Italy: Macerata Opera & Pesaro's Rossini Festival
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ITALY : M ACERATA OPERA & P ESARO ’S ROSSINI FESTIVAL Thursday, August 7th through Saturday, August 16th Macerata Italy’s ‘Marche’ Province: “It is a bucolic land - reat Peformance Tours’ long overdue re - scape of undulating hills and lush river valleys turn to Macerata and Pesaro will em - squeezed between the soaring peaks of the Apen - brace two major opera festivals on Italy’s nines to the west and the long coastline to the east. Adriatic coast in the late summer: the GMacerata Opera in the spectacular out - . There are so many medieval towns that even the most comprehensive guidebook cannot list door Teatro Sferisterio , and the Rossini Fes - them all, each with something warranting a visit. tival in Pesaro . Both Macerata and Pesaro are small Italian towns that invite you to walk There are a great number of fanciful castles, through the charming streets to discover the palaces and Gothic and Romanesque churches. artistic riches and intrinsic allure of this rela - And then there is the food.” tively unfamiliar region. N.Y. Times, ‘Ancient Towns by the Adriatic’ The internationally renowned Rossini Festi - “The dramatic and melodic riches of the music Rossini Opera House ceiling, Pesaro val has established an enviable reputation for raise the thought, not for the first time, that in terms mounting many of the composer’s unknown of sheer natural genius . Rossini was the most gifted of all Italian works – such as ‘Ermione’, ‘Armida’ and ‘Bianca and Falliero’. The composers in any genre.” (Opera) “He was born in Pesaro in one of past decade has also included notable productions of Rossini’s the most important regions for Italian art . a region worth visiting most popular works, such as the challenging ensemble comedy ‘Il through a time travel back in the Middle Ages and the Re naisance.” Viaggio a Reims’, the buffo comedies ‘La Cenerentola’ and ‘Il Bar - www.eventoitaliano.it biere di Siviglia’, and the seldom encountered masterwork ‘William Tell’. The program for 2014 during our four-night visit to Rossini’s Macerata: “Since 1967, the Arena Sferisterio has had plenty to offer birthplace is also exceptional and will include all three of this year’s in terms of quantity and quality in the field of open-air opera, and major productions: the rarity Aureliano in Palmira , the ‘bel canto’ melodrama Armida , and the peerless popular comedy Il has become a valid alternative to the Verona Arena. Sovrinten - Barbiere di Siviglia . ‘Armida’ and ‘Aureliano in Palmira’ will both dente Claudio Orazi’s shrewdness as an administrator and intelligent be staged in new productions. artistic decisions have managed to make this city in the Marche an island of good sense in the sea of waste characteristic of the Italian Immediately preceding Pesaro, we will begin our Tour in the un - operatic scene.” Opera spoiled hilltown of Macerata, where the extraordinary Teatro Sferisterio is the setting for a season of outdoor operas, similar to “Because Ravenna spent much of its history looking to the East, its Verona but in a unique theatre with even better sight-lines. The greatest art treasures show much Byzantine influence: above all, repertory in Macerata is usually drawn from the most popular and Ravenna is a city of mosaics, the finest in Western art.” Fodor well-known operas, making an ideal balance with Pesaro. (This 19 writer remembers his favorite production of ‘Carmen’ in the Sferis - Friday evening, August 8th, Italian aperitifs and hors d’oeuvres terio.) Our four-night program this summer will encompass Puc - will be served in the main lounge of the hotel. This will be an op - cini’s gripping Tosca , Verdi’s consummate tragedy La Traviata , portunity to meet other members of the Tour. and a spectacular staging of Verdi’s grandest of all operas, Aida . Our first performance, which begins late in the evening after dusk Our excursions will include day trips to Ravenna to view the price - (9:00 pm) on August 8th, is Giacomo Puccini’s perennial favorite less early Christian mosaics; and to the villge of Recanati , where Tosca . The diva Tosca’s personal plea ‘Vissi d’arte’ and Cavara - the Museo Gigli preserves the memory of their most famous na - dossi’s ardent farewell ‘E lucevan le stelle’ assume realistic reso - tive son Beniamino Gigli. En route between Macerata and Pesaro, nance midst the architectural splendor of the outdoor Arena we plan to stop in the town of Jesi to visit the exquisite Teatro Sferisterio under the starlit Italian skies after midnight. The con - Pergolesi . For our imaginative travelers who are searching for ductor will be Eun Sun Kim , and the staging is by director something unusual, away from the obvious Italian cities, we Franco Ripa de Meana and set designer Edoardo Sanchi . The strongly recommend this blend of Rossini’s multifaceted genius all-Italian cast of principals will include soprano Susanna Bran - with the