A name that continues, even today, to fascinate the public, to stimulate the imagination. Not only a great artist, but an icon, a style capable of transversally influencing the world of art and culture.
She is Maria Callas, the unforgettable soprano (“the Divine”) to whom the Association “Amici della Lirica Umberto Borsò” dedicates on the occasion of the centenary of her birth an evening concert (with conference) on Friday 1 December (9:00 p.m., free admission) at the Ridotto del Teatro del Popolo (Piazza Gramsci).
The evening, which will include live performances of excerpts from some of the most significant operas in Callas’ repertoire, will be alternated with a conference held by Francesco Marchetti (tenor and vice-president of the Associazione Amici della Lirica) and Prof. Marco Marchi (Professor of Modern and Contemporary Italian Literature at the Faculty of Literature and Philosophy of the University of Florence), who will touch on various aspects of the revolutionary figure of the Greek soprano.
Callas’s interpretations have in fact become famous both for their dramatic truth (which have often led to talk of a “Callas Revolution”) and for the absolute uniqueness of a unique vocal medium, capable of speaking of “three voices” in one (i.e. the “light soprano” the “lyric soprano” and the “dramatic soprano”).
The live musical part will be entrusted to soprano Maila Fulignati, who returns to Castelfiorentino after her highly appreciated participation in the “Borsò 100” concert last April, and an instrumental ensemble of five musicians (Nicoletta Cantini – piano, Martina Fondati – transverse flute, Gabriele Centorbi – violin, Giovanni Mancini – viola, Silvia Sani – cello). A series of prints made by artist Franco Spina, inspired by the legendary personifications of the “Divine” (Norma Medea, Tosca etc.) will also be exhibited for the occasion.
Admission is free, subject to availability, but it is possible to make a reservation by writing to liricaumbertoborso@gmail.com
The evening is promoted by the Association “Amici della Lirica Umberto Borsò” with the patronage of the Municipality of Castelfiorentino and Ente Cambiano Scpa.
