Mirrors of Time
Special concerts in Rome,
enjoyed by GIUSEPPE PENNISI
enjoyed by GIUSEPPE PENNISI
Teatro dell'Opera di Roma began a new
initiative on 11 November 2015: six special concerts named Specchi del Tempo ('Mirrors of Time'), to be
performed until 2 April 2016. Each concert has a single performance. Before
reporting on the initiative for M&V, I intended
to listen not only to the 11 November premiere but also to the second concert
of the series on 10 January 2016. As we know, premieres are special events, not necessarily
representative of the series.
 A 'Specchi del Tempo' concert at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma. Photo © 2016 Yasuko Kageyama. Click on the image for higher resolution |
L'Orchestra del Teatro dell'Opera di Roma's Specchi
del Tempo is not in competition with the
programmes of other symphony orchestras in Rome. First of all, the setting is unusual because, as the
photos show, the orchestra is on a special stage in the stalls section of the theatre; this provides for interesting
stereophonic sound. Then, each concert is made
up of three parts, each from a different century; a basic concept is shown in
its development through the
three centuries to show how music has embedded into society mirrors of the time when it
was composed. At the start of each
concert, a musicologist or music historian explains the concept of the concert.
Finally, a pricing policy has been established to make it possible for
youngsters, retired people and others on low income to
see this late nineteenth century theatre
with its art nouveau decoration and its gilded stuccos in the rows of boxes. Specchi
del Tempo is part of a broader plan to renew the audience — Opera Aperta or 'Open Opera House'. It
includes a festival of contemporary musical
theatre later in the Spring.
Both concerts were sold out: the theatre has over two thousand seats. The
audience was mostly young, even though some ordinary
clients of the Teatro dell'Opera and retirees were also present.
 Cédric Tiberghien. Photo © 2010 Benjamin Ealovega. Click on the image for higher resolution |
The first concert, with Cédric Tiberghien, was conducted by Dietrich Paredes. They are
young but quite well known in the major international concert halls. The
unifying theme was 'awakening'. The first piece (by Emanueale Casale) is called
Esercizi del Risveglio ('Exercises in Awakening') and thus tightly close
to the theme. The Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No 2 by Ludwig van Beethoven is an eighteenth century work as
delicate as a lace, composed well before Beethoven embraced romanticism. Finally, Tchaikovsky's Symphony No 5 is a late romantic awakening, troubled with deep
anguish.
 Dietrich Paredes. Photo © Rafael Torres. Click on the image for higher resolution |
The 10 January concert featured the young Argentine conductor Alejo Pérez and the French pianist François-Frédéric Guy.
 François-Frédéric Guy. Photo © AMR Photography. Click on the image for higher resolution |
The theme was happiness. It included Beethoven's Piano Concerto No 3, which
could almost be by Mozart, Metastaseis by Iannis Xenakis — a real
outburst of strings, each with a different score — and Prokofiev's Symphony No 5, composed in 1944 to celebrate the Russian victory at Stalingrad.
 Alejo Pérez. Photo © Ishka Michocka. Click on the image for higher resolution |
Alejo Pérez and François-Frédéric Guy gave a romantic touch to the Beethoven
concerto, and the audience was enthralled by the Xenakis and Prokofiev.
Nessun commento:
Posta un commento