{"id":2080,"date":"2016-05-16T16:28:10","date_gmt":"2016-05-16T14:28:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ravennafestival.org\/en\/?page_id=2080"},"modified":"2018-11-09T15:12:26","modified_gmt":"2018-11-09T14:12:26","slug":"the-story","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.ravennafestival.org\/en\/the-story\/","title":{"rendered":"The Story"},"content":{"rendered":"

Timeline<\/h1>
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2025<\/span><\/div>
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Donde hay m\u00fasica no puede haber cosa mala<\/h2>
\"Donde<\/a><\/div>

While Ravenna is the Roads of Friendship<\/em> destination for over three thousand choristers from all over Italy who answered the call Cantare amantis est<\/em> to be led by Riccardo Muti through Verdi’s works, the words of Cervantes, the title of this edition, reflect the spirit of the Festival, which finds a space for discussion and dialogue in music and the performing arts. It is also an opportunity to reflect on courage, through events such as Don Chisciotte ad ardere<\/em>, the Romagna in fiore<\/em> concerts in the areas affected by flooding, Aristophanes’s Lysistrata<\/em>, the Indian epic Bhagavadg\u012bt\u0101<\/em> of the Grande Teatro di Lido Adriano, the opera about Anita Garibaldi, Uri Caine’s The Passion of Octavius Catto<\/em> on the African-American activist assassinated in 1871, Baliani’s monologue on silent courage… to the heroes of the chivalric epic in Handel’s Orlando<\/em> and Alcina<\/em>, the two new productions by Pier Luigi Pizzi and Ottavio Dantone at the helm of Accademia Bizantina, which, together with Messiah<\/em>, make up the Autumn Trilogy.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n

2024<\/span><\/div>
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And it was evening and it was morning<\/h2>
\"And<\/a><\/div>

Guided by the words that in Genesis mark the succession of the days of Creation, the Festival reflects on the effects of climate change on our planet – adopting new eco-sustainable practices for live performance with the Romagna in fiore<\/em> events in the places affected by the flood of 2023 – but also on the value of creativity as a resource for inclusive and multicultural communities. The reflection on the relationship between man and planet continues in the Qatsi Trilogy by Godfrey Reggio and Philip Glass and with Anohni and the Johnsons. Riccardo Muti is on the podium of the Wiener Philharmoniker for the opening concert, while he reaches Lampedusa with his Cherubini for The Roads of Friendship<\/em> in the concert that closes the 35th edition. First time in Ravenna for Simon Rattle and Kirill Petrenko. In November, the Trilogy transports the audience to the Baroque 17th century, with two new productions by Pier Luigi Pizzi and Ottavio Dantone, at the head of Accademia Bizantina, and a recital by Jakub J\u00f3zef Orli\u0144ski.<\/p>\n

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2023<\/span><\/div>
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The Invisible Cities<\/h2>
\"The<\/a><\/div>

If Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities<\/em> are depicted as experiences, memories and desires rather than places, the centenary of the writer’s birth offers Ravenna Festival a happy pretext to reflect on the dual nature of the city, emblem of the community and its crisis, and its ‘invisible’ dimension as a crossroads of cultures, ideas and narratives. Titles that explore the terrible face of civilisation are contrasted with a celebration of dialogue between cultures and music worlds, and a double opening, featuring\u00a0respectively Laurie Anderson and Martha Argerich, flanked by Mischa Maisky, opens a constellation of extraordinary soloists, from Anne-Sophie Mutter to Leonidas Kavakos and Beatrice Rana; the latter plays Rachmaninov for an evening with ballet stars (the dance programme also includes the Italian premiere of WE, the EYES<\/em> by Emio Greco and Pieter C. Scholten). In December, Riccardo Muti – already on the podium of his Cherubini Orchestra for The Roads of Friendship<\/em> in Jerash and Pompei – conducts an opera triptych with Norma<\/em> and Nabucco<\/em> in semi-staged form and a Verdi gala.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n

2022<\/span><\/div>
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Between Flesh and Heaven<\/h2>
\"Between<\/a><\/div>

