On the occasion of the celebrations of the Italian Republic Day, the Accademia del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino sets off on a tour of South Africa, which will see five of its talents perform in four of the most important cities of the state from 1 to 6 June 2023

In addition to the concerts, the Accademia del Maggio, in the figure of its artistic coordinator Gianni Tangucci and maestro Gianni Fabbrini, will be the protagonist of the scheduled masterclass held at the Baxter Theater in Cape Town.

Florence, May 25, 2023 – On the occasion of the Italian Republic Day celebrations, the Accademia del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino is leaving for a tour in South Africa, which will see five of its talents perform in four of the most important cities in the state. Five concerts scheduled from 1 to 6 June 2023. The announcement of the important tour is made precisely in the days in which the Orchestra del Maggio with the honorary conductor for life Zubin Mehta is about to perform for an equally important away trip international in Salzburg, for a concert in honor of Daniel Barenboim on May 29 on the occasion of his birthday. Il Maggio therefore participates in two major events as evidence of the excellence of its artistic and educational complexes.

However, the young talents of the Academy are not new to international tours; they are extraordinary occasions but an essential part of their artistic growth as is the participation in the works in the Maggio billboards. In recent years, the Academy’s artists have in fact been engaged in important and prestigious tours in London, Paris, St. Petersburg and in concerts in Palma de Mallorca, at the Royal Opera House in Muscat and in El Jem, Tunisia. Everywhere they have achieved great success and received commendable feedback, testifying with their interpretations the value of the Academy and representing the Maggio Fiorentino and the City of Florence. In any case, this is the first time that a tour of the Academy plays an institutional role, having been invited for the official celebrations of Republic Day by the Italian diplomatic missions in South Africa.

The Accademia del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, in cooperation with the Italian Embassy in South Africa, the Italian Consulates in Johannesburg and Cape Town and the Italian Cultural Institute in Pretoria, presents the important tour in South Africa on the occasion of the celebrations of the Italian Republic Day. The concerts will unfold over three different days in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban, respectively. The locations of the events are of great prestige: in Johannesburg, Thursday 1 June at 7 pm (UTC), the concert will be held in the “Great Hall” of Wits University; On Saturday 3 June, at 6.30 pm, the performance will take place in the Pam Golding Theater of the Baxter Theater Center in Cape Town, while the final evening of the tour will be at the Playhouse Theater in Durban on Tuesday 6 June at 6.30 pm. Two other prestigious exhibitions will also be added to the main tour program which will take place in the diplomatic residences of Ambassador Paolo Cuculi, on June 2nd in Pretoria and June 4th in Cape Town.

An equally prestigious masterclass, held by the artistic coordinator Gianni Tangucci and the maestro Gianni Fabbrini on June 5, in Cape Town, is also scheduled at the Baxter Theater Center.

The five singers of the Academy involved in the cycle of concerts are Caterina Meldolesi, soprano, who made her debut at the Teatro del Maggio in July 2021 in the performances of Siberia by Umberto Giordano conducted by Gianandrea Noseda; Lulama Taifasi, tenor, born in the Eastern Cape in South Africa, who was among the protagonists of I due Foscari by Giuseppe Verdi, directed by Carlo Rizzi, alongside Plácido Domingo, opera staged during the 84th Maggio Festival; Lorenzo Martelli and Lodovico Filippo Ravizza, respectively tenor and baritone, both protagonists of the performances of Carmen by Georges Bizet staged last March under the conduction of Zubin Mehta and Matteo Mancini, baritone, engaged in the performances of Otello, again under the direction of the maestro Mehta, within the 85th Maggio Festival. On the piano Gianni Fabbrini, maestro and professor at the Accademia del Maggio.

An extraordinary occasion therefore, not only artistically; the tour that brings the talents of the Accademia del Maggio, together with its artistic coordinator Gianni Tangucci and its president Mario Curia, to South Africa is not only a great international showcase, but a way, as declared in a note by the Italian Institute of Culture of Pretoria, to bear witness to the ties between the Republic of South Africa and Italy: “On the occasion of the Italian Republic Day, the Italian Embassy in South Africa, the Italian Consulate General in Johannesburg, the Italian Consulate in Cape Town and the Italian Cultural Institute in Pretoria are proud to present an extraordinary performance by the Accademia del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino on the stages of Johannesburg on June 1st, Cape Town on June 3rd and Durban on June 6th. This illustrious cultural event is a testament to the enduring ties between Italy and South Africa and an opportunity for the public to experience the splendor and magic of Italian opera on South African soil.”

