A tribute to Italian opera and, in particular, to Giacomo Puccini: a journey constructed, aria by aria, around the female and male voices that have characterized the theater for over a century. From Pinkerton's tormented longing in Madama Butterfly to the witty irony of Gianni Schicchi, from the lyrical verismo of Bohème and Tosca to the enigmatic Turandot, the program follows Puccini's gaze over thirty years of music and stage. The proposal is enriched by the famous 'La Vergine degli angeli', taken from La forza del destino by Giuseppe Verdi, and the duet from L’amico Fritz, a delicate opera with pastoral atmospheres by Pietro Mascagni, a contemporary composer complementing the Puccinian universe.
The protagonists are three musicians with solid theatrical and chamber music experience:
- Anna Viola, a Friulian soprano with a flexible and brilliant voice, interprets roles ranging from Violetta to Lucia, from the Queen of the Night to Musetta.
- Alessandro Cortello, an eclectic tenor, applauded both on stage and in the lieder repertoire, a guest of Rai productions and European concert halls.
- Federico Lovato, a pianist appreciated in international festivals and partner to soloists and orchestras, here in the role of “chamber orchestra” at the service of a purely Puccinian palette.
One hour of miniature theater: incandescent passions, nocturnal melancholy, light irony. Without scenes or costumes – just voice, word, and piano – the essence of opera comes alive in its most direct and, perhaps, most intense form.
Program
- G. VERDI The force of destiny: The virgin of the angels,
Aria of Leonora
G. PUCCINI Salve Regina
Madama Butterfy: Farewell flowery asylum,
Aria of Pinkerton
Gianni Schicchi: O my dear daddy,
Aria of Lauretta
Tosca: And the stars shone, Aria of Cavaradossi
Bohème: When I go, Aria of Musetta - P. MASCAGNI Friend Fritz: Good day Suzel, Duet Fritz, Suzel
- G. PUCCINI Turandot: No one sleeps, aria of Calaf
You who are surrounded by ice, aria of Liù
Bohéme: What a cold little hand, Aria of Rodolfo
Yes, they call me Mimì, Aria of Mimì
O sweet maiden, Duet Rodolfo, Mimì
Anna Viola, soprano
Alessandro Cortello, tenor
Federico Lovato, piano
The Friulian soprano, Anna Viola approached the world of music at a very young age, dedicating herself to piano studies. Graduated in Organ and Organ Composition from the “J. Tomadini” Conservatory in Udine under the guidance of Maestro Lino Falilone, she also graduated with top marks and honors in European Studies at the University of the same city. She began studying lyrical singing under the guidance of soprano Cecilia Fusco and continued her training and repertoire study with Maestro Stefano Gibellato. Winner of the Second Prize at the International Competition "Giovan Battista Velluti", chaired by the famous tenor Luis Alva, she has an intense concert activity and collaborates with various soloists and chamber and orchestral formations. She has performed in prestigious concert halls and in significant national and international contexts, including the Ridotto of the Verdi Theater in Trieste, the Mahler Hall in Dobbiaco, the Piccola Fenice in Trieste, the Madrassi Hall in Udine, the Bobbio Theater in Trieste, the Verdi Theater in Pordenone, the Basilica dei Frari in Venice, etc., in concerts of operatic repertoire, sacred music (she was the solo soprano in the Te Deum by Zoltan Kodaly, in the Mess in G by Franz Schubert, in the Requiem by Mozart, in the Symphony No. 9 by Ludwig van Beethoven, etc.) and chamber music. In 2004, she debuted as Violetta in La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi, in several performances in the regional circuit of Friuli Venezia Giulia. Since then, she has been the protagonist of many opera productions. Among the main roles in her repertoire are Lucia (Lucia di Lammermoor, Donizetti), the Queen of the Night and Pamina (The Magic Flute, Mozart), Clorinda (Cinderella, Rossini), Adina (The Elixir of Love, Donizetti), Elvira (The Italian Girl in Algiers, Rossini), Donna Anna (Don Giovanni, Mozart), Musetta (La Bohème, Puccini), Lisa (The Sleepwalker, Bellini), Rosina (The Barber of Seville, Rossini), Lucieta (The Campiello, Wolf Ferrari), Love (Orfeo and Euridice, Gluck), Gilda (Rigoletto, Verdi). In 2001, she played the leading role in the contemporary chamber opera The Memory of Medea by Stefano Sacher. She has performed on stages of prestigious venues both in Italy and abroad, including the Malibran Theater in Venice, the Marrucino Theater in Chieti, the Massimo Theater in Palermo, the Olympic Theater in Vicenza, the Social