Featured on Ed.06
SUMMER 2022

MaggioMusicArt: Opera and Florence meet in exclusive occasions

Destination Florence and Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino come together in the creation of themed itineraries coupled with opera in four exclusive cultural experiences

The project was formed to unite the beauty of the city with that of opera, with walking tours through the streets and museums providing fascinating backdrops to the spectacle audiences then enjoy, discovering the surprising links that bind Florence to the operas being performed as part of the 84th edition of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino festival. Each tour is led by the specialized guides of the Associazione delle Guide Turistiche di Firenze (Association of Florentine Tour Guides), guaranteeing expertise in Italian and English so that both Florentines and those visiting can enjoy culture, history and music in the captivating itineraries.

The first of the four took place on May 15 with Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro stunning audiences at Teatro della Pergola. Before audiences took their seats, they were treated to a walking tour of sites linked to the maestro led by an expert guide, including the hotel where the young Amadeus stayed with his father and a look at the Camerata de’ Bardi, a group of musicians, poets and intellectuals in late Renaissance Florence.

Verdi’s I Due Foscari followed on May 31, with Placido Domingo in the role of Francesco Foscari at Teatro del Maggio, preceded by a stroll of the streets of Florence and admiring Hayez’s I due Foscari at the gallery of modern art in Palazzo Pitti.

June 10 saw Strauss and Hofmannsthall’s Ariadne auf Naxos at Teatro della Pergola, with a visit to the National Archaeological Museum guiding guests through the role of women in the ancient world, getting to know the myth of Ariadne.

The final performance will be Jean-Baptiste Lully’s Acis et Galatée at Teatro del Maggio on July 6, bringing attendees on a journey down the Arno river aboard a traditional Renai boat in a unique chance to see the city from a different point of view, leaving from near piazza Mentana and heading to Ponte Santa Trinità, passing under Ponte Vecchio. The lapping water serves as the background to tell the poetic story of the nymph Galatea and her love for the shepherd boy Aci. Ovid’s myth tells us that the monstrous cyclops Polyphemus, consumed by jealousy, killed Aci, leading to the desperate crying of Galatea. Taking pity, Neptune transformed him into a small river that flowed from Mount Etna into the arms of the nymph in the sea, based on the libretto by Jean Galbert de Campistron.

Coupling the immense cultural heritage of Florence with the magnificence of opera, the occasions are opportunities to embrace many arts in one evening, with literature, art, history, music and more enriching all those engaged in the exclusive events.