Rigoletto di Giuseppe Verdi
Lorenzo Martelli tenore
“Di Provenza il mar, il suol”, da La traviata di Giuseppe Verdi
Lodovico Filippo Ravizza baritono
“Tacea la notte placida”, da Il trovatore di Giuseppe Verdi
Caterina Meldolesi soprano
“Deh, perdona”, da Nabucco di Giuseppe Verdi
Caterina Meldolesi soprano, Lodovico Filippo Ravizza baritono
“E’ la solita storia del pastore”, da L’Arlesiana di Francesco Cilea
Lorenzo Martelli tenore
“O soave fanciulla”, da La bohème di Giacomo Puccini
Caterina Meldolesi soprano, Lorenzo Martelli tenore
al pianoforte
Gianni Fabbrini
Per informazioni: iicpretoria.eventi@esteri.it – 012 342 00 10