One hundred years after the birth of Pier Paolo Pasolini, the Ravenna Festival\u2019s travels \u201cBetween Flesh and Heaven\u201d, starting from Azio Corghi\u2019s composition by the same name for the opening concert with Daniel Harding and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. The words Pasolini used to describe his momentous encounter with Bach\u2019s Violin Sonatas draw a not only musical thread that involves such artists as Giuseppe Gibboni, Accademia Bizantina, Elio Germano. The opposition of human and divine expressed by the title also offers a chance to explore the many facets of the sacred, through the homage to Franco Battiato as well as the events under the mosaic vaults of the Byzantine basilicas – but also the Friendship concerts in the shrines of Lourdes and Loreto, where Riccardo Muti leads Italian and Ukrainian artists; a spontaneous invocation to the Mother, image of all mothers. Because, as Pasolini wrote in Supplication to My Mother<\/em>:\u00a0\u201cYou are the only one in the world who knows, of my heart, what it has always been, before any other love\u201d. On the other hand, the Autumn Trilogy celebrates secular love with Mozart and Da Ponte\u2019s masterpieces in the productions from the royal palaces of Drottningholm and Versailles.
\nContinua a leggere<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n

2021<\/span><\/div>
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Dedicated to Dante<\/h2>
\"Dedicated<\/a><\/div>

A dedication of love draws inspiration from the 7th centenary of Dante’s death for two months of events, planets and satellites that revolve around the central sun of the Poet and his masterpiece, but also follow other and more eccentric orbits. After the premiere with the Wiener, Riccardo Muti travels along The Roads of Friendship<\/em> with his Cherubini and reaches Yerevan for Tigran Mansurian’s Purgatorio<\/em>, part of a triptych of commissions that is completed by Giovanni Sollima’s Inferno<\/em> and Valentin Silvestrov’s Paradiso<\/em>. But this edition’s treasure trove of premieres also includes Mauro Montalbetti’s chamber opera Teodora<\/em> and a restaging of L’heure exquise<\/em>, co-produced with the Royal Ballet, with which Alessandra Ferri and Carsten Jung pay tribute to B\u00e9jart and Carla Fracci. The Autumn Trilogy follows the fil rouge of the Poet with three other new productions that explore the languages of dance, music, and words: Sergei Polunin dances his way through the realms of the afterlife, Goethe and Schumann meet for Faust’s dantesque journey in the imaginative staging directed by Luca Micheletti, while Elio Germano and Teho Teardo are entrusted with the luminous verses of the last canto of Paradiso<\/em>.
\nRead more<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n

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32nd edition<\/h2>
\"32nd<\/a><\/div>

After the long deafening silence dictated by the restrictions aimed to control the Covid-19 pandemic, music in Italy restarts from Ravenna: in the Rocca Brancaleone, the Luigi Cherubini Youth Orchestra and soprano Rosa Feola join Riccardo Muti for the first concert with an audience, crowned by the solemn and grandiose “Jupiter” Symphony which lifted Mozart above the troubles of one of his life’s most dramatic times. The 31st edition, reimagined for an unprecedented situation, is also the first to reach tens of thousand spectators around the world. And while Muti and the Cherubini Orchestra also\u00a0 remember the suffering of the Syrian people with a concert in Paestum, sister-site of ancient Palmyra, Ravenna hosts the Budapest Festival Orchestra led by\u00a0Iv\u00e1n Fischer, the Mariinsky Orchestra with Valery Gergiev, soloists Beatrice Rana and Mario Brunello for the \u00e9toiles of\u00a0Duets and Solos<\/em>, the single dance event this year. Faced with the second wave of infections, which again stops the events with an audience, in autumn Muti and the Cherubini perform in the Alighieri Theatre for two streamed concerts promoted around the world thanks to the partnership with the websites of El Pa\u00eds, Rossiyskaya Gazeta, and Spring Festival in Tokyo.
\nRead more<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n

2019<\/span><\/div>
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On the High and Open Sea<\/h2>
\"On<\/a><\/div>

