Macerata Opera
Encyclopedia
The Macerata Opera is the name given to the coordinating bodies of the provincial and local government in Macerata
, the provincial capital of the Marche
region of Italy, which puts on performances of three or four operas each July and August under the name Sferisterio Opera Festival. From 1992 the Opera Association was founded by the municipality and the Province Association of Macerata to oversee the operations of the Festival. In addition to the main summer activities, the Association organizes many other musical events, ranging from the New Music Festival to the performances of baroque music in a number of historical sites and buildings. The Association also organizes international conferences.
While the Macerata Opera has organized the Sferisterio Opera Festival as a summer opera festival, it actually began in 1921 with a performance of Verdi
's Aida
in the 3,000 seat (plus 6,000 standing places) Arena Sferisterio
, a huge neoclassical
arena
erected in the 1820s as a stadium
for a form of handball
called pallone al bracciale, a sort of game with ball and bangle. After a disastrous second year due to the performance of La Gioconda
being rained out, (and except for a popular concert by Beniamino Gigli
in 1929), the Festival did not begin again until 1967. The present layout of the arena allows for the seating of 3,500 to 4,500 people depending upon the specific sets.
By the late 1960s, the Festival was re-established, presenting mainly popular 19th and early 20th Century Italian opera, most of which were Macerata premieres. Within ten years, the repertory was gradually broadened to include more modern and foreign works but, for financial reasons, the emphasis was on the bigger crowd-pleasers with as many big name international opera singers as possible. In addition, many Regietheater-style productions were to be found such as film director Ken Russell
's Madama Butterfly
set in a brothel and a Franco Zeffirelli
Carmen
set in a motor cycle gang populated New York city.
With the decline in international singer participation as the 1990s progressed, the last decade has seen a return to popular Italian operas given spectacular productions.
From 2003 to 2005, the soprano
Katia Ricciarelli
was Artistic Director. But 2006 saw changes at the Sferisterio with the artistic direction being taken over by Pier Luigi Pizzi and a summer festival concept created. A common theme evolved in the selection of operas to be performed and, at the same time, the reconstruction of the stage was undertaken. The 2006 season acknowledged the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth, with a production of The Magic Flute. Performances were moved to 9pm to take to allow the audience to enjoy the sunset. Seminars, discussions, and readings of literary works were added.
Macerata
Macerata is a city and comune in central Italy, the capital of the province of Macerata in the Marche region.The historical city center is located on a hill between the Chienti and Potenza rivers. It consisted of the Picenes city named Ricina, then, after the romanization, Recina and Helvia Recina...
, the provincial capital of the Marche
Marche
The population density in the region is below the national average. In 2008, it was 161.5 inhabitants per km2, compared to the national figure of 198.8. It is highest in the province of Ancona , and lowest in the province of Macerata...
region of Italy, which puts on performances of three or four operas each July and August under the name Sferisterio Opera Festival. From 1992 the Opera Association was founded by the municipality and the Province Association of Macerata to oversee the operations of the Festival. In addition to the main summer activities, the Association organizes many other musical events, ranging from the New Music Festival to the performances of baroque music in a number of historical sites and buildings. The Association also organizes international conferences.
While the Macerata Opera has organized the Sferisterio Opera Festival as a summer opera festival, it actually began in 1921 with a performance of Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
's Aida
Aida
Aida sometimes spelled Aïda, is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette...
in the 3,000 seat (plus 6,000 standing places) Arena Sferisterio
Sferisterio
The Sferisterio is a kind of an open-air stadium or sphaeristerium in Macerata, Italy.-History:An ancient Italian national sport or pallone col bracciale was the most popular sport in Italy during almost 5 centuries. This game dated back to the 15th century...
, a huge neoclassical
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...
arena
Arena
An arena is an enclosed area, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theater, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators. The key feature of an arena is that the event space is the...
erected in the 1820s as a stadium
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
for a form of handball
Team handball
Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team...
called pallone al bracciale, a sort of game with ball and bangle. After a disastrous second year due to the performance of La Gioconda
La Gioconda (opera)
La Gioconda is an opera in four acts by Amilcare Ponchielli set to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Angelo, tyran de Padoue, a play in prose by Victor Hugo, dating from 1835...
being rained out, (and except for a popular concert by Beniamino Gigli
Beniamino Gigli
Beniamino Gigli was an Italian opera singer. The most famous tenor of his generation, he was renowned internationally for the great beauty of his voice and the soundness of his vocal technique. Music critics sometimes took him to task, however, for what was perceived to be the over-emotionalism...
in 1929), the Festival did not begin again until 1967. The present layout of the arena allows for the seating of 3,500 to 4,500 people depending upon the specific sets.
By the late 1960s, the Festival was re-established, presenting mainly popular 19th and early 20th Century Italian opera, most of which were Macerata premieres. Within ten years, the repertory was gradually broadened to include more modern and foreign works but, for financial reasons, the emphasis was on the bigger crowd-pleasers with as many big name international opera singers as possible. In addition, many Regietheater-style productions were to be found such as film director Ken Russell
Ken Russell
Henry Kenneth Alfred "Ken" Russell was an English film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. He attracted criticism as being obsessed with sexuality and the church...
's Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. Puccini based his opera in part on the short story "Madame Butterfly" by John Luther Long, which was dramatized by David Belasco...
set in a brothel and a Franco Zeffirelli
Franco Zeffirelli
Franco Zeffirelli KBE is an Italian director and producer of films and television. He is also a director and designer of operas and a former senator for the Italian center-right Forza Italia party....
Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
set in a motor cycle gang populated New York city.
With the decline in international singer participation as the 1990s progressed, the last decade has seen a return to popular Italian operas given spectacular productions.
From 2003 to 2005, the soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
Katia Ricciarelli
Katia Ricciarelli
-Biography:Born at Rovigo, Veneto, to a very poor family, she struggled during her younger years when she studied music.She studied at the Benedetto Marcello Conservatory in Venice, won several vocal competitions in 1968, and made her professional debut as Mimì in La bohème in Mantua in 1969,...
was Artistic Director. But 2006 saw changes at the Sferisterio with the artistic direction being taken over by Pier Luigi Pizzi and a summer festival concept created. A common theme evolved in the selection of operas to be performed and, at the same time, the reconstruction of the stage was undertaken. The 2006 season acknowledged the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth, with a production of The Magic Flute. Performances were moved to 9pm to take to allow the audience to enjoy the sunset. Seminars, discussions, and readings of literary works were added.