Opera in Florence

/ get back, laurettadimmick / Leave a comment

Yesterday I had the great pleasure of attending a performance of La Boheme at Florence’s ultra modern opera house.  It was a fabulous experience!

 

Soon I’ll post about the performance, but for now I want to focus on the building itself.

 

 

 

Unusual for an Italian city, the new opera house complex includes green space.

 

I don’t know about you, but generally speaking, when I think of opera lyrica together with Florence, I think of the Belle Époque (or some other, older) period, with gorgeous, lush architectural interiors.  This theater is non of that.
7308237840_c54cced3dc_z_wp6_8386
In fact, the thoroughly modern new Teatro revitalized a section of Florence, bordering the northeast corner of the Casine park.
1
The rooftop amphitheater has magnificent views of historic Florence.
images-4
The location is strategic, near the Arno River and between the Leopolda Station and the Cascine Park, It was the intention of the builders to integrate the historical center of Florence with the Cascine, or the “green” section of Florence.  Indeed, the mowed lawn outside the entrance of the theater was the first manicured green grass I’ve seen in all of Italy in the past year.
Map+-+Florence
The complex is marked with red in the photo above.
new-florence-opera-house-b‘

 

 

Florence is, of course, the city where opera was born in 1597 and where opera has been performed in numerous venues including, for many years, a functional but ungainly theater called the Teatro Comunale. When Matteo Renzi was mayor of Florence from 2009 to 2014, among his projects was this new opera house and concert hall, not far from the Teatro Comunale.

Renzi, who became prime minister of Italy at the age of 39, was an audacious and controversial leader, but there is no denying that he effectively set the national discussion on a new course.

Before Renzi became Prime Minister, some laws were passed that tried to reform arts funding and administration in Italy. These laws require, in exchange for federal money, more administrative control from Rome of some of the fondazioni—the entities that run the 14 important theaters in Italy that present opera.

 

RenaissanceOpHouse3hdl512

The New Florence Opera House, is  one of the most innovative in all of Europe. After years of deliberating the need to provide Florence, and its renowned opera festival Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, with a modern venue, at last this new complex took shape.

 

 

 

The complex is comprised of three large and spacious halls: the opera hall, built with special walls that direct soundwaves towards the audience without echoing; the concert hall which holds 1000 seats; and the spectacular rooftop amphitheater, which offers 2000 outdoor seats with an captivating panoramic view of the city.

Finally finished and opened in May 2014, a new square in front of the theater was inaugurated at the same time.  The piazza is the largest in Florence and one of the biggest in Italy. The new large garden square is named after Vittorio Gui, the founder of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino.
The theatre hosts not only classical music, but also pop, theatrical productions, film, meetings and conferences, making it a central place in the life of city and its inhabitants.
The exterior features a smooth surface on which images and videos can be projected, or which can simply be flooded with light to stand out against the night sky.
6546190949_85d707db70_z

With its stark, modern structure and cutting-edge technologies, the new opera house is one of the most modern opera houses in the world, uniting modernity and antiquity, vision and tradition, in the city that gave birth to the first opera in the 1600s.

firenze_inaugurazione_teatro_opera_firenze_dicembre_2011_3.jpg_1379307876
2b
dettaglio1330705341
 The heart of the new theater is the opera hall itself, the simple and bold cavea.  The building materials stem Tuscany’s architectural tradition: marble, wood, terracotta and gold.  Cipollino marble covers the volumes of the new theatrical complex; the baked enamel of the great “urban lantern” of the tower; the gold used for the curved walls of the large and majestic foyer are all materials, textures and colours belonging to the historical tradition of Medician architecture.
The theater boasts outstanding acoustics, which were designed by the German team Müller-BBM.
firenze_inaugurazione_teatro_opera_firenze_dicembre_2011_3.jpg_1379307876
Most critics agree that the streamlined auditorium is undeniably handsome.
However, those audience members who are seated in lateral boxes have little or no eye-contact with the rest of the audience, as if Paolo Desideri the architect, had wished to suppress the conviviality of the traditional Italian opera house, in which spectators interact with each other while responding to what is happening onstage.
Nevertheless, the modern and multifunctional building seems to have won over the Florentines, who have an understandable reputation of usually being very wary when it comes to the construction of modern buildings in the cradle of the Renaissance.
The theater is the official home of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino see http://www.maggiofiorentino.com/
The New Opera House was planned from the beginning to take on all those functions of the theater as envisioned by the ancient Greeks; the opera house is thus a avant-garde cultural center for all of Europe, where music, arts, education and entertainment converge.

For this reason the opera house is open and accessible to the public during daytime hours.  The bookshop and café will be always open and families can go for a walk, wander among the fountains, or meet with friends on the grounds.

The project was undertaken by the Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri with funds made available (150 million Euro grant) for the celebration of the 150th anniversary  (in 2011) of the unification of Italy and with contributions from the Regione Toscana and the city of Florence.  A 255 million Euro public investment partially financed the ambitious project of the New Florence Opera House which represents.

The theater also boasts one of the most technologically advanced scene-changing mechanisms in the world that enables rapid scenography changes so as to allow even multiple and simultaneous performances in the same day, increasing the theater’s potential.

 


Credits

Presidenza del Consiglio di Ministri
Executive Officer Dr. Elisabetta Fabbri (Architect)
Project Manager Dr. Giacomo Parenti (Engineer)
Director of Works Dr. Giorgio Caselli (Architect)
Contractors A.T. I : S.A.C Spa e I.G.I.T Spa
Project Coordinator Dr. Angelo Reale (Engineer)
Executor Co-ordinator of the project and its operative phases Dr. Angela Ranieri (Engineer)

Design
Architects Studio A.B.D.R – Roma
Structural Design Italingegneria – Roma
Systems Design Enetec – Roma

Consultants
Acoustics Müller – BBM Monaco
Stagecraft Biobyte

 

In Florence, I believe, one of the problems is that despite the city’s history with opera, it is not widely popular with local people and with the millions of visitors who come here for days of intensive touring of museums full of the masterpieces. And with the old and new theaters slightly out of the heart of tourist traffic, no one walks past them as part of a stay here.

