Maggio Musicale Fiorentino 2017

Launch of the 80th edition of the Festival with concerts, operas and many side shows

From 24 April 2017 to 26 June 2017

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Lovers of classical music and bel canto, grab a pen and paper and take note of these dates in your diary: from 24th April to 4th July 2017 Maggio Musicale Fiorentino 2017 will host the highly anticipated opera in Florence! The music festival of Florence will host classical music concerts, ballet, opera and theatre works while numerous side events will take place at other theatres, conservatory halls and other rooms in the historic centre.

This prestigious event of Opera di Firenze, founded in 1937 by composer and orchestra conductor Vittorio Gui, is one of the oldest and most prestigious festivals in Europe, thanks to the cultural and stylistic choices of the organizers, that each year attract thousands of spectators in the Tuscan capital. First among these, the great importance given to visual exposure in the operas, which has led to a valuable partnership with the most famous film and theatre directors in the world.
We should also underline the constant presence of great performers who, year after year, have contributed to the prestige of this great and highly anticipated event.

Are you ready to discover the rich Maggio Musicale Fiorentino program 2017?

The opening symphonic concert will be entrusted to the expert baton of one of the most famous conductors, Zubin Mehta, who will conduct the Orchestra of the Florence Opera festival. During this unmissable evening you can also listen to the first Italian performance of the ‘Concerto for percussions and orchestra’ by Friedrich Cerha, the ‘Concerto for violin and orchestra’ by Arnold Schönberg and the second suite of ‘Daphnis et Chloé’ by Maurice Ravel.

During the program of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, 22 concerts will take place that range from classical to contemporary music up to the so-called 'open music', a new way of thinking and composing music using new digital technologies.

As for the works of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Festival 2017, there are three appointments that should not to be missed this year:

• 'Idomeneo’ by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – 26th and 30th April, 3rd and 6th May 2017
  A masterpiece more relevant than ever, that sets off from a Greek myth and arrives up to the present day. The Cretans, oppressed by the Idomeneo’s broken vow, is forced to emigrate in order to survive. The background setting of Mozart’s first ‘complex masterpiece’ (with orchestra, chorus and dances) is a beach of derelicts and debris, shipwrecked people and refugees, alongside a troubled father-son relationship.

• 'Don Carlo’ by Giuseppe Verdi – 5th and 8th May, 11th and 14th May 2017
  This four-act version of Verdi’s great opera, inspired by Schiller’s tragedy, has been conceived by the director Giancarlo del Monaca with the insertion of traditional costumes, large crucifixes and terrifying inquisitors…. A must-see.

• ‘L’histoire du soldat' by Igor Stravinskij – 24th, 27th, 28th and 29th May 2017
  Composed during the last days of World War I, this opera relates the events surrounding the life of a soldier, Joseph, who makes a pact with the devil: to be slung into the future in exchange for his violin. Unfortunately this turned out to be a bad deal, since he had a vision of his girlfriend marrying another man and giving birth to another child. A theatrical storyline with few characters and few instruments, a no-scene production, an opera without a chorus: the author defined it as ‘la folla iniziativa’.

FLORENCE, OPERA ... AND MORE!

As mentioned above, every year the main event is enriched by a substantial program of events and parallel shows. The 80th edition of the 2017 Maggio Musicale Fiorentino is pleased to present 'Around the Festival', a series of free initiatives linked by a common thread. Let's find out together what it is:

As part of the now customary CONCERTS IN MUSEUMS, for the Florence Opera Festival 2017 Casa Martinelli proposes ‘Liszt meets Verdi’, with paraphrasing and piano sheet music, and ‘Stravinskijana’. An interesting piano ‘ragtime’ will take place between one performance and another.
Museo degli Innocenti will present ‘The voices of Angels’ with the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino’s children choir directed by Sara Matteucci, whereas at the Museo Stibbert ‘Airs on four chords’ will take place. Finally, the Museo Novecento will host the Chorus ‘La Martinella’ of the Florence CAI that will perform in honour of Alfredo Bianchini with a concert entitled ‘A veglia in Toscana’. Truly unmissable shows at the Firenze opera festival 2017! 

MUSICAL WALKS. Two routes on one side and the the River Arno on the other will take you to beautiful and magical places where you can rediscover the sound of the ancient organs of the city, precious newly restored instruments.

SUNDAY OF THE BANDS. Five appointments with Tuscan bands in one of the most prestigious places in Florence: Piazza della Signoria. An unmissable opportunity to rediscover the beauty of authentic folk music!

For the 80th Music festival Florence, Italy Francesco Ermini Polacci and Giovanni Vitali will present ‘Ma lassù ci vedremo, in un mondo migliore’, an interesting STUDY CONFERENCE that evolves around Giuseppe Verdi’s famous opera, ‘Don Carlos’.

Let’s now talk about the fixed events included in the Opera Florence 2017 program 'Around the Festival': MUSIC CONVERSATIONS that will take place in the libraries and are promoted by the Amici del Teatro del Maggio, and MEETINGS WITH THE PUBLIC organized by the Florence Opera and by The Foyer.

MAY CINEMA this year presents the cycle ‘Le fiamme del Peccato’: three projections will take place at the cinema La Compagnia: ‘Vredens dag’ by Carl Theodor Dreyer, ‘The Devils’ by Ken Russel and ‘The crazy history of the world/Gostanza da Libbiano’ by Mel Brooks and Paolo Benvenuti.

This festival dedicated to opera in Florence will also include MAGGIO LIBRI in its 2017 program, with the official presentation of the volume ‘Luigi Dallapiccola e le arti figurative’ by Mario Ruffini, musicologist, composer and orchestra conductor.

Maggio Musicale Fiorentino – the Music Festival in Florence in 2017 offers many various events: the choice is yours!

To discover the other great events in Tuscany and the traditional shows of this beautiful region, take a look at the dedicated section on our website!