Renzo Arbore e L’Orchestra Italiana

Taormina Greek Theatre

August 17, 9.30pm

 

Renzo Arbore (born 1937) is an Italian TV host, showman, singer, musician, film actor and film director.

An apt amateur clarinet player, in 1991 Arbore founded the Orchestra Italiana, a group of 15 artists with the aim to popularize Neapolitan music worldwide. The orchestra has toured in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. He was also director of the Umbria Jazz festival.

Recently, he received the 2010 America Award from the Italy-USA Foundation.

 

Tickets on boxol.it and ticketone.it

Stalls (Parterre): € 80,50
Gallery: € 69,00
Upper circle (numbered seats): € 46,00
Upper circle (non-numbered seats): € 29,00

 

 

Italian Opera in Taormina

“San Giorgio” Cine Theatre , Via Don Bosco (behind the church of San Giuseppe, in IX aprile square)

At 9.15pm

 

An extraordinary journey with the most famous arias and duet from “Italian Operas”. You will hear music from great Italian operas interpreted by professional singers who have performed in the most important Italian and international theatres, performed with piano accompaniment.
The evening will be held in the Cine Teatro “San Giorgio” with an extraordinary panorama view of Taormina.

Program arias from:
W. A. Mozart Arias from The Marriage of Figaro
Giuseppe Verdi Arias from La Traviata
Gaetano Donizetti Arias from Elisir D’Amor
Gioacchino Rossini Arias from Il barbiere di Siviglia
Giacomo Puccini Arias from Madame Butterfly and La Boheme

DATES: August 17-19-23-25-26-30-31 September 1-3-5-8-11-13-14-17-19-24-26-28-29
Tickets : € 20,00 (under 25 € 15,00)
Box office from 7.00pm on concert dates OR online at classictic.com
Info and booking: 0039 340 64 26 230 (mobile)

Lola Astanova

Taormina Greek Theatre

August 16th 2013, 9.30pm Some absolutely love her. Others criticize nearly everything she does. But one thing is certain: Lola Astanova is a phenomenon. A virtuoso often described as “firebrand” and nicknamed “the million-dollar pianist”, Lola is hardly your stereotypical classical musician. Add to that her interest in fashion, film and pop (yes, pop!) music, and it becomes obvious that no one traditional definition is sufficient and accurate enough to describe this unique artist.
(source: lolaastanova.com)

Lola Astanova will play Ouverture to Candide and Symphonyc dances west side story by Leonard Bernstein, Alborada del Graciosa by Maurice Ravel  and Rapsodia in Blu by George Gershwin.

Tickets on boxol.it and ticketone.it
Ticket Office in Taormina: +39 0942.628730
Stalls (Parterre) and Gallery: € 22,00
Upper circle (non-numbered seats): € 14,00

 

 

 

Pagliacci

An opera by Ruggero Leoncavallo

Greek Theatre, 9.00 pm
This is the tale of a clown whose heart is breaking but must go on playing out his comic part, concealing his grand passions under the mask of the clown.
Main actors: Piero Giuliacci, Rachele Stanisci and Giovanni Di Mare
Direction: Enrico Castiglione
Costumes: Sonia Cammarata
Chorus: Coro Lirico Siciliano directed by Francesco Costa
Orchestra: Euro Mediterranean Orchestra direcred by Luiz Fernando Malheiro

A dance performace – Pasion flamenca by José Porcel – will accompany the opera.

 

PRICES FROM TODAY TO MARCH 10th
Stalls (Parterre): € 75,00
Gallery: € 50,50
Upper circle (numbered seats): € 39,00
Upper circle (non-numbered seats): € 22,00

PRICES FROM MARCH 10th TO APRIL 30th
Stalls (Parterre): € 85,00
Gallery: € 57,00
Upper circle (numbered seats): € 44,00
Upper circle (non-numbered seats): € 27,50

PRICES FROM MAY 1st TO JUNE 30th
Stalls (Parterre): € 95,00
Gallery: € 63,00
Upper circle (numbered seats): € 49,00
Upper circle (non-numbered seats): € 33,00

