25 July – concert of tenor and soprano arias from operas by Mozart, Beethoven and Verdi 29 and 30 July – I pazzi per progetto: opera by gaetano Donizetti 20 July to 6 August – Chamber music, performed by Ensemble le Musiche and Simone Bernardini in bagnone, cutigliano and barga 8 August Teatro dei Differenti – Final concert: a tribute to the Founders of the Festival, Peter Hunt and Gillian Armitage – Music by Elgar, Britten and Walton – Performed by Ensemble Le Musiche and Simone Bernardini A message from the Director of the Festival, Nicholas Hunt This year’s festival is different. Having reached 40, we felt we needed to take a moment and look at where we have come from and perhaps consider where we are going from here. We are very happy with so much we have done, but as always we feel we need to do better, to invent something new, to find new ways to produce, perform and promote opera, both as a spectacle and in terms of the research into lesser known works which we believe is what we do best. So, we have decided, for the first time, to retrieve one of the operas that has had the greatest success at the Festival in the past, and at the time, represented one of our very fortunate discoveries. I pazzi per progetto (The mad by design) by Gaetano Donizetti was first performed in Naples on the 6th of February 1830, for a special gala evening, and was subsequently revived for a few years both in Naples and Palermo. Then nothing more was heard of it until Bruno Rigacci, artistic director of Opera Barga in the Seventies, decided to stage it for the first time in modern days in Barga. It has since been staged quite often, lastly in Bergamo in 2000 to our knowledge, but we feel that this year it is right for us to take a step back to what we were doing a few years ago, in order to then move on. And what about the celebrations? Together with the Mayor of Barga, Umberto Sereni, it has been decided that from now on the Festival will officially begin on the 25th of July each year, this being the day of the patron saint, which should be suitably auspicious. We will begin this 40th year with a concert reproducing the programme almost to the letter of the Festival’s first season: Arias and Scenes from Rigoletto, Così fan tutte and Fidelio, sung by Francesco Meli and Sabrina Gamberoni, two young singers who are already singing in major theatres. The Festival has established a special prize for Young Singers of Promise, which will be a feature of the opening concert from now on. Franceso Meli and Sabrina Gamberoni will be the first recipients. There will also be a series of concerts by Ensemble Le Musiche, organised in collaboration with Simone Bernardini. Following the incredible effort of performing the entire series of Mozart’s piano concerti last year, this year there will be a more relaxed look at Bach chamber music and works by other composers including Dvorak and Grieg. These concerts will take place not just in Barga, but also in the twinned medieval villages of Bagnone, near the sea in the province of Massa Carrara, and in Cutigliano , a small mountain village in the province of Pistoia. The Festival closes on 8 August with a tribute to the founders of the Festival, Peter Hunt and Gillian Armitage, featuring English chamber works by Elgar, Walton and Britten. PROVISIONAL PROGRAMME 20, 21, 22, 23 and 24 July Bagnone Musica nei Borghi Chamber music, performed by Ensemble le Musiche and Simone Bernardini 25 July Duomo di Barga Recreation of the programme of the first Opera Barga Festival in 1967 Arias and Scenes from Rigoletto (Verdi), Così fan tutte (Mozart) and Fidelio (Beethoven) Tenor – Francesco Meli | Soprano – Sabrina Gamberoni | Opera Barga Orchestra Conductor – Marcello Panni 26, 27 28, 29 and 30 July Cutigliano – Musica nei Borghi Chamber music, performed by Ensemble le Musiche and Simone Bernardini 29 and 30 July Teatro dei Differenti, Barga I pazzi per progetto Comic opera in one act by Gaetano Donizetti First performed in modern times in Barga in 1977
1977 Teatro dei Differenti Barga (LU) Italy "I pazzi per progetto" G. Donizetti Direttore d'orchestra: Bruno Rigacci Regia: Maria Francesca Siciliani, Andrea e Antonio Frazzi Scene e costumi: Gillian Armitage
Opera Barga Orchestra Conductor – Marcello Panni | Director – Michal Znanieck | Sets – Luigi Scoglio | Costumes – Alessandra Torelli | Orchestra – J. Futura di Trento Singers: to be confirmed, but a number of roles may be assigned to the students of the Cardiff International Academy of Voice. 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6 August Teatro dei Differenti, Barga Musica nei Borghi Chamber music performed by Ensemble le Musiche and Simone Bernardini 8 August Teatro dei Differenti, Barga Final concert: a tribute to the Founders of the Festival, Peter Hunt and Gillian Armitage Music by Elgar, Britten and Walton Performed by Ensemble Le Musiche and Simone Bernardini NOTE: FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROGRAMME AND HOW TO BOOK TICKETS WILL BE PUBLISHED AS SOON AS DETAILS ARE CONFIRMED ENQUIRIES TO: operabarga@tiscali.it or telephone (0039) 0583 723250