A concept, that of the closeness between the two Countries, also reinforced by the president of the Accademia del Maggio, Mario Curia: “It is an honor for our Academy to be able to take part in this tour; being chosen by the Italian Embassy in South Africa is also a great artistic privilege and a way of “bringing” the borders between our countries closer together. It becomes, if possible, an even greater opportunity to be able to do it as part of the celebrations of our Republic Day. The Accademia del Maggio is therefore confirmed as a top-level artistic excellence, as this tour demonstrates: a place where the talents who decide to embark on a path of complete artistic improvement can combine vocal and interpretative refinement with the truly unique opportunity to take part in the very high-profile productions of the seasons at the Maggio and in other of the most famous Italian stages”.

Great enthusiasm also demonstrated by Jeremy Silver, director of the Opera School of the University of Cape Town: “We know the Accademia del Maggio as one of the most important opera training centers in the world, as well as being located right in the city which is the cradle of the Opera: not only are singers of exceptional caliber trained there, but also the boys are trained, from every point of view, in the staging of a show. All the young boys who have had the good fortune to attend it have been given the opportunity to be among the protagonists in the representations of our times despite being the ‘direct heirs’ of the original lyrical tradition. I would therefore be really happy if the Accademia concert in the Concert Hall and the Masterclass on 5 June marked a long collaboration between our two institutions, helping us to enhance and support, in our country, the economic transformation of our musical realities aimed at young singers , with the aim of enhancing Italian and European inclusiveness and multiculturalism”.

During the three concerts – already sold out – including the two extraordinary appointments at the diplomatic residences of Ambassador Paolo Cuculi in Pretoria and Cape Town, the artists of the Academy will perform in a program with strong Italian hues, characterized by some of the the most famous and beloved pieces taken from operas by Giuseppe Verdi, Giacomo Puccini, Gioachino Rossini, Gaetano Donizetti, Francesco Cilea and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Speaking about the program and the opportunity to take part in this tour, the artistic coordinator of the Accademia del Maggio Gianni Tangucci underlined how much such occasions are truly an important showcase for the Academy and its artists: “We are really happy to this invitation and honored to be able to represent our country for the Republic Day; it is a very special occasion for the students to be able to showcase their talent and the work done together here in the Academy to a truly new audience. The program chosen for the performances sees almost only pieces from the Italian repertoire, just as almost all the artists involved are Italian, with the exception of Lulama Taifasi, our South African talent at the Academy for two years: a message that underlines, if any still need, how music unites worlds and countries that at first sight seem distant”.

The concerts:
• Thursday, June 1st, 2023 at 7 pm, Wits University Great Hall, Johannesburg

• Saturday June 3rd, 2023 at 6 pm, Pam Golding Theater/Baxter Theatre, Cape Town

• Tuesday June 6th, 2023 at 6.30 pm, The Playhouse Theatre, Durban

The program:

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
From Don Giovanni: “Il mio tesoro intanto”
Lorenzo Martelli, tenore

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
From Don Giovanni: “Madamina, il catalogo è questo”
Lodovico Filippo Ravizza, baritono

Gioachino Rossini
From Il barbiere di Siviglia: “Largo al factotum”
Matteo Mancini, baritono

Gioachino Rossini
From Il barbiere di Siviglia: “All’idea di quel metallo”
Lulama Taifasi, tenore | Matteo Mancini, baritono

Giuseppe Verdi
From Aida: “Ritorna vincitor”
Caterina Meldolesi, soprano

Gaetano Donizetti
From L’elisir d’amore: “Venti scudi”
Lorenzo Martelli, tenore | Matteo Mancini, baritono

Gaetano Donizetti
From L’elisir d’amore: “Una furtiva lagrima”
Lulama Taifasi, tenore

Gaetano Donizetti
From Don Pasquale: “Bella siccome un angelo”
Matteo Mancini, baritono

Giuseppe Verdi
From Rigoletto: “Questa o quella”
Lorenzo Martelli, tenore

Giuseppe Verdi
From La traviata: “Di Provenza il mar, il suol”
Lodovico Filippo Ravizza, baritono

Giuseppe Verdi
From Il trovatore: “Tacea la notte placida”
Caterina Meldolesi, soprano

Giuseppe Verdi
From Nabucco: “Deh, perdona”
Caterina Meldolesi, soprano | Lodovico Filippo Ravizza, baritono

Francesco Cilea
From L’Arlesiana: “È la solita storia del pastore”
Lorenzo Martelli, tenore

Giacomo Puccini
From La bohème: “O soave fanciulla”
Caterina Meldolesi, soprano | Lorenzo Martelli, tenore