PRICES FROM JULY 1st TO EVENT –
Stalls (Parterre): € 105,00
Gallery: € 70,00
Upper circle (numbered seats): € 54,00
Upper circle (non-numbered seats): € 38,00
Tickets on boxol.it for August 10 and August 14 and on ctbox.it
Ticket Office in Taormina: +39 0942.628730

Leoncavallo’s skill was to clothe these devices in music that was touching, immediately accessible and
attractive, tuneful without being tawdry. He was an accomplished librettist and by adhering to the Aristotelian unities of time and space, his scenario is at once credible and swift-moving. His characterization may not run very deep, but it is convincing enough to make us believe that these are real people.
© 1998 Alan Blyth – www.chandos.co.uk

Synopsis
The action takes place in a Calabrian village on the eve of the Feast of the Assumption. The opera opens with a prologue when Tonio steps in front of the curtain and addresses the audience, reminding them that the actors are real people and that the story should not be dismissed as fiction.

Act I
The villagers are celebrating the Feast of the Assumption, and when they see that the players have arrived in the village rush to greet them. Canio, the leader of the troupe, comes forward and tells the assembled villagers that the performance will take place that evening.
Tonio tries to help Canio’s wife, Nedda, out of the cart she has been riding in, but Canio pushes him out of the way and boxes his ears.
A few of the villagers comment that maybe Tonio and Nedda should not be left alone together. Canio is angry and says that while in a play such a thing may be classed as comedy, in real life the outcome would be very different. When he has calmed down he and Beppe go into the village, and the villagers go to vespers.
Left alone, Nedda becomes worried about Canio’s outburst, but she soon relaxes in the vening sunshine. Tonio appears and after she has finished her song he approaches her and declares his love. But Nedda laughs at him, and he gets more and more angry. She is eventually forced to protect herself by striking him in the face with a whip. He leaves, but swears revenge.
Just after he has gone, Nedda’s lover, Silvio, appears. He urges her to run away with him after that night’s performance. At first she does not agree, but when Silvio questions her love she relents. Tonio overhears part of their conversation and he goes to fetch Canio, who arrives just in time to hear her calling out to Silvio who has disappeared over the wall. Nedda refuses to tell Canio her lover’s name. Canio, racked with jealousy, dresses for his part in the comedy. He is sure that her lover will be at the play that evening.

Act II
The audience (including Silvio) is assembled and Nedda collects their money. The play begins.
Columbina (Nedda) is waiting for her lover Harlequin (Beppe), as her husband Pagliaccio (Canio) has gone away for the night. Outside Harlequin serenades her. Taddeo (Tonio) enters and declares his secret love for her, but she scorns him and he leaves when Harlequin enters.
Harlequin and Columbina sit down to eat and but Pagliaccio returns unexpectedly and Harlequin escapes through the window. Her farewell words to Harlequin remind Canio of Nedda’s farewell to her secret lover earlier that evening. Canio finds it hard to keep in character and demands of Columbina/Nedda her lover’s name. Nedda desperately tries to keep in character, but Canio becomes more and more angry. The spectators become nervous, and Nedda tries to escape. But Canio manages to grab her and he stabs her. Silvio rushes to try to save her, but he too is stabbed. As Canio stands shocked, he announces to the audience that the play is over.

 www.chandos.co.uk

 

 

 

Carmina Burana with Cavalleria Rusticana (Rustic Chivalry)

Taormina Greek Theatre, 9.30pm

Cavalleria rusticana is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni (1863-1945) to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from a play written by Giovanni Verga based on his short story.
It is the first and best known Mascagni’s works. Its success has been phenomenal from its first performance in the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on May 17, 1890 until the present day. At the time of Mascagni’s death in 1945, the opera had been performed more than 14,000 times in Italy alone.

