giuseppedistefanoHomage to Giuseppe Di Stefano

and

Cavalleria Rusticana (Rustican Chevalry) Concert Gala

Ancient Theatre, Wednesday 22nd August 2018 @ 9.30pm

 

Giuseppe Di Stefano (24 July 1921 – 3 March 2008) was an Italian operatic tenor, one of the most beautiful voices who sang professionally from the mid 1940s until the early 1990s. He was known as the “Golden voice” or “The most beautiful voice”, as the true successor of Beniamino Gigli. Luciano Pavarotti said he modeled himself after Di Stefano. In an interview Pavarotti said “Di Stefano is my idol. There is a solar voice…It was the most incredible, open voice you could hear. The musicality of di Stefano is as natural and beautiful as the voice is phenomenal”.Di Stefano was also the tenor who most inspired José Carreras.

This year, on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of his death, in the incomparable setting of our Ancient Theatre, there will be a memorable evening, during which some of the greatest artists of the lyrical and cultural world will honor the great Sicilian tenor and receive the Giuseppe Di Stefano International Award.

In the second part of the evening, the immortal music of Cavalleria Rusticana (Rustican Chevalry) will thrill the cavea of the Greek theater through the voices of some of the greatest interpreters of the Mascagni jewel.

The prestigious cast – that will be shortly unveiled – will be accompanied by two ensembles of international value: the Calabria Philharmonic Orchestra and the Sicilian Lyrical Choir.

 

TICKETS on ticketone.it and boxol.it
Stalls (Parterre): € 65,00 – Under 12: € 35,00 – Under 25: € 52,00
Gallery: € 50,00 – Under 12: € 25,00 – Under 25: € 40,00
Upper circle (numbered seats): € 35,00 – Under 12: € 18,00 – Under 25: € 28,00
Upper circle (non-numbered seats): € 25,00 – Under 12: € 13,00 – Under 25: € 20,00

 

 

 

mus2_101961003Le Div4s – Italian Soprano

Ancient Theatre on Monday 20th August 2018 @ 9.30pm

LE DIV4S, is a vocal ensemble, born from the meeting of four young sopranos, united by a passion for opera and the idea to ​​share the excellence of Italian music. LE DIV4S have sought to create an innovative language capable of inspiring a younger and wider audience, and not just fans of the classical genre.

Their journey began with the reinterpretation of famous opera arias, and has evolved through the reworking of immensely popular pieces, both Italian and international in origin, where the combination of classical vocals and pop rhythms has become the focal point defining the identity of the group.

TICKETS on boxol.it and ticketone.it
Stalls (Parterre): € 55,00
Gallery: € 55,00
Upper circle (numbered seats): € 40,00
Upper circle (non-numbered seats): € 30,00

 

More info: www.lediv4s.com/home-eng

 negrita-1-678x381

Negrita

Desert Yacht Club Summer Tour

Ancient Theatre, Sunday 19th August 2018 @ 9.30pm

Negrita is an Italian rock band from Arezzo, Tuscany. Formed in 1991, the band was named after the song “Hey Negrita”, included in The Rolling Stones’ album Black and Blue, released in 1976. The band currently consists of Paolo Bruni (also known as “Pau”), Enrico Salvi (known as “Drigo”) and Cesare “Mac” Petricich.
Their musical style is mainly considered Hip hop, Pop, Italian Pop, Italian Arena Pop and italian hip hop.
The band has received three nominations at the MTV Europe Music Awards for Best Italian Act in 1999, 2003 and 2005. In January 2012, their album Reset was ranked 77th in the list of the 100 Best Italian Albums of All Time compiled by the Italian version of the music magazine Rolling Stone.

TICKETS on ticketone.it
Stalls (Parterre): € 46,00
Gallery (central): € 46,00
Gallery (lateral): € 41,40
Upper circle (numbered seats): € 36,80
Upper circle (non-numbered seats): € 32,20

 

Negrita on Youtube – “Rotolando verso Sud

www.negrita.com

Gianna Nannini-17927Gianna Nannini

Fenomenale
Il Tour

Ancient Theatre, on Saturday 18 August 2018 @ 9.30pm

 

Gianna Nannini, the most loved Italian female rock musicians in Europe, comes back to Taormina.

