Festival Como Città della Musica
Como – Arena Teatro Sociale and other charming places in town
29.6 – 17.7 2022
Festival Como Città della Musica
15. Prediletti dalle stelle
Festival Como Città della Musica is back in the Teatro Sociale Como Arena, after two years in other places.
This 15th edition is entitled Prediletti dalle stelle (Favoured by the stars), quote taken from L’elisir d’amore, the opening opera of the Festival, referring to the stars more broadly: from the celestial vault and the night sky that will provide a splendid backdrop for our shows, to the stars of the cinema with a reference to Charlie Chaplin in the image and a cinematic leitmotif that will weave its way into the artistic programme.
As it has for ten years now, the Festival opens with 200.Com A project for the city, in its 8th edition. The title chosen for this participatory opera at Teatro Sociale Como is once again L’elisir d’amore by Gaetano Donizetti, on stage Wetnesday 29th June, Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd July. Conducting Orchestra 1813, choir and professional singers will be the Conductor Azzurra Steri. The direction is entrusted to Manuel Renga who has studied the Arena, transforming it into “a film set reminiscent of settings and characters from Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times or the Marx Brothers’ Animal crackers”. Main characters will be the AsLiCo singers, winners and finalists of past editions of the Competition for Young Opera Singers: Claudia Urru (Adina), Nico Franchini (Nemorino), Lodovico Filippo Ravizza (Belcore), Matteo Mollica (Dulcamara) e Mariia Kokareva (Giannetta).
Thursday 7th July is back performing in her adopted city, the queen of African music Fatoumata Diawara, engaged on an international tour. Accompanied by her band, she will present Fenfo, the album that earned her two Grammy Award nominations in 2019. Boldly experimental but respectful of her roots, it is a record that defines her as the voice of the young African woman, proud of her heritage, but with a vision that looks confidently to the future and with a universal message.
We then move on to classical music Friday 8th July. On this evening, renowned Como violinist Davide Alogna will perform with the AYSO Orchestra (Apulian Youth Symphony Orchestra), led by the baton of Conductor Teresa Satalino. The programme will feature music by L. Bernstein, J. Brahms, F. Mendelssohn, I. Stravinskij.
Large space will be given to dance.
First is Saturday 9th July with Kataklò Athletic Dance Theatre: the main Italian physical theatre Company, returns to the scene praising the restart: we are Back to Dance! The athleticism and poetry that have made the company an ambassador of Made in Italy in the world, return to the stage to captivate and spread vitality.
Sunday 10th July an acrobatic, comic and musical show reminiscent of cinema is on the programme. On the overwhelming soundtrack notes from John Landis’ cult film, the Black Blues Brothers will revive one of the greatest pop myths of our time with human pyramids, fire limbos, acrobatic jumps with ropes and in hoops. The five Kenyan performers are amazing balancers, flag-wavers, jumpers and fire acrobats. Every prop becomes a tool for breathtaking acrobatics and constant audience involvement.
The following week, Wednesday 13th July, the Compagnie Hervé Koubi ends the dance with Boys don’t cry, a 2018 creation by Hervé Koubi, French artist of Algerian origin who created his company in 2000 and achieved rapid international success. The show alternates moments of contemporary dance, hip-hop and spoken word, and narrates what it means to choose to become a dancer when you are a boy, especially when you come from countries where gender difference still weighs heavily on individual destinies.
On Thursday 14th July, Oblivion summer show, a show by Oblivion, a comic group who likes to play with music and theatre. A sort of living Spotify ranging from Queen to Gianni Morandi. They will provide spectators with a pleasant and entertaining evening of music.
Friday 15th July The long Jazz Night will flood the city with jazz music. The Bebo Ferra Voltage Trio will perform in the Arena, accompanied by the international jazz icon Enrico Rava, special guest. Before and after the show, from 18.30 to 1 in the night, it will be possible to attend jam sessions by numerous bands in different locations of the city, from Piazza San Fedele to Piazza Volta, passing through the Aeroclub, the Ostello Bello, and finally closing at Giulietta al Lago. A call for tenders will be published on 23rd May to give all jazz musicians the opportunity to participate in the night.
The last two events in Arena are in collaboration with MyNina Spettacoli.
Samuele Bersani choses Como to start his Cinema Samuele Tour Estate, on Saturday 16th July. The tour will cross Italy and bring the music of one of the most beloved artists of all time in a meeting of sounds and images between the notes and stories of his previous albums in a completely rearranged version and those of his latest highly acclaimed album. The setlist is a tale in notes of thirty years of career, but also and above all, of the “rooms” of his latest album, to be listened to and watched like a movie.
The Festival closes on Sunday 17th July with Alla scoperta di Morricone, homage to the famous Italian name of Cinema. The Ensemble Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Giacomo Loprieno, offers a unique tribute to the music of the great Italian composer, enriched with new, largely lesser-known but beautiful pages from Maestro Morricone’s boundless repertoire to create the new show. Not just a concert, but rather a journey made of words, suggestions and solo performances that guide the audience through the decades that have made Italian and international cinema and music great.
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Festival Como Città della Musica
Opera, music and dance
downtown, framed in the magic atmosphere at the Arena
surrounded by the historical Teatro Sociale and the Duomo…
And more… musical events in the most charming places
all around the town center, from dawn to dusk……