Anna A.

Teatro alla Scala announced a new opera commission to Silvia Colasanti, first woman composer to be featured from the Italian opera house. The opera, Anna A., will be staged in 2025 and will be focused on the poet Anna Achmatova, with libretto by the Italian writer and Russian literature specialist Paolo Nori, who has just published a book on the same subject.

Notes for Anna A.

Soviet-era poetess and dissident Lydia Chukovskaya – fighting to save her husband, the young physicist Matvei Bronstein, who in reality had already been murdered by the Stalinist regime – pays a visit to her friend Anna Achmatova, also a poet, nearly every day. Anna’s son Lev has been arrested for the second time. While awaiting her son’s sentencing, Anna goes to Leningrad’s Kresty Prison, where she meets up with other mothers of detainees, and she becomes their spokesperson. They have a special request – that she transform this dramatic experience into poetry. Lydia and Anna’s meetings involve not only Lydia’s commitment to memory of Anna’s verses. Anna also shares with her friend her memories of her late husband Nikolai Gumilev, who was banned from the USSR’s writers’ union; her encounter with British students who questioned her about the situation; her meeting with American poet Robert Frost; the solidarity that saved her from starvation when the Soviet state buckled down and seemed determined to crush her once and for all.  

The musical dramaturgy recounts the strength and authenticity that Anna showed time and time again as she lived through one intense experience after another. A wide array of registers will be explored – from the melancholy to the tragedy of her love life; the destructive, senseless obsession on the part of the powers that be, that futility attempt to suppress the voice of art; the lament and prayers of the mothers of detainees, whom Anna is destined to represent.

The classical lineup makes room for typically Russian instruments, while the contemporary musical format shines the spotlight on widely known stylistic features from the Russian songbook. Anna’s most intimate vocal moments find conflation with violin solos, as she sings out, never wearying of all the “horrible and wonderful” experiences fate has in store for her.

Time’s Cruel Hand – February, 24 – 26 2023

February, 24 – 26 2023

Milano – February, 24 – 26 2023
Silvia Colasanti Time’s Cruel Hand

Three Sonnets by W. Shakespeare

Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Alex Potter, Countertenor Jaume Santonja, Conductor

https://sinfonicadimilano.org/it/eventi/2022-23/shakespeare-in-music/919

Proserpine – Pictures

25/06/2019 62 Festival dei 2 Mondi di Spoleto. Teatro Nuovo Giancarlo Menotti, opera: ‘ Proserpine ‘ di Mary Shelley, nella foto Ceres: Sharon Carty Proserpine: Disella Larusdottir
25/06/2019 62 Festival dei 2 Mondi di Spoleto. Teatro Nuovo Giancarlo Menotti, opera: ‘ Proserpine ‘ di Mary Shelley, nella foto Ino: Anna Patalong Eunoe: Silvia Regazzo
25/06/2019 62 Festival dei 2 Mondi di Spoleto. Teatro Nuovo Giancarlo Menotti, opera: ‘ Proserpine ‘ di Mary Shelley, nella foto Sharon Carty interpreta Ceres
25/06/2019 62 Festival dei 2 Mondi di Spoleto. Teatro Nuovo Giancarlo Menotti, opera: ‘ Proserpine ‘ di Mary Shelley, nella foto Iris: Gaia Petrone
25/06/2019 62 Festival dei 2 Mondi di Spoleto. Teatro Nuovo Giancarlo Menotti, opera: ‘ Proserpine ‘ di Mary Shelley, nella foto Lorenzo Grante interpreta Ascalaphus
25/06/2019 62 Festival dei 2 Mondi di Spoleto. Teatro Nuovo Giancarlo Menotti, opera: ‘ Proserpine ‘ di Mary Shelley, nella foto Ceres: Sharon Carty Proserpine: Disella Larusdottir Ascalaphus: Lorenzo Grante
25/06/2019 62 Festival dei 2 Mondi di Spoleto. Teatro Nuovo Giancarlo Menotti, opera: ‘ Proserpine ‘ di Mary Shelley, nella foto Arethusa: Katarzyna Otczyk
25/06/2019 62 Festival dei 2 Mondi di Spoleto. Teatro Nuovo Giancarlo Menotti, opera: ‘ Proserpine ‘ di Mary Shelley, nella foto Eunoe: Silvia Regazzo, Ceres: Sharon Carty, Proserpine: Disella Larusdottir, Ino: Anna Patalong, Ascalaphus: Lorenzo Grante
25/06/2019 62 Festival dei 2 Mondi di Spoleto. Teatro Nuovo Giancarlo Menotti, opera: ‘ Proserpine ‘ di Mary Shelley, nella foto Ino: Anna Patalong Proserpine: Disella Larusdottir Eunoe: Silvia Regazzo
25/06/2019 62 Festival dei 2 Mondi di Spoleto. Teatro Nuovo Giancarlo Menotti, opera: ‘ Proserpine ‘ di Mary Shelley, nella foto Ino: Anna Patalong
25/06/2019 62 Festival dei 2 Mondi di Spoleto. Teatro Nuovo Giancarlo Menotti, opera: ‘ Proserpine ‘ di Mary Shelley, nella foto Proserpine: Disella Larusdottir
25/06/2019 62 Festival dei 2 Mondi di Spoleto. Teatro Nuovo Giancarlo Menotti, opera: ‘ Proserpine ‘ di Mary Shelley, nella foto Proserpine: Disella Larusdottir, Shades of Hell Caterina Bonanni, Eugenia Faustini, Giulia Gallone, Cecilia Guzzardi, Elisabetta Misasi, Eleonora Pace attori diplomati dell´Accademia d´Arte Drammatica ‘ Silvio d´Amico ‘ di Roma
29/06/2019 62 Festival dei 2 Mondi di Spoleto. Teatro Nuovo. Opera. Prosperine. Nella foto il direttore e regista Giorgio Ferrara con gli attori dell’Opera Prosperine.