TICKETS on ticketone.it
Stalls (Parterre): € 80.50
Gallery: € 69,00
Upper circle (numbered seats): € 57,50
Upper circle (non-numbered seats): € 39,50

 

BIOGRAPHY
Gianna Nannini (born 1954 in Tuscany) is an Italian female singer-songwriter and pop musician. Among her songs, “Bello e impossibile” (1986) was an international hit in Austria, Germany, Italy and Switzerland.

Personal life
Nannini was born in Siena on 14 June 1954. She is the older sister of former Formula One racing driver Alessandro Nannini. She studied piano and composition in Milan in the late 1970s and obtained a degree in Philosophy from the University of Siena in 1994. The following year she took part in a protest organized by Greenpeace at the French embassy in Rome against the decision of the French government to pursue nuclear experiments at Mururoa. In August 2010, at the age of 54, she announced that she was pregnant. Nannini’s pregnancy was prominently featured on the cover of Vanity Fair, where she was portraited wearing a T-shirt with the inscription ‘God is a Woman’. On 26 November 2010 at 12 AM Nannini’s daughter Penelope Jane Charlotte was born at the Madonnina Clinic in Milan. In 2017, Nannini decided to move in London with her partner, Carla. In her 2017 autobiography, titled Cazzi miei, she revealed she was ready for a civil union with Carla, explaining she felt Italian laws could not give her any warranty about Penelope’s future in case of Nannini’s death.

Musical career
Nannini scored her first domestic hit in 1979 with the single “America” and the album California, which became a success in several European countries. Her international breakthrough happened in 1984 with the release of her sixth album, the Conny Plank-produced Puzzle, who peaked in the top 10 in the Italian, German, Austrian and Swiss charts. The first single from the album, “Fotoromanza”, was supported by a music video directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, and went on to win many musical awards. Nannini embarked on a long European tour to support the album, culminating in a headlining gig at the Montreux Jazz Festival.
In 1986, her song “Bello e impossibile” was a European hit in Italy, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Her 1987 compilation album Maschi e Altri sold over a million copies.
In 2004, she released the greatest hits album Perle, where a number of her most renewed songs were rearrangemed with the support of musicians such as Christian Lohr on piano (who also had a co-producer credit), and a string quartet composed of Vincenzo di Donna (first violin), Luigi de Maio (second violin), Gerardo Morrone (viola) and Antonio di Franca (violoncello). With this orchestra Nannini went on a European tour from 2004 to 2005.
The album Grazie was released in February 2006, and peaked at number one of the Italian hit-parade with the single “Sei nell’anima”.
In April 2007, Nannini released Pia come la canto io, a collection of songs produced by Wil Malone and originally intended for a rock opera based on the medieval Tuscan character Pia de’ Tolomei (briefly mentioned in Dante’s Purgatorio) that would eventually be performed in 2008 after eleven years of gestation.
An acoustic version of her song Meravigliosa Creatura (from Perle) has been used in a 2008 advertisement commercial for the Fiat Bravo directed by Matthias Zentner. Fiat would later include another Gianna Nannini song, “Aria”, in a subsequent Fiat Bravo ad.

Duets
In 1987 she performed with Sting and Jack Bruce the “Three Penny Opera” by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill at the Schauspielhaus in Hamburg. In 1990, she and Edoardo Bennato sang “Un’estate italiana”, the official song of the Football World Cup 1990 composed by Giorgio Moroder. In September 2006, she recorded the single “Ama Credi E Vai” with Andrea Bocelli. Nannini was also featured on Einstürzende Neubauten member Alexander Hacke’s solo album Sanctuary, on the track “Per Sempre Butterfly”. In 2008 she duetted with the Italian rapper Fabri Fibra in his videoclip version of the song “In Italia”. She also sang the song “Aria” with the Macedonian singer Toše Proeski.

On Youtube >>
Bello e Impossibile
Fenomenale

TOSCA

by Giacomo Puccini

Thursday August 16th 2018, Ancient Theatre @ 9.00pm

Tuesday August 21st 2018, Ancient Theatre @ 9.00pm

Tosca is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou’s 1887 French-language dramatic play, La Tosca, is a melodramatic piece set in Rome in June 1800, with the Kingdom of Naples’s control of Rome threatened by Napoleon’s invasion of Italy. It contains depictions of torture, murder and suicide, as well as some of Puccini’s best-known lyrical arias, and has inspired memorable performances from many of opera’s leading singers. The dramatic force of Tosca and its characters continues to fascinate both performers and audiences, and the work remains one of the most frequently performed operas.

