Edoardo Bonatti
12 aprile 2018
The best opera orchestra in the world is the Teatro alla Scala one, according to the jury of the International Opera Awards. The winners of the 2018 awards, likened to the Oscars of opera for the prestige they carry, were announced on 9 April in a ceremony held at the London Coliseum.
For the second time since their inception in 2013 the jury, composed by critics and administrators, assigned the Best Opera Orchestra to the Italian temple of opera. The Teatro alla Scala thus joins New York Metropolitan Orchestra, the previous recipient. The Italian orchestra bested the Bayerisches Staatsorchester, the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, the Deutsche Oper, the Lyric Opera of Chicago and Perm’s MusicAeterna. Both Superintendent and Artistic Director Alexander Pereira, which accepted the prize on the stage, and Orchestra Director Riccardo Chailly expressed satisfaction. Chailly underlined how the prize acknowledged “the originality of the sound, its “Italian” style”, improved by many years of both lyrical and symphonic activity.
Another award for Italy was the one obtained by Parma’s Festival Verdi, thus underlining the artistic vocation of the city, which, last February, was chosen as the Italian capital of the culture for 2020. The rejuvenated festival beat the nominations for Best Festival of other prestigious events such as Bayreuth, Glyndebourne, Opera Forward, Opera Philadelphia e Santa Fe Opera. Parma’s Teatro Regio also obtained a nomination for Best New Production with the Stiffelio, directed by Graham Vick. The city’s mayor, Federico Pizzarotti, stressed how this success was born out the international vocation of the festival given by his administration.
Italy’s opera is one of the great treasures of the country, a tradition stretching back hundreds of years but always looking towards the future to ensure its legacy will never be lost. InvestorVisa.it is proud to offer to foreign patrons an opportunity to donate to the renovation of Livorno’ theatre, the birthplace of Pietro Mascagni. Patrons will be able to request a visa for Italy thanks to the new government program launched back in December.
Sources: Corriere della Sera and La Repubblica