Proserpine opens the Spoleto Festival 2019

The opera PROSERPINE, based on the homonymous drama by 
Mary Shelley, directed by Giorgio Ferrara, will open the 
Festival on June 28, 2019 at the Teatro Nuovo in Spoleto.
 
27/06/2018 61 Festival dei 2 Mondi di Spoleto. Teatro Nuovo, spettacolo di lirica Minotauro, nella foto Rene’ De Ceccatty, musiche del Minotauro Silvia Colasanti, Giorgio Ferrara
  ” It will be Proserpine by Silvia Colasanti who will inaugurate the 62nd Festival dei 2 Mondi – Spoleto, on June 28th. The Roman composer therefore continues her trilogy on myth (the previous opera was Minotauro, which inaugurated the last edition of the festival) and this time was inspired by the dramatic poem by Mary Shelley, adapted by René de Ceccatty and Giorgio Ferrara, which they kept the original English language. As Colasanti says, the attention of this opera in two acts “focuses on female characters, in particular on Ceres, emphasizing, more than the violence of the rat, the separation between mother and daughter, the love of a mother who challenges the power of the gods and the strength and solidarity offered by a community of women “. But, she continues, “there is space in this story for other equally important themes: growth through violent love, shadow as a dark and apparently only negative part of man or episodes of life, wisdom as acceptance of contradictions, the linearity – which we can perceive in the human perspective of transience and finitude – which is accompanied by the cyclical nature, to its perennial alchemy of births and deaths, of growth and destruction, of light and shadow. Finally, Proserpine is a story of melancholy and loss “. He will conduct Pierre-André Valade, the direction will be by Giorgio Ferrara and the scenes will have an important signature, that of Sandro Chia. ” (Mauro Mariani – Il Giornale della Musica)

November 11, 2018 David Geringas plays Concerto and Tango for David in Moscow

11 NOVEMBER

Sunday 19.00

Zaryadye Concert Hall, Great Hall

VIVACELLO

Festival Opening

Boris Andrianov, cello

David Geringas, cello (Germany)

State Symphony Orchestra Novaya Rossiya (‘New Russia’)

Conducted by Nikoloz Rachveli (Georgia)

Conducted by David Geringas (Germany)

PROGRAM

Silvia Colasanti (b. 1975)
Concerto for cello and orchestra (2012)

Tango for David for cello and string orchestra (2018)

Russian premiere

October, 27 2018 – With David Geringas and Daníel Bjarnason at Teatro Comunale di Bologna

 

This October 27, as part of the third edition of the Bologna Modern Festival, cellist David Geringas performs with the Bologna’s Teatro Comunale Orchestra, conducted by Daníel Bjarnason. The concert features three pieces by Silvia Colasanti, which she wrote for Geringas. The most recent, Tango for David, was commissioned by Teatro Comunale, and the October 27 performance marks its world premiere.

Silvia Colasanti had this to say about her works for the renowned soloist:

“Concerto (2012), Adagio (2013), Tango for David (2018): All three pieces are the fruit of my work and friendship with David Geringas. He’s been a precious travel companion throughout the years I spent writing this music.