Theater in Rovigo, Mainfranken Theater in Würzburg, La Fenice Theater in Venice, etc. For the latter, she interpreted Lisa in the new production of The Sleepwalker by Vincenzo Bellini. The premiere of this production was transmitted live by Sky Classica and edited on DVD by the Cmajor label. A versatile voice that ranges from opera to sacred and chamber music, alongside lyrical singing, she also interprets contemporary repertoire and great musicals. For the Silent Film Festival of Pordenone, she was one of the solo voices in the accompaniment of the screening of the Silent Film Nanook of the North, in the score written and conducted by Gabriel Thibaudeau, with the flute quartet of the Pordenone Chamber Orchestra. With Raffaele Prestinenzi, Alessandro
Cortello and Rudy Fantin on piano, she is the protagonist of the project Gershwin Brothers, dedicated to the music of George and Ira Gershwin. She is the star of numerous musical shows, including A Musical Night, All Things Disney and From Gershwin to Sinatra with the Ensemble of the Pordenone Chamber Orchestra, Musical Match, Hellfre, My Mystery is Closed in Me, The Women of Puccini, Life is Beautiful, Disney Emotions (and many others) with the G. Verdi Wind Orchestra of the city of Trieste, The Musical: killer or evolution of opera?! and Tribute to Morricone with the FVG Orchestra. In 2024, she was among the protagonists of the noir musical 1932. The 'real' story of the Vespa Man, written and directed by Raffaele Prestinenzi.
Alessandro Cortello was a student of Cecilia Fusco and Alfredo Mariotti and later studied with Claude Thiolas and Luciana D'Intino. He graduated in Singing from the “Tomadini” Conservatory in Udine, in Piano from the “Frescobaldi” Conservatory in Ferrara, and studied composition. He won the International Competition “Seghizzi” in Gorizia in 2005 for the title role in Jephte by Carissimi and in 2007 for the “Lieder” category in a duo with pianist A. Sica, with whom he also attended masterclasses with soprano C. Dubosc. A passionate interpreter of chamber vocal music, he has performed alongside pianists F. Lovato, A. Miodini, D.G. Leonardi and M. Bravin, with the Trio di Parma and the Trio Operacento, sometimes accompanied by the reciting voice of Quirino Principe. His repertoire includes compositions by Schubert, Schumann, Haydn, Beethoven, Brahms, Liszt, Wolf, Mahler, Strauss, Berg, Fauré, Ravel, Rachmaninov, Britten... He has played numerous leading roles in works by Rossini, Verdi, Puccini, and Offenbach. He participated in Rai productions of Rigoletto with P. Domingo, directed by Z. Mehta and directed by M. Bellocchio and of Cinderella directed by G. Gelmetti and directed by Carlo Verdone. He has sung the solo parts of the Te Deum by Charpentier, the Magnificat by Mendelssohn, the Missa in Tempore Belli by Haydn (conductor Antonio Ballista), the Mass in C by Beethoven (Trinity College, Cambridge), the Requiem by Mozart (Fenice Philharmonic Orchestra, conductor Enrico Bronzi), Liszt (Teatro Verdi di Trieste orchestras), Dvořak, Verdi, and the Petite Messe Solennelle by Rossini. He has performed throughout Italy and in Austria, Croatia, Greece, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Czech Republic, and Russia. He participated in the recording of the complete organ compositions of M.E. Bossi with Andrea Macinanti and of the album dedicated to Rossini by baritone Giorgio Caoduro.
Federico Lovato, graduated in piano in 1995 with the highest marks and honors under the guidance of his father Giorgio and E. Mabilia at the “B. Marcello” conservatory in Venice, later obtained concert diplomas at the “S. Cecilia” Academy in Portogruaro and the “Encounters with the Master” Academy in Imola under the guidance of P. Rattalino.
In 1997, he graduated in cello. Key to his artistic formation were also the encounters with B. Greenhouse, M. Flaksman, and the interpreters of the "Trio di Parma". He conducts intense concert activity: regularly invited to international festivals, he has collaborated with important musicians and, as a soloist, with renowned orchestras. With his brother Francesco (violin) and Guglielmo Pellarin (horn), he forms the Opter Ensemble with which he has performed in Europe, Asia, and South America.
He has recorded for Challenge Records, Audite! and Dynamic. His concerts have been broadcasted by RAI Radio3, RTV Slovenija, and the Croatian national radio. He is a teacher at the “J. Tomadini” conservatory in Udine and artistic director of the San Marco Musical Association in Pordenone.
Canal San Bovo, Parochial Church, at 8:30 p.m.
