I don’t think so! Maybe today it is still difficult to trust in something that is yet unknown… particularly in countries like Italy, in which less than 50% of the population is online. So, as Latin proverb says, “beati monoculi in terra caecorum”!! (Lucky are the one eyed in a world that is blind).
Joining innovation with tradition is a brave action… but you have to face some risks if you want to be successful! In Italy, two festivals that have done this with great results are: Rossini Opera Festival (http://www.rossinioperafestival.it) and Ravenna Festival (http://www.ravennafestival.org)
Rossini Opera Festival is a culture adventure, started 25 years ago, that rediscovers Rossini’s story and his music. During this period the whole catalogue of Rossini’s works have re-emerged and have been performed, and only a very few titles still await revival. Maintaining compositor’s message and adapting it to audience evolution is its philosophy. The Fondazione Rossini’s collaboration is, as a matter of fact, a guarantee of authentic compositions, and make the festival a product of quality. During the festival they organized an Accademia Rossiniana, which is dedicated to the problem of interpretation of Rossini’s work and it is open to play writers and theatre critics.
In 2004 the festival won the “Abbiati award”, which is an important recognition for classical music; in 2003 it won the “Opera award” for the best play of the year.
Last year 70% of the audience came from abroad, that is the highest number in the festival’s history. All works were broadcasted on Rai Radio Trade, live in following countries Belgium, Greece, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Sweden, Switzerland; and after the event on EuroRadio that broadcasts in Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, France, Germany, Lithuania, Norway, Holland. The international press that talked about the event were: Sunday Times, Financial Times, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Die Welt, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, El Mundo, El Pais, ABC, De Standaard, Le Soir, Die Presse.
Ravenna Festival is the youngest of all the major European music festivals. It is a multidisciplinary event and operates with original productions including opera, pop concerts, dance, jazz, ethnic music, drama, experimental film, conventions and exhibitions. Not just the theatres, but also the splendid Byzantine basilicas, cloisters, piazzas and industrial archaeologies provide the settings which attribute a particular charm to the event, creating that added value which is the result of the magical combination of art and music. On 14th July 1997, Ravenna Festival opened a new chapter in its story, tracing the first of its “Roads of Friendship”, crossing the Adriatic Sea to Sarajevo, the so dreadfully war-damaged town in Bosnia. This project professes the pride and deep sense of human dignity of the people, whose only desire was to leave behind the horror and ferocity of a fratricidal war to regain, through music, their lost serenity. Since then, more bridges have been built, other routes lain: Beirut (1998), Jerusalem (1999), Moscow (2000), Yerevan and Istanbul (2001), New York (2002), Cairo (2003), Damascus (2004).
The conclusion is: we have to speculate to accumulate !
Serena Abbondanza