Concerto is a transfigured revisitation of the classic form of concerto for soloist and orchestra. It opens with a sort of presto, followed by an adagio and an andante, condensed in a single movement during which the various tempos are mixed together in different ways. The work’s link to tradition has to do with its more formal aspects. Besides the split into three tempos there’s also a solo cadence that requires a high level of virtuosity as it goes on to develop the material.

Adagio is a basically three-part lyrical work that, again, calls for a lot of high-power virtuoso playing.

As for Tango for David, the piece would never have been written if it hadn’t been for David’s outright insistence that I explore this form. My goal was to communicate the melancholy atmosphere and the scents of the tango, and also have it reflect this extraordinary soloist’s humorous side, his enthusiasm and joy when it comes to making music.”

Recensione CD Requiem su Res Musica

www.resmusica.com

 

REQUIEM DE SILVIA COLASANTI, DANS LA VEINE DRAMATIQUE DE L’ORATORIO
Le 27 septembre 2018 par Michèle Tosi
Set Text Size Small Set Text Size X-Large
À emporter, CD, Musique d’ensemble
Dynamic

Silvia Colasanti (née en 1975) : Requiem, stringeranno nei pugni una cometa, oratorio pour soli, chœur et orchestre. Mariangela Gualtieri, texte et récitante, Monica Bacelli, mezzo-soprano ; Massimiliano Pitocco, bandonéon ; Ensemble vocal Continuum (chef de chœur : Luigi Azzolini) ; Haydn orchestra de Bolzano et Trento ; Ensemble Vocale Continuum ; direction : Maxime Pascal. 1 CD Dynamic. Enregistrement live le 27 septembre 2017 durant le festival Transport de Bolzano. Texte italien et anglais. Durée : 53:00

444753On sent chez Silvia Colasanti, compositrice romaine formée à l’Académie Santa Cecilia, un attachement quasi atavique à la voix. En témoignent plusieurs ouvrages lyriques déjà inscrits à son catalogue : Faust, La métamorphose, Le Minotaure, etc. Opératique également est son Requiem (2017) où le texte exogène de Mariangela Gualtieri questionne celui du dogme catholique.

La voix collective, celle du chœur qui transmet le texte liturgique (Requiem Aeternan, Dies Irae, Lux Aeterna), est confrontée à la parole de l’individu, « celle qui doute », dans cet oratorio pour mezzo-soprano, chœur, orchestre et récitante – l’écrivaine Mariangela Gualtieri en personne. Silvia Colasanti l’écrit pour les victimes du tremblement de terre survenu en 2016 dans le centre de l’Italie. Le bruit des pierres entrechoquées sur les voix murmurées, au tout début de l’œuvre, en concrétise le souvenir. Les contrastes dramatiques entre la masse chorale et la récitante y sont exploités, telle cette intervention de la voix parlée sur le trémolo des cordes, d’une belle intensité au cœur du Dies Irae. La compositrice mise également sur le pouvoir expressif du timbre soliste, celui du violoncelle d’abord (Alle picole e grandi ombre) et du bandonéon ensuite – Massimiliano Pitocco –, sur lequel s’inscrit la parole (Dunque si può), dans une manière de mélodrame qui intensifie le pathos. Au centre de la trajectoire dramatique, le Quid sum miser, confié à l’excellente Monica Bacelli, est une page de lyrisme flamboyant (Verdi demeure) que les couleurs de l’orchestre (le Haydn Orchestra galvanisé par le fougueux Maxime Pascal) viennent rehausser. La même vaillance anime l’Ensemble Continuum, une phalange vocale fondée en 2003 par Luigi Azzolini. Le Lux Aeterna un rien démonstratif (l’emphase chorale rappelle le Poulenc des Dialogues des Carmélites) assume une franche consonance au sein d’un langage où modalité et polarité dominent.

September 15/16, Minotauro on Rai 5

MINOTAURO on Rai 5

September 15, h. 11.40 a.m.

September, 16, h. 6 p.m.