“The Teatro Illustrato invites young Italian musicians to participate in a new competition for a one-act opera.” In 1888, the publisher Sonzogno launched its second competition for young Italian composers. The winner was Pietro Mascagni with Cavalleria rusticana, and so it was that this story of an honour killing in a Sicilian village in the late nineteenth century, from a short story of the same name by Verga, entered the operatic canon.
Owing to the intense dramatic power of the score and libretto, the opera quickly became recognised as a manifesto of Italian verism.
(Source: www.symphonyspace.org)

Santuzza. Daniela Dessì,
Turiddu: Fabio Armiliato
Lola: Giuseppina Piunti
Mama Lucia: Maria José Trullu

Stage Director & Set Designer: Enrico Castiglione

PRICES FROM TODAY TO MARCH 10th
Stalls (Parterre): € 75,00
Gallery: € 50,50
Upper circle (numbered seats): € 39,00
Upper circle (non-numbered seats): € 22,00

PRICES FROM MARCH 10th TO APRIL 30th
Stalls (Parterre): € 85,00
Gallery: € 57,00
Upper circle (numbered seats): € 44,00
Upper circle (non-numbered seats): € 27,50

PRICES FROM MAY 1st TO JUNE 30th
Stalls (Parterre): € 95,00
Gallery: € 63,00
Upper circle (numbered seats): € 49,00
Upper circle (non-numbered seats): € 33,00

PRICES FROM JULY 1st TO EVENT
Stalls (Parterre): € 105,00
Gallery: € 70,00
Upper circle (numbered seats): € 54,00
Upper circle (non-numbered seats): € 38,00
Tickets on boxol.it for August 8 and August 12 and on ctbox.it
Ticket Office in Taormina: +39 0942.628730

 


SYNOPSIS

A Sicilian village, c. 1890. Early on Easter morning, Turiddu sings about his former beloved, Lola, now the wife of a wine carter, Alfio. As the town stirs, Santuzza, Turiddu’s neglected sweetheart, comes looking for the handsome youth at the tavern of his mother, Lucia. The girl reveals she has been excommunicated, but before she can explain why, Alfio comes by with friends, boasting about his pretty young wife. A religious procession fills the square and enters the church for mass, leaving Santuzza to tell Mamma Lucia that Turiddu has taken up with Lola again. When the old woman has gone to mass, Santuzza confronts Turiddu with his betrayal. Lola passes by, and Turiddu follows her into church. Santuzza hurls a curse after him, then, consumed by jealousy, tells Alfio of Lola’s infidelity. Santuzza immediately feels remorse, but the damage is done.

When the mass ends, Turiddu and the villagers drink wine, after which Alfio insults Turiddu, who accepts a challenge to duel with knives in a nearby orchard. He begs his mother to take care of Santuzza if he does not return. As Mamma Lucia and Santuzza wait anxiously, shouts rise in the distance. A woman stumbles in crying Turiddu has been killed.
(Source: www.metoperafamily.org)


 

Taormina Jazz Festival

Taormina Public Gardens

August 2 – 6 2013, 9.30pm – Free entrance

Now in its fourth edition, the Sicilian Jazz Event returns to Taormina from August 2nd to 6th, 2013. The Taormina Jazz Festival, which enjoys the art direction by Toti Cannistraro, aims to promote jazz as an art form, celebrating the rich variety of traditional standards and innovations of its more experimental expressions.
Taormina The Jazz Festival is to be held at the picturesque scenery of the Public Gardens in Taormina, and is an initiative supported by private individuals who want to offer quality music to the town of Taormina, to its audience and to the many tourists, with no entry fee.
During the concerts, Cottanera winemaker will offer tastes of their wines produced in the Etna area. Milan-based bookstore Birdland will set up booths with Jazz books, CDs and DVDs.