Construction on the new theater (based on designs by Paolo Desderi) began in 2009 and it was inaugurated on December 21, 2011 so that it could be said to have opened in the year of the 150th anniversary of the Unification of Italy. It was quickly closed after one concert as it was nowhere near complete. It has had a couple of more “openings” and its official one was on May 10, 2014.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Donatello’s studio

/ get back, laurettadimmick / Leave a comment

Let’s say you are one of the major sculptors of Renaissance Italy, and that you live in Florence.  Where would you want to have your studio?

How about, right on the piazza around il duomo?  Non e’ male!

IMG_5545IMG_5544

Screen Shot 2017-09-29 at 1.15.29 PM

Using the map above, you will find the bust of Donatello and the plaque recording his studio location about where the P in “Panini Toscani.”  You can find Panini Toscani words on the upper right side of the map.

Donatello-top

We know some, but not enough, about Donatello (c.1386-1466).  He was apparently born in Florence and grew up with the Martelli family, where it is hypothesized that he received early training from a goldsmith, before training and working in the studio of the famous metalworker and sculptor, Lorenzo Ghiberti.

There is very little known about his life as he was growing up; however, Vasari tells us a few stories which give insight to the generous and proud man that he was. Vasari, in his “Life of the Artists” where he wrote biographies of other artists, enjoys playing with the name Donato which is a variation on the Italian verb “to donate”. Several pieces of Donatello’s artwork were donated to those whom he held in high esteem.

It is possible to see many pieces of Donatello’s works throughout Florence – but be aware that several pieces available on display outdoors are expert copies since the originals have been moved indoors for safe keeping.

The map below shows the spots in Florence where you can find major Donatello works.

Screen Shot 2017-09-29 at 1.26.39 PM

Both the Museo of the Opera del Duomo and the Bargello have extensive works by Donatello. It is so easy to forget that many pieces were made for a specific setting, like the facade of a church or an altar. Once they’re in a museum, even if the work is beautiful on its own, you sense that if viewed in its original position, the work of art would seem different.

If you decide to go outside of Florence and still want to see works he had a part in, here’s a short list to guide you:

PISA

In the San Matteo National Museum in Pisa, you can view the Reliquary of San Rossore, statue, gilded bronze. Via San Matteo in Soarta 1 (Pisa)

LUCCA

At the Villa Guinigi in Lucca, (also known as “pleasure palace” but which is now a national museum), you can admire Madonna and Child relief in tile. Piazza della Magione (ex Manifattura Tabacchi), Lucca

AREZZO

Inside the impressive Cathedral in the center of the historic part of Arezzo, you can admire the baptismal font with a bas-relief marble carving of the Baptism of Christ.

SIENA

Between the Baptistery of San Giovanni, the Cathedral of Siena and the Museum dedicated to the artwork from the Duomo, you will find several works of art dating from the time Donatello worked in Siena.

 

 

Oggi a Firenze; September peaches

/ get back, laurettadimmick / Leave a comment

I’m so happy I found pickles (not quite dill, not quite sweet, but better than nothing) here.  Of all the things I miss, I never expected it to be dill pickles.  But, not to worry; they’re available!

 

IMG_5441

 

This box on the street spoke to me: do not upset!!

IMG_5529

 

Today’s lesson: how to boss people around (ha ha) with imperativo!

IMG_5532

 

The photo below encapsulates my favorite kind of view in Florence.  I love the bars with every good kind of coffee, pastries, sandwiches and all kinds of treats.  Humble or ritzy, I love them all!

IMG_5535

 

I noticed this spritely gentleman in the Mercato Nuovo. His face looks like JFK.

IMG_5536

 

And finally, today’s fruits at Mercato San Ambrogio.

IMG_5537

I love that Italians sell and buy pesche settembrine.  September peaches.  What could be better than that!

IMG_5538

IMG_5539

IMG_5540

Nota bene.

/ get back, laurettadimmick / Leave a comment

ROME, ITALY

Santa Maria della Concezione Crypts

 

“Quello che voi siete noi eravamo; quello che noi siamo voi sarete.”

“That which you are, we were; that which we are, you will be.”

ca05

On the Via Veneto in Rome is a small church, Santa Maria della Concezione, attached to which is a crypt of Capuchin monks. The burial ground consists of a few small chapels, the pilasters, arches, and vaults profusely decorated with the bones of four thousand exhumed monks that were brought to the church in 1631.

 

images-3

 

Ah, Roma…

/ get back, laurettadimmick / Leave a comment

IMG_2848

 

Imagine being three thousand years old. Suppose by some mysterious process you had managed to avoid the limitations of mortality, and year after year you keep going, adding more and more experiences to your life story until you have no choice but to repeat them because you have exhausted all possibilities.

You are the very essence of what it means to be human. You have had more than your share of victories and defeats, triumphs and tragedies, moments of glory and those of abjection, times when you wish you had never been born and times when you want to go on forever. You have loved and lost, have abandoned and been left behind, been rich and poor, skinny and fat, lived high on the hog and been forced to scramble for a few morsels of stale bread. You have seen it all, done it all, regretted it all, and then gone back and done it all again.

You are la città eterna, Rome, the Eternal City.

Epstein, Alan. As the Romans Do: The Delights, Dramas, And Daily Diversio (p. 1). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.