(by Gianni Schicchi) Begins on January 5th at 8.30pm in Sala Maffeianathe seventh edition of the festival “Mozart a Verona“, now a fixed and characterizing appointment of the artistic and cultural year in Verona. From a musical review, the festival has broadened its horizon by welcoming prose performances, events for children, concert lessons, exhibitions, conferences, conventions and book presentations into its calendar. All this was possible thanks to the contribution of many of the main cultural and artistic actors of Verona, invited to be part of the review.
The numbers achieved give a good idea of the impact on Mozart’s cultural offering in Verona, which from 2020 to today has seen the generous participation of thirty-four partners, twenty-one musical ensembles for a total of over two hundred musicians involved, who have been joined by actors, art historians, musicologists and scholars who have contributed to bringing the Salzburg genius to around thirty different venues located throughout the city. The constant and enthusiastic response from the public has rewarded the choice of good practice of collaboration between institutions and bodies, both private and public citizens.
The seventh edition of Mozart in Verona therefore confirms the desire of the four promoting and organizing institutions to increasingly broaden the offer of the event, which this year involves twenty-eight partner institutions, including, for the first time, also entities from outside Verona, which will present a festival divided into forty-three events in nineteen locations in Verona. The musical and performance offering is also enriched with the proposal of cinema, dance and various cultural events such as readings and guided tours.
The first concert this evening – offered by the Verona Philharmonic Academy – will see the performance of the Orchestra of Padua and Veneto in Nannerl-Serenade, a concert for the 275th anniversary of the birth of Maria Sanna “Nannerl”, Mozart’s sister and musical companion. On the program, the Divertimento for orchestra n. 11 in D major KV 251, Symphony no. 13 in F major KV 112, Cassation n. 2 in B flat major KV 99, the Concerto for bassoon and orchestra in B flat major KV 191 with soloist Aligi Voltan on bassoon and conducted by Antonio Aiello concert violinist.
It will be followed closely on Wednesday 7th at 8.30pm in the church of San Tommaso Cantuariense by a concert (promoted by Fondazione Cariverona) by the Rosso Verona Baroque Ensemble entitled Le Sonata all’Epistola for wind instruments and strings led by concertmaster Pietro Battistoni, with music by Salieri and Mozart. January 7 is a historic date because it is the day on which, in 1770, the very young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart played in the Veronese church, leaving an important trace that has become a bane of the city’s memory.
The weekend continues with Classic in Jazz. Mozart & Swing, in which the Big Band Ritmo Sinfonica Città di Verona (will present itself for the first time in the Sala Maffeiana) will propose jazz arrangements of compositions by Mozart, von Weber, Rimski Korsakov and a selection of songs from the swing season. The concert will take place at 6.30pm on Friday 9 January in the Sala Maffeiana with free admission upon reservation.
Finally, on Saturday 10th January (entrance reserved for schools) and Sunday 11th at 5pm (free entrance upon reservation) at the Teatro Ristori, space for the opera Con la harvest or the Dama incognita by Giuseppe Gazzaniga from Verona, promoted by the Conservatory and performed by I Virtuosi Italiani.