PROGRAM

August 2Seamus Blake Quartet Feat. David Kikoski
Seamus Blake – Sax, David Kikoski – Piano, Matt Clohesy – Bass, Ari Hoenig – Drums

August 3Bill Carrothers Trio
Bill Carrothers – Piano, Drew Gress – Bass, Bill Stewart – Drums

August 4Mario Raja Big Bang 25°
Mario Raja – Tenor Sax and arrangement, Alice Ricciardi – Voice, Claudio Corvini – Trumpet, Francesco Lento – Trumpet, Roberto Schiano – Trombone, Carlo Conti – Baritone Sax , Daniele Tittarelli – Alto Sax, Enrico Bracco – Guitar, Pietro Lussu – Piano, Luca Fattorini – Bass, Armando Sciommeri – Drums

August 6Enrico Rava “Sicilia Project”
Enrico Rava – Trumpet, Giuseppe Asero – Alto Sax, Dino Rubino – Piano, Nello Toscano – Contrabbass, Mimmo Cafiero – Drums

More info on www.taorminajazzfestival.it

 

Isolabella, tesori in fondo al mare – Isolabella, underwater treasures

Villa Bosurgi on Isolabella islet, August 1st – September 30th 2013

from 9.00am to 6.30pm. Closed on Monday

The little island of Isolabella is situated within the bay of the same name and is joined to the mainland by a short isthmus, submerged or above sea-level depending on the ride. It represents, without doubt, one of the most suggestive and renowned historical landscape of the Mediterranean. On the islet there is and old villa called Villa Bosurgi, which is articulated in a series of pavilions camouflaged to merge wit the rocks of the landscape. Today the island is a Nature Reserve and the villa hosts a Museum with nature finds and photos of the shallow waters washing the islet.

From August 1st through all September 2013 the museum will host a special Archaeological collection whose masterpiece is an old sword with a bronze sheath found in the Bay in 1991.

More info
Parco Archeologico Naxos
urp.parco.archeo.naxos@regione.sicilia.it
Tel. +39 0942 51001 – Fax +39 0942571813

             

 

 

Patti Smith in concert

Greek Theatre, 9.30pm

Stalls (Parterre): € 65,00
Gallery – central: €  65,00
Gallery – lateral: € 55,00
Upper circle (numbered seats): € 46,00
Upper circle (non-numbered seats): € 35,00
Tickets on boxol.it ctbox.it and ticketone.it
Ticket Office in Taormina: +39 0942.628730

 
 

 

 

Baustelle
Ghost Tour 2013

Taormina Greek Theatre

July 30th 2013, 9,30

Baustelle is an indie rock band from Siena, Italy. Formed in the mid-’90s in the Tuscan town of Montepulciano, Italy, Baustelle (a German word that means “construction site” – or “building site” in English) raised attention with their third album: La Malavita (2005) .
Mixing the romantic sounds of British artists like the Smiths and Depeche Mode, with Italian composers like Ennio Morricone and Angelo Badalamenti and American acts like Television and Scott Walker, as well as with modern sounds of electronica and indie rock, the record gained immediate attention in the group’s home country, resulting in an extensive nationwide tour. In 2010 the band release I Mistici dell’Occidente and in 2013 Fantasma.
On stage a simple scenography: microphone and stool for Francesco Bianconi (leader, vocals, guitar and synths), amplifier and pedal for Claudio Brasini (guitar),  and the the baby grand piano for Rachel Bastreghi (vocals and keys).

Organized in collaboration with Catania Jazz.

Tickets on boxol.it
Stalls (Parterre) and Gallery: € 27,50
Upper circle (non-numbered seats): € 22,00

Cesare Cremonini

Taormina Greek TheatreJuly 29 2013, 9.30pm

A special evening, an unicum by Cesare Cremonini who, at the end of his Tour, will perform, for the first time, without his band: it will be just he and his piano. Only in Taormina, in the magnificent set of the Greek Theatre.

Cremonini: << Piano e voce. Io e voi. Sarà un concerto unico in cui potremo vivere 16 anni di canzoni e musica senza filtri. Guardandoci negli occhi. Perchè è vero che le canzoni si scrivono ad occhi chiusi, ma al Teatro antico vanno tenuti bene aperti e sarà magico circondarsi dall’atmosfera di un posto unico al mondo. >>

Tickets on boxol.it and ticketone.it
Ticket Office in Taormina: +39 0942.628730

Stalls (Parterre): € 52,00
Gallery: € 46,00
Upper circle (numbered seats): € 38,00
Upper circle (non-numbered seats): € 30,00