The performance is a production of  Taormina Opera Stars

Director: Bruno Torrisi
Orchestra: Taormina Opera Stars
Orchestra Conductor: Gianna Fratta
Chorus: Taormina Opera Stars
Chorus Conductor: Gaetano Costa
Corps de ballet: Danza Taormina
Stage Manager: Daniele Barbera

 

TICKETS

Thursday August 16th 2018 >>  tickets on boxol.it and ticketone.it

Tuesday August 21st 2018 >> tickets on boxol.it and ticketone.it

Stalls (Parterre): € 105,00
Gallery: € 85,00
Upper circle (numbered seats): € 60,00
Upper circle (non-numbered seats): € 33,00

 

SYNOPSIS

In the church of S Andrea della Valle, the fugitive Angelotti takes refuge in a private chapel. The painter Cavaradossi returns to the canvas he is painting, a picture of Mary Magdalene, influenced by the features of his beloved Tosca and by a woman he has often seen in the church. The sacristan complains of the trouble Cavaradossi gives him. As he leaves, Angelotti emerges from hiding, explaining that he has escaped from imprisonment in the Castel Sant’Angelo. The voice of Tosca is heard and Angelotti hides again. Tosca is jealous of what she thinks may have been an assignation with another woman but agrees to meet her lover after her evening performance. The church fills for a celebration of a supposed victory over Napoleon and Baron Scarpia and his agents seek for signs of Angelotti, suspicion falling on Cavaradossi as a possible accomplice. Scarpia succeeds now in arousing further jealousy in Tosca, who has returned, showing her a fan found in the chapel, belonging, in fact, to Angelotti’s sister. Scarpia orders his men to follow Tosca, when she leaves, as a victory Te Deum is sung. In Scarpia’s apartment the sound is heard of an entertainment being given below for Queen Caroline, dancing and a performance by Tosca. Cavaradossi has been arrested and is interrogated and, when Tosca comes in, tortured in the next room, to elicit information from her. She betrays Angelotti’s hiding-place at the well in the garden of Cavaradossi’s villa. The painter is to be shot at dawn, but can be saved if Tosca will give in to Scarpia’s demands on her. She pretends to agree and when he has signed a safe-conduct she kills him. In the third act, at Castel Sant’Angelo, Cavaradossi prepares for death, as dawn draws near. Tosca is brought in and, left alone with him, explains how there is to be a mock-execution, after which they can escape together. In the event Scarpia has his revenge. His orders did not countermand the execution and Cavaradossi is shot. When Tosca realises that he is dead, she leaps from the battlements to her own death, while Scarpia’s men draw threateningly near, having discovered their master’s body.

Tosca remains a major work in operatic repertoire, although subject to relentlessly hostile criticism on the grounds of the brutal coarseness of its plot. It is, in fact, dramatically convincing, up to the moment of final irony. Cavaradossi is entrusted with his first moving aria in the opening act, Recondita armonia (Secret harmony), when he contrasts the dark-haired beauty of Tosca with the fair- haired stranger he has seen in the church, both combined in his painting. Cavaradossi’s other great aria comes in the third act, as he prepares for death. In E lucevan le stelle (And the stars shone) he regrets his coming execution and parting from Tosca. The rôle of Tosca has a strong dramatic appeal. Her best known aria is Vissi d’arte (I have lived for art), as she despairs at the predicament that Scarpia has posed for her.

(source: www.naxos.com)

 

http://taorminaoperastars.it/eventi/tosca/

 

uccio
Uccio De Santis

Ancient Theatre, Monday 13th August 2018 @ 9.30pm

Gennaro (“Uccio”) De Santis, (born 1965), is an actor,  a stand-up-comedian and Italian TV character.

TICKETS on boxol.it
Stalls (Parterre): € 35,00
Gallery: € 30,00
Upper circle (numbered seats): € 25,00
Upper circle (non-numbered seats): € 15,00

antigone-venturielloAntigone

by Sofocle

Ancient Theatre, Sunday 12 August @ 9.30pm

 

Antigone is a tragedy by Sophocles written in or before 441 BC. The play expands on the Theban legend that predated it and picks up where Aeschylus’ Seven Against Thebes ends.

