Ravenna Festival pays homage to the city’s unique heritage – a wealth of art, music, and faith – thanks to the collaboration with the Opera di Religione of the Arcidiocesi di Ravenna-Cervia. The most beloved Byzantine basilica – one of the eights monuments of Ravenna included in the UNESCO World Heritage site – hosts sacred music concerts, day after day, with new productions, programmes selected through an international call for proposals, and collaborations with local artists and groups: an invaluable experience of beauty, that the Festival offers to the visitors at the symbolic admission fee of 1 euro.
The Festival has turned the extraordinary local heritage into the keystone of its own identity, and – for the third year in a row – pays a tribute to the beauty and the history held within the walls of San Vitale. The rich programme of daily concerts at 7 pm features artists selected through an international call for proposals – with over 60 applications coming from all around Italy, as well as from Germany, France, Spain, Switzerland, United States… – and ties to the programme of the 29th edition of the Festival.
Vespers at San Vitale Hermann (June 1, 3 to 6), a cantata for countertenor, three bass viols, cornett, and narrator commissioned to composer Paolo Baioni and inspired by the singular life led by monk Hermann the Cripple. Tullia Melandri’s fortepiano concert follows – Rediscovering Schumann’s Favourite Sound (June 2) – the first of two events to be held at the Refectory Hall of the National Museum. Back to the Basilica with Sacred Brass (June 7 to 10), presented by Romagna Brass and dedicated to Giovanni Gabrieli, the most important composer of the 16th-century Venetian School. The Duo Serenissima – soprano and lute from the Netherlands – will perform in The Intimate Diva (June 11 to 15) and rediscover the life (and music) of two deeply cultured and creative 17th-century nuns; the Duo will also play in the Refectory for Tribute to Giulio Caccini four centuries after his death (June 17). The Coro dell’Associazione Consorti Dipendenti del Ministero degli Affari Esteri presents Stabat Mater by Girolamo Abos, a suggestive score from the 18th century Naples (June 16). David Brutti and Nicola Lamon, cornett and organ respectively, explore the Eccentric XVII Century, a geographic and historic itinerary through the poetics of the marvellous (June 18 to 20). The duo La DiStileria – mezzosoprano and organ – takes us to the second half of the 19th century with A Tribute to Rheinberger, mostly unknown today but a prolific and versatile musician (June 21 and 22). Another couple for Bachian Dialogues, famous and varied scores by Bach transcripted for violin and cello (June 23 and 27). The Choir of the Istituto Superiore di Studi Musicali “Giuseppe Verdi” of Ravenna – a key-player in the cultural and musical development of the city – presents Liszt and Pärt, Sacred Consonances (June 24-26), while the Ensemble La Dafne will led the audience to Candia, a Crossroads of Cultures, the city capital of Crete which was a meeting point between musical cultures in the 16th and 17th centuries (June 28 to 30). Piero Bonaguri ends the Vespers with a rich homage to the sacred music for guitar, The Sacred Repertoire: from the Middle Ages to the Present (July 1 to 5).