The Spoleto
Festival
The two arts
festivals say they are discussing at least one joint opera production for the
summer of 2009. Spoleto
Beyond that,
officials refused to offer more details.
This is the
beginning," said Nigel Redden, the general director of the American
festival in
Giorgio Ferrara,
the new director of the Italian festival, said of a
collaboration: "The desire is strong. Im convinced it should
be done." He said he foresaw collaboration on opera, theater works and a
joint orchestra, though he said high costs would make the orchestra a difficult
goal.
The rapprochement
was set in motion by the death last year of the composer Gian
Carlo Menotti, who, in 1958, founded the Italian festival in the
Umbrian hills 80 miles north of
But after the
1993 season Mr. Menotti cut ties with the American festival at a time when it
was having money problems and after years of tussling with local officials. The
"subtext," Mr. Redden said, was Mr. Menottis desire to impose
his son, Francis, adopted as an adult, as director of Spoleto
In 1997 Francis
Menotti took over as artistic director of the Italian festival, although his
fathers influence remained strong, and relations between the festivals
remained chilly. Last summer was the first edition since Gian Carlo
Menottis death and was subject to criticism, Mr. Redden said.
"Apparently it was quite unsuccessful," from both the point of view
of audiences and ticket sales, he said.
Meanwhile tension
had been growing between Francis Menotti and Italian officials in recent years.
In late November the culture minister, Francesco Rutelli,
effectively ousted Mr. Menotti and put the festival under the control of Mr.
Ferrara, a film and theater director. A ministry statement said the intention
was to restore the festivals "glorious past," noting that public
money had paid for the restoration of many spaces the festival used.
Mr. Redden blamed
the Menottis for the festivals 15-year
separation. "It was a one-way street," he said. "Now that
Francis has left, it just makes sense that we establish a partnership that is
different from one we had before."
The phone at a
number on the Spoleto festival Web site still controlled by Mr. Menotti was not
answered Wednesday. The site, www.spoletofestival.it, makes no mention of
the 2008 season and still contains details from last summer. The new
managements site is www.festivaldispoleto.it.
Mr. Redden said
he and Mr. Ferrara had begun discussing a collaboration
almost immediately after Mr. Ferraras appointment, and they visited each
other in their respective countries.
In the first sign
of collaboration Mr. Villaume will conduct "Padmbvatn," a rarely heard opera by Albert Roussel, to open the Italian festival this summer. Sanjay Leela Bhansali, a Bollywood
film director, will handle the staging.
Mr. Redden declined
to discuss the proposed operatic co-production for 2009. Alessio
Vlad, who is overseeing the music program at the
Italian festival, said Mr. Redden had suggested the obscure opera
"Louise" by the French composer Gustave Charpentier. That presented a problem, Mr. Ferrara said,
because he hopes to organize each festival around a country, and
The Italian
festival this year is exceptionally flush, having received $7 million from the
national government, out of a budget of $11 million. The rest comes from local
government and private sponsors. The total is about twice last years
budget, though it was unclear what the former management spent because it has
not provided an accounting, Mr. Ferrara said.
Mr. Ferrara put
together his program in a quick four months. The offerings reflect his
background in theater: there is a greater proportion of dramatic works compared
to instrumental music, dance and opera pieces, which he said was an effort to
correct a past imbalance.
The programs
include several French plays, a "Threepenny
Opera" directed by Robert
Wilson, world music ensembles, a performance by the Orchestra of the
18th Century conducted by Frans Bruggen,
chamber music concerts dedicated to Messiaen and
Ravel, and an evening of male dance including Savion Glover
and others. The festival closes with a concert by the London
Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Daniel Harding.
No works by Gian
Carlo Menotti are on the schedule.