Adaptation and direction by Massimo Venturiello
with: Giulia Sanna, Ludovica Bove, Stefano De Santis, Francesco Patané, Carla Cassola, Andrea Monno, Franco Silvestri, Andrea Colangelo, Angelo Tanzi, Giuseppe Spezia
Scenes: Alessandro Chiti
Costumes: Helga Williams
Musics: Germano Mazzocchetti

TICKETS on boxol.it
Stalls (Parterre): € 20,00
Gallery (central): € 20,00
Upper circle (numbered seats): € –
Upper circle (non-numbered seats): € –

.

SYNOPSIS

Prior to the beginning of the play, brothers Eteocles and Polyneices, leading opposite sides in Thebes’ civil war, died fighting each other for the throne. Creon, the new ruler of Thebes, brother of the former Queen Jocasta, has decided that Eteocles will be honored and Polyneices will be in public shame. The rebel brother’s body will not be sanctified by holy rites and will lie unburied on the battlefield, prey for carrion animals like worms and vultures, the harshest punishment at the time. Antigone and Ismene are the sisters of the dead Polyneices and Eteocles. In the opening of the play, Antigone brings Ismene outside the palace gates late at night for a secret meeting: Antigone wants to bury Polyneices’ body, in defiance of Creon’s edict. Ismene refuses to help her, not believing that it will actually be possible to bury their brother, who is under guard, but she is unable to stop Antigone from going to bury her brother herself.

Antigone’s family tree Creon enters, along with the Chorus of Theban Elders. He seeks their support in the days to come and in particular, wants them to back his edict regarding the disposal of Polyneices’ body. The Leader of the Chorus pledges his support out of deference to Creon. A Sentry enters, fearfully reporting that the body has been given funeral rites and a symbolic burial with a thin covering of earth, though no one saw who had actually committed the crime. Creon, furious, orders the Sentry to find the culprit or face death himself. The Sentry leaves, and the Chorus sings about honouring the gods, but after a short absence, he returns, bringing Antigone with him. The Sentry explains that the watchmen uncovered Polyneices’ body and then caught Antigone as she did the funeral rituals. Creon questions her after sending the Sentry away, and she does not deny what she has done. She argues unflinchingly with Creon about the immorality of the edict and the morality of her actions. Creon becomes furious, and, thinking Ismene must have known of Antigone’s plan, seeing her upset, summons the girl. Ismene tries to confess falsely to the crime, wishing to die alongside her sister, but Antigone will not have it. Creon orders that the two women be temporarily imprisoned.

Haemon, Creon’s son, enters to pledge allegiance to his father, even though he is engaged to Antigone. He initially seems willing to forsake Antigone, but when Haemon gently tries to persuade his father to spare Antigone, claiming that ‘under cover of darkness the city mourns for the girl’, the discussion deteriorates, and the two men are soon bitterly insulting each other. When Creon threatens to execute Antigone in front of his son, Haemon leaves, vowing never to see Creon again.

Creon decides to spare Ismene and to bury Antigone alive in a cave. By not killing her directly, he hopes to pay the minimal respects to the gods. She is brought out of the house, and this time, she is sorrowful instead of defiant. She expresses her regrets at not having married and dying for following the laws of the gods. She is taken away to her living tomb, with the Leader of the Chorus expressing great sorrow for what is going to happen to her.

Tiresias, the blind prophet, enters. Tiresias warns Creon that Polyneices should now be urgently buried because the gods are displeased, refusing to accept any sacrifices or prayers from Thebes. Creon accuses Tiresias of being corrupt. Tiresias responds that because of Creon’s mistakes, he will lose “a son of [his] own loins”[2] for the crimes of leaving Polyneices unburied and putting Antigone into the earth (he does not say that Antigone should not be condemned to death, only that it is improper to keep a living body underneath the earth). All of Greece will despise Creon, and the sacrificial offerings of Thebes will not be accepted by the gods. The Leader of the Chorus, terrified, asks Creon to take Tiresias’ advice to free Antigone and bury Polyneices. Creon assents, leaving with a retinue of men. The Chorus delivers a choral ode to the god Dionysus (god of wine and of the theater; this part is the offering to their patron god). A Messenger enters to tell the Leader of the Chorus that Antigone has killed herself. Eurydice, Creon’s wife and Haemon’s mother, enters and asks the Messenger to tell her everything. The Messenger reports that Creon saw to the burial of Polyneices. When Creon arrived at Antigone’s cave, he found Haemon lamenting over Antigone, who had hanged herself. After unsuccessfully attempting to stab Creon, Haemon stabbed himself. Having listened to the Messenger’s account, Eurydice disappears into the palace.

