Traetta Opera Festival 2022 in Bitonto - XVII edition

Back on Traetta Opera Festival: the XVII edition, scheduled to Bitonto (Bari) from 7 May to 3 July 2022, offers over 30 events, among which the two works of the Apulian composer stand out, She needs rivals is Antigona, which will be represented at the opening and closing of the Festival.

Tommaso Traetta (Bitonto 1727 - Venice 1779), leading exponent of the great Neapolitan opera school of the eighteenth century, triumphantly debuted in the middle of the century at the San Carlo in Naples, became famous throughout Italy - his works were performed in Rome, Florence, Venice, Milan , Turin, Parma and Venice, two cities where he held prestigious positions - before being called to St. Petersburg by Catherine II of Russia in 1768. He conquered the court of the Tsarina, where he remained until 1775 composing numerous works, including the tragedy in music Antigona, represented in 1772, exactly 250 years ago. After a short stay in London, he returned to Venice where he died prematurely in 1779, at the age of only 52.

And precisely on the Naples-Venice-Saint Petersburg axis, with a thought turned to cultural dialogue and peace, the Traetta Opera Festival 2022, direct demonstration from Vito Clemente and made with the support of Municipality of Bitonto, from the Puglia region he was born in Ministry of Culture.

There are two lyrical productions that characterize the 17th edition of the Traetta Opera Festival, the comic opera She needs rivals composed in 1766 for the San Moisé Theater in Venice, chosen for the opening of the Festival on 7 May, and the tragedy in music Antigona written 250 years ago, in 1772, for Saint Petersburg, a closing event staged on 3 July.

Between the two operatic representations, a large billboard paginates thirty appointments dedicated to I sing and to chamber music, a Peace concert with the participation of young Ukrainian musicians, the Night of the Choirs, the tributes to Pier Paolo Pasolini, César Franck, Severino Gazzelloni, Renata Tebaldi, Astor Piazzolla, Alberto Savinio and Pasquale La Rotella, Besides aperitif-concerts is presentations. Also scheduled is a International study conference on Traetta (“Tommaso Traetta and the Neapolitan opera. New prospectives") toUniversity of Bari on May 16.

The program of the Traetta Opera Festival 2022 - which pays particular attention to young people - completes the program singing masterclass conducted by Luciana D'Intino is Sonia Prina and the two international singing competitions, the "Tommaso Traetta"Dedicated to opera and the"Caffarelli"Of Baroque song.

*

The program in detail

The May 7, 2022  to the Traetta Municipal Theater (20.30), the inauguration of the Festival with thecomic opera "You need rivals " (1766) set to music by Tommaso Traetta on booklet by Pietro Chiari. The comic plot, typical of the comedy of character, sees the factor Giannino context by the servants Giacinta and Palmetta, both at the service of the old and rich Letanzio, who would like to marry his daughter Carlina to a rich notary, while she is in love with the young don Cricket.

Vito Clemente will direct theEnsemble of the Traetta Opera Festival and the cast formed by Rosa Angela Alberga (Jacinta), Martina Tragni (Palmetta), Giovanni De Bari (Letanzio), Nicola Cosimo Naples (Don Grillo), Anna Cimarrusti (Carlina), Stefano Moyses Colucci (Giannino) e Valentina Gadaleta (Fioretta). The direction is by Maurizio Pellegrini, with the sets and costumes signed by Romeo Liccardo. (On the same date of 7 May at 9 and 11.30 there are two premieres for schools.)

L'serious work "Antigona», Another masterpiece by Tommaso Traetta, will instead be presented with a selection of songs on Sunday July 3 (9 pm, Cloister of the Seminary) as the closing event of the festival, with the musical direction of Vito Clemente, directed by Maurizio Pellegrini, the narrator of Alessandra Mattei and the choreography by Ileana Pace. The vocal cast will consist of singers selected from the two competitions of the Festival, the “Tommaso Traetta” and the “Caffarelli”.

The choice of this work is motivated by the recurrence of 250 years from the composition: Tratta wrote the Antigona in 1772 for a performance at the court of Tsarina Caterina, during her seven-year stay in St.Pietroburgo. Antigona, a musical tragedy inspired by Sophocles, makes use of the libretto by Marco Coltellini, with whom Traetta collaborates again on this occasion after the Viennese experience of 1763 with theIphigenia in Tauride.

The billboard then comorende seven tribute concerts, on the calendar from 22 May to 30 June:

the centenary of Pier Paolo Pasolini will be celebrated by the pianist Benedetto Boccuzzi (may 22), with an evening that alternates music and readings, while the actress Lucia Poli will remember with the concert-show "The pianessa»The writer and composer Alberto Savinio seventy years after his death (May 27);

also marks the bicentenary of César Franck, to which the concert with the flutist is dedicated Luisa Sello and the extraordinary pianist Bruno Canino, prominent name of the billboard (May 29);

the thirtieth anniversary of the famous flutist Severino Gazzelloni instead, it will be omitted from Mario Carbotta (June 16), while another centenary, that of the great soprano Renata Tebaldi, will be entrusted to Maria Cristina Bellantuono (June 22);

also Astor Piazzolla, whose thirty years from his death fall, will be the subject of a tribute from Fabio Furia is Marco Schirru (June 24), as well as the composer from Bitonto Pasquale La Rotella (June 30th), a singing concert is dedicated here.

*

Other appointments to report, the Peace concert with the participation of young Ukrainian musicians currently engaged at the Rota Conservatory of Monopoli in the Erasmus project (May 13), the Spanish tribute to Traetta dell 'Orquesta de Cámara Virtuós Mediterrani of Alicante (June 17), the Night of the Choirs with the participation of six different ensembles (Music Festival, June 21st) and, again, the twinning between the youth orchestras of Casalpusterlengo, Molfetta and Ruvo di Puglia (19, 20 and 21 June).

Finally, the piano duo will perform Umberto Zamuner is Maria Sbreglia (June 12th), Marco Schiavo is Sergio Marchegiani, 4-hand piano (June 25), Claudio Mansutti, clarinet and Federica Repini on the floor (June 26), flutist Giuseppe Nova and the pianist Luigi Giachino in a concert in pictures (July 1).

*

(Below, a glimpse of Bitonto with the Cathedral of S. Valentino)