27/06/2018 61 Festival dei 2 Mondi di Spoleto. Teatro Nuovo, spettacolo di lirica Minotauro, nella foto
Minotauro Gianluca Margheri baritono
Arianna Benedetta Torre soprano
Teseo Matteo Falcier tenore
Vittime ateniesi
Federico Benvenuto, Irene Ciani, Renato Civello, Serena De Siena, Eugenia Faustini, Angelo Galdi, Alessia Genua, Cecilia Guzzardi, Francesco Iaia, Paolo Marconi, Eugenio Mastrandrea, Eleonora Pace, Giulia Tomaselli, Carlo Zanotti

September, 13rd – 9.15 p.m. MINOTAURO on Rai 5

September, 13rd – 9.15 p.m. MINOTAURO on Rai 5

27/06/2018 61 Festival dei 2 Mondi di Spoleto. Teatro Nuovo, spettacolo di lirica Minotauro, nella foto
Minotauro Gianluca Margheri baritono
Arianna Benedetta Torre soprano
Teseo Matteo Falcier tenore
Vittime ateniesi
Federico Benvenuto, Irene Ciani, Renato Civello, Serena De Siena, Eugenia Faustini, Angelo Galdi, Alessia Genua, Cecilia Guzzardi, Francesco Iaia, Paolo Marconi, Eugenio Mastrandrea, Eleonora Pace, Giulia Tomaselli, Carlo Zanotti

MINOTAURO
grand opera in 10 scenes 
music Silvia Colasanti
 
libretto René de Ceccatty and Giorgio Ferrara
conductor Jonathan Webb
director and scenography Giorgio Ferrara
costumes Vincent Darré 
lighting Fiammetta Baldiserri
 
Minotaur Gianluca Margheri baritone
Arianna Benedetta Torre soprano
Theseus Matteo Falcier tenor
Athenian victims
Federico Benvenuto, Irene Ciani, Renato Civello, Serena De Siena, Eugenia Faustini, Angelo Galdi, Alessia Genua, Cecilia Guzzardi, Francesco Iaia, Paolo Marconi, Eugenio Mastrandrea, Eleonora Pace, Giulia Tomaselli, Carlo Zanotti  graduate actors of Accademia d’Arte Drammatica “Silvio d’Amico” in Rome
Orchestra Giovanile Italiana 
International Opera Choir
choir master Gea Garatti
based on the ballad Minotaurus
by Friedrich Dürrenmatt
copyright © Diogenes Verlag AG Zürich
all rights reserved
 
assistant director Patrizia Frini
technical manager Ottorino Neri
production coordinator Silvia Stoppani
stage manager Fabrizio Pisaneschi
assistant to costumes Marta Rinaldi
piano master Daniela Pellegrino
stage masters Edina Bak, Meri Piersanti
lighting master Carmine Diodoro
head of sceneshifters sector Paolo Zappelli
supervisors sceneshifters Michele Colella, Massimiliano Marotta
sceneshifters Andrea Becchetti, Leonardo Bellini, Enrico Calabresi, Alessio Lodovichetti, Fabio Pibiri, Alessandro Gobbi
moving light operator Roberto Gelmetti
head electrician Simone De Angelis
electricians Davide Baldoni, Marco Mosca
lighting systems supervisor Graziano Albertella for Spanensemble
phonic supervisor Emanuele Carlucci
prop manager Patrizia Valentini
propwoman Marta Tazza
costume shop supervisor Chiara Crisolini Malatesta
seamstresses Marian Osman Mohamed, Serenella Orti, Francesca Persichini, Giuliana Rossi
costumes Farani Sartoria Teatrale
make-up and wigs supervisor Roberto Maria Paglialunga
masks Laboratorio Artigianale Laboracuoio
scenographic elements Mekane srl Roma, Arte Idea srl Roma, Laboratorio di Scenotecnica ePittura del Festival dei Due Mondi di Spoleto
festival scenography supervisor Claudio Balducci
audio service Arcadia Digital srl – Roma
lights Arcadia Digital srl – Roma
surtitles Prescott
show business structures and services Atmo Divisione Gioform srl
pianos Angelo Fabbrini
piano tuner Luigi Fusco
transports S.I.C.A.F. Spoleto
remote lighting control E.T.C. Italia www.etcconnect.com
The Minotaur: in this opera the myth of a terrifying monster becomes a “human” drama, the drama of a being dealing with himself, actually with an infinite number of himself reflected by the mirorred walls of the labyrint.
In contrast, human beings – here represented by Teseo and Arianna – are the actual perpetrators.
In addition to the three leading voices – Minotaur, Arianna and Teseo – the Chorus of the Birds, sort of modern Greek chorus, death omen and witness who comments on the action. A small orchestra frames the protagonists vocal lines becoming protagonist on its turn, at some action’s formal turning points. The Moon and the Sun go along with the relentless fate of the monster.
As opposed to the Minotaur’s loneliness, his young victims who form an ominous ring around him before to get killed, one after another, in a strongly percussive and abstract struggle.
The finale is left to the Chorus of the Birds: a long intimate and sore prayer accompanied by gloomy bells.
Silvia Colasanti