Creon enters, carrying Haemon’s body. He understands that his own actions have caused these events and blames himself. A Second Messenger arrives to tell Creon and the Chorus that Eurydice has killed herself. With her last breath, she cursed her husband. Creon blames himself for everything that has happened, and, a broken man, he asks his servants to help him inside. The order he valued so much has been protected, and he is still the king, but he has acted against the gods and lost his children and his wife as a result. After Creon condemns himself, the Leader of the Chorus closes by saying that although the gods punish the proud, punishment brings wisdom.

bbcradio 2 copyBrian Wilson

Pet Sounds: The Final Performances

Ancient Theatre, Saturday August 11th @ 9.30pm

The co-founder of the American group The Beach Boys comes again on stage to celebrate the 52th anniversary of their most famous album: Pet sounds

Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. After signing with Capitol Records in 1962, Wilson wrote or co-wrote more than two dozen Top 40 hits for the group. In addition to his lifelong struggles with mental illness, Wilson is known for his unorthodox approaches to pop composition and mastery of recording techniques, and he is widely acknowledged as one of the most innovative and significant songwriters of the late 20th century.

His honors include being inducted into the 1988 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and winning Grammy Awards for Brian Wilson Presents Smile (2004) and The Smile Sessions (2011). In lists published by Rolling Stone, Wilson ranked 52 for the “100 Greatest Singers of All Time” in 2008 and 12 for the 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time in 2015. In 2012, music publication NME ranked Wilson number 8 in its “50 Greatest Producers Ever” list.

The Beach Boys were formed by Brian, his brothers Carl and Dennis, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine.

TICKETS  on ticketone.it and boxol.it
Stalls (Parterre): € 86,25
Gallery: € 74,75
Upper circle (numbered seats): € 63,25
Upper circle (non-numbered seats): € 51,75

VIP UPGRADE (to add to the ticket price) on ticketone.it
– Greatest Hits Live VIP Meet & Greet Package UPGRADE € 299,00
includes:  Early Entry – Early entry to the merch shopping – Exclusive Soundcheck Experience – Meet & Greet Brian Wilson, Al Jardine and Blondie Chaplin – A photo of you and Brian Wilson, Al Jardine e Blondie Chaplin – A signed copy of the book “I Am Brian Wilson: A Memoir” – Commemoratove VIP Pass

– Greatest Hits Live VIP Soundcheck Package UPGRADE € 100,00
includes: Early Entry – Early entry to the merch shopping – Exclusive Soundcheck Experience – Tour Poster of Brian Wilson (not signed) – Brain Wilson Soundcheck Commemorative Laminato

>> VIP upgrades are personal and non-transferable. You need to bring with you an identity card/passport and ticket receipt.
More info:  Warner Music Artist Services vipinfouk@wmgcustomerservice.com.

 

www.brianwilson.com

 

Where to stay

Hotel Villa Carlotta Hotel Villa Ducale Hotel Villa Schuler Hotel La Pensione Svizzera

recommended by Taormina.it

 

licinio 2

Paint exhibition “Mediterranea, fifty years in art”

by Licinio Fazio

Palazzo Duchi di Santo Stefano, from August 4th to September 3rd 2018

Free entrance

 

Licino Fazio celebrates his firts fifty years of career with this exhibion in the heart of Taormina which displays thirty works.

More info: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100010983018869

lucia-garsiaTaormina

Lucia Garsia & Sicilian Jazz Orchestra

Tribute to Whitney Houston

Ancient Theatre, Thursday 9th August 2018 @ 9.30pm

 

From “All at once” to “Greatest love of all”, from “Saving all my love for you” to “I will always Love You”, Lucia Garsia sings Whitney Houston and her tribute to Love.
On the stage with the singer the Sicilian Jazz Orchestra directed by Domenico Riina

More info: thebrassgroup.it – mob. 00 39 331 2212796

TICKETS on boxol.it and ticketone.it
Stalls (Parterre): € 37,00 – under 25: € 31,50
Gallery: € 27,00 – under 25: € 23,50
Upper circle (numbered seats): € 21,50 -under 25: € 19,50