From Jesus Christ Superstar to West Side Story, from Porgy and Bess to Candide. The immortal songs of the most famous musicals arrive on Sunday 11 May at the Teatro del Popolo (starting at 9.00 p.m.) in an evening entitled ‘Broadway in Castelfiorentino’, which will see the Filarmonica ‘G. Verdi’ perform masterpieces by Bernstein, Gershwin, Webber and many others on stage, with the participation of soprano Guia Conforti and the students of the ‘Altea Danza’ school directed by Cristina Baglieri.
Directed by maestro Stefano Mangini (to whom we owe the idea of ‘Broadway in Castelfiorentino’), the concert also represents a stimulating challenge for the ‘G. Verdi’ Philharmonic, which can count on a fine group of young musicians, enthusiastic to commit themselves fully to an evening of this kind, in the splendid setting of the Teatro del Popolo.
‘It is, however,’ notes conductor Stefano Mangini, “not an easy concert even for the less young, as almost all the pieces are for orchestra, and the arrangements are complex in terms of structure and writing: but we do it willingly, because as some past performances have shown, it is also important for us to measure ourselves against different musical genres, compared to the traditional ones for bands”.
They will in any case be in good company with soprano Guia Conforti, who teaches singing at the Castelfiorentino School of Music, and the students of ‘Altea Danza’, who will give some of the pieces a lively and engaging atmosphere.
It promises to be an unforgettable evening,’ observes the Councillor for Culture, Franco Spina, ’in which the emotionality of an institution as ancient as the band merges with the pop flare of classical and contemporary musicals, from Gershwin and Bernstein to Lloyd Webber. An evening, which we are very proud of, that perfectly expresses the versatility of our two-hundred-year-old Philharmonic, which, while continuing in its more traditional role, is capable of innovating and renewing its language and cultural offer with captivating programmes, also through the excellent work it does with the new generations on musical didactic training and collaborations with associations and institutions in the castle area and beyond’.
Info and tickets available at the Teatro del Popolo box office and also online at www.teatrocastelfiorentino.it