thrill of Macerata’s expansive staging of three of the most chini as Tosca, tenor Luciano Ganci as Cavaradossi, and bari - beloved of all Italian operas. tone Sebastian Catana as Baron Scarpia. The unique Teatro Sferisterio is an expansive l9th-century neo-classical edifice de - Thursday, August 7th, departure from NEWARK’a Liberty Airport signed by Iraneo Aleandro, surmounted by a grandiose doric at 8:15 pm on Luft hansa flight #413, arriving in Munich at 10:15 colonnade and one hundred and four consecutive boxes. The har - am on the morn - monious lateral amphitheatre seats five thousand spectators, with ing of the 8th. This everyone remarkably close to the action on the stage. The connects with Luft - acoustics are exceptional for both the voices and the orchestra, hansa flight #1958 and the Festival is famous for its “wide, cinemascope-shaped space at 11:25 am, sched - originally used for a ball-game akin to pelota” ( Opera ), ideally suit - uled to arrive at able for the traditional Italian repertory. Italy’s Ancona air - port at 12:40 pm. Saturday morning, August 9th, a guided ‘walking tour’ is arranged Our bus or van will to familiarize you with the principal streets and monuments of the meet this flight old town. Macerata’s several imposing Gothic churches (the and transfer you to Duomo and San Giovanni ) and Renaissance piazzas (especially Mace r ata, about a the Piazza Vittorio Veneto ) are best discovered on foot through half-hour’s drive. the winding streets of this charming, unspoiled hilltown. You will (Or inde pendent want to linger in the cafes and browse through the center’s shops travel to Ancon a, on the Piazza della Libertá once you know your way around. and independent taxis to Macerata. At 9:00 pm on Saturday evening, our opera in the Sferisterio will There is also a be Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata . Alexandre Dumas’ novel ‘La convenient con - Dame aux Camélias’ inspired Verdi to create one of his greatest nection on Alitalia roles in Violetta, requiring coloratura virtuosity in Act I, legato lyri - through Rome.) cism in Act II, and dramatic spinto Macerata countryside emotion for the tragic conclusion. The vocal high - MACERATA: A UGUST 8TH – 11 TH lights include Vio - ccommodations for four nights with a generous buf - fet breakfast included at Macerata’s leading Hotel AClaudiani , a small first-class hotel located in the cen - ter of the old town’s upper level. The Claudiani is effi - Susanna Branchini Jessica Nuccio ciently managed with friendly personal service and is an obvious first choice in Macerata, as there are hardly any other hotels within the confines of the hilltown. The rooms are simple, but contain most modern conveniences and are in great demand during the Festival. (Please note that many rooms have showers instead of baths.) The Clau - diani has a comfortable breakfast room and an attractive bar and lounge area. There are several restaurants within easy walking distance. IMPORTANT: There will be a per - formance on our first evening. If you wish to arrive a day earlier to recover from jet lag, we will be happy to reserve your room for the extra night of August 7th. You should let us know NOW if you do want the early night. Arena Sferisterio, Macerata 20 letta’s ‘Sempre libera’ and ‘Addio, del passato’, Germont’s ‘Di Prov - PESARO: enza il mar’, and Alfredo’s ‘Dei miei AUGUST 12 TH – 15 TH bollenti spiriti’. “It is easy to see why ccommodations for four nights ‘La Traviata’ is among the best with buffet breakfast included at loved of Verdi’s operas, perhaps Athe seaside Excelsior Hotel , lo - even the best loved. In many senses cated directly across the street from it is the composer’s most ‘realistic’ the town’s Adriatic beach and contain - drama.” (New Grove Dictionary of ing an excellent restaurant. We are Opera) . Soprano Jessica Nuccio fortunate to have secured early reser - heads the cast as Violetta Valery, vations at this five-star ‘spa hotel’, opposite tenor Antonio Gandia as which ranks among the finest of the Alfredo and baritone Simone Piaz - resort properties on the coast. The zola as Germont. Our conductor spa offers a full service of massage treatments, sauna and exercise equip - will be Speranza Scappucci , and Pesaro the production is directed by Hen - ment. The ’59 Restaurant serves ning Brockhaus and designed by Josef Svoboda . outstanding local menus. In the evening, we plan to walk about 20 – 25 minutes to the Festival’s theatres. You will need to take a taxi if you choose not to walk. Sunday morning, August 10th, an excursion will take us to the nearby village of Reca - Now entering its thirty-fifth season, the Rossini Festival has nati , The home town of the poet Giacomo achieved world-wide recognition for its scholarly editions of such Leopardi and the 20th century world- Rossini rarities as ‘Il Viaggio a Reims’, ‘Ermione’; the revelatory renowned tenor Beniamino Gigli , Reca - 1994 ‘Semiramide’, and the definitive 1995 ‘Guillaume Tell’.