The "Festival Verdi" and "Verdi Off" in Tirana
The Festival Verdi and Verdi Off cross the boundaries of the Maestro's lands for the first time. Un ballo in maschera and five iconic appointments of Verdi Off mark the launch of the three-year project that links the Teatro Regio di Parma with the National Theatre of Opera and Ballet of Albania (TKOB). The project, undertaken before the pandemic, will finally be inaugurated in Tirana from May 31 to June 4.
The event is made with the collaboration of the Ministry of Culture of Albania, the Embassy of Italy and the Italian Cultural Institute in Tirana, the National Theatre of Opera and Ballet of Albania, and is part of the Italian Culture Week initiatives (June 1-7).
“It is a great joy for the Teatro Regio di Parma to undertake a new internationalization challenge – Teatro Regio di Parma general manager Anna Maria Meo declares. (…) It is a precious opportunity to create bridges between cultures, as artists, workers and technicians can dialogue and interact working together. Moreover, it is a source of pride to observe how our Italian opera tradition can increasingly be a vehicle for openness”.
"I would like to express my sincere appreciation for the commitment to promoting Giuseppe Verdi's work in Albania – declares Ambassador of Italy to Albania Fabrizio Bucci. (…) Verdi has been a powerful ambassador of beauty and harmony for a century, with his compositions reaching every corner of the world. I am sure that the first performance of the Teatro Regio here in Albania will be only the first step towards stable and lasting partnerships between Italy and Albania in the operatic field ”.
Un ballo in maschera debuts at the National Theatre of Opera and Ballet of Albania on June 1st (at 07:00 pm, scheduled on June 2, 3, 4,). It is the 1913 staging by Giuseppe Carmignani produced by the Teatro Regio di Parma. Its scenes painted on paper came to life again after the careful restoration by Rinaldo Rinaldi, in collaboration with the Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle arti e Paesaggio for the provinces of Parma and Piacenza.
The direction is by Marina Bianchi, Deniola Kuraja conducts the Orchestra and Choir of the TKOB and artists of the Albanian Opera House.
From May 31 to June 4, the festive, inclusive, multidisciplinary spirit of Verdi Off will bring the Maestro's music outside the walls of the theatre, in Skënderbej square and in the park next to the theatre, to meet the citizens and visitors of Tirana.
Waiting for the debut of the opera, Aspettando Verdi will give the public the opportunity to admire the stage costumes by Lorena Marin, made by the Teatro Regio di Parma tailoring, in a parade in the square in front of the theatre (May 31st, at 06:30 pm).
Vieni a cantare Verdi con noi! is the concert – entirely dedicated to Verdi – of the choirs of Tirana’s schools conducted by Dritan Lumshi (June 1st, at 06:00 pm).
Viva Verdi! is a parade offered by the Tirana Band that will bring the joy of the Maestro's music to the streets of the city (June 2nd, at 06:00 pm).
A flash-mob starring the TKOB Corps de Ballet and the Dance schools of Tirana, who will dance together in A passo di Verdi, will surprise passers-by and the public near the theatre a few minutes before the third performance of Un ballo in maschera (June 3rd, at 06:30 pm).
Bianchi, rossi e verdi – a Verdi Off classic – is a picnic with a tricolour dress code (the Italian flag) accompanied by music and a theatrical performance in the park near the theatre. An opportunity for adults and children to be together and have fun in an atmosphere of friendly conviviality (June 4, at 10:30 am).