Sailing \u201con the high and open sea\u201d the 30th edition – which opened under the sign of the greatest\u00a0interpretation tradition with the meeting between Maurizio Pollini and Riccardo Muti – resumes the\u00a0never truly dismissed vocation for travelling, beyond any boundary or diversity, and reaches the very\u00a0foundation of our civilisation and mindset. In the heart of the ancient acropolis of Athens, Beethoven\u2019s\u00a0Symphony no. 9 is heard as a true hymn to brotherhood between peoples. Whilst the unrivalled voices\u00a0of the Tallis Scholars are entrusted with the evocative journey through the Liturgy of the Hours, the\u00a0relentless rhythm of the 100 percussions lets us glimpse the original source of music, but also its\u00a0infinite variations: on the one side,\u00a0Stewart Copeland’s\u00a0surprising flexibility in a symphonic\u00a0performance; on the other, Nick Mason’s timeless energy. The touching lyricism of Dante\u2019s\u00a0Purgatorio\u00a0turns into a vivid play that calls for the whole city\u2019s support, and three extraordinary women tower\u00a0above the opera trilogy:\u00a0Norma<\/em>,\u00a0Aida<\/em>, and\u00a0Carmen<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n

2018<\/span><\/div>
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We Have a Dream<\/h2>
\"We<\/a><\/div>

Recalling, half a century after Martin Luther King\u2019s assassination, the title of his famous speech – made on the 28th of August, 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington and which has become a symbol of the fight against racism, and a hymn to freedom and equality all around the world – means to continue exploring key-events and icons of the 20th century, in the attempt of soothing the dismay and the anxieties undermining our age. Thus one enters the \u201cveins of America\u201d, keeping in mind to the huge contribution of the States to the culture of the 20th century: the biting roar of the 100 electric guitars, but also Cole Porter\u2019s sophisticated musical Kiss Me, Kate<\/em>. Without ever losing sight of \u201cour\u201d and ever-surprising Verdi heritage: Macbeth<\/em> for the 50th anniversary of Riccardo Muti\u2019s first time on the podium of the Maggio Fiorentino, but also the new Autumn Trilogy: Nabucco, Rigoletto, Otello.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n

2017<\/span><\/div>
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The Noise of Time<\/h2>
\"The<\/a><\/div>

Paying a tribute to the October Revolution, a century later, means delving into its extraordinary energies, which expressed a deep yearning for Modernity, as well as into the searing disappointments and horrors that followed. It means to collect what remains beyond \u201cthe noise of time\u201d \u2013 a title shared by Julian Barnes\u2019s novel dedicated to Shostakovich and Osip Mandelstam\u2019s prose. Between musical and artistic revolutions, the explosive vitality of Dante has been amplified in Inferno<\/i>, with the open call to the citizens curated by Teatro delle Albe; while the new productions of the Autumn Trilogy have reached \u201cthe verge of the 20th century\u201d, \u00a0shedding new light on the Italian Realism: Cavalleria rusticana<\/i>, Pagliacci<\/i>, and Tosca<\/i>. A dream comes true: the Roads of Friendship lead to Tehran, again with Riccardo Muti, again under the sign of the infallible common language of music<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n

2016<\/span><\/div>
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Ho camminato sulla lunga strada per la libert\u00e0<\/h2>
\"Ho<\/a><\/div>

Nelson Mandela is at the heart of the route leading to the conquest of freedom, a precious and fundamental right. Hence \u201cMandela Trilogy\u201d by Cape Town Opera, bringing the South African music tradition on stage. But the longing for freedom strongly transpires from the overwhelming passion of the 100 Cellos as well: led by Giovanni Sollima, they invade the city, drawing the audience to myriad concerts and performances. And, inevitably, to the daily appointments dedicated to “Young artists for Dante”, a few steps away from the Poet\u2019s Tomb, and to the “Vespers at San Vitale”. Then, from the most active Hungarian theatres, a Danubian trilogy pays homage to the operetta: the freedom of lightness.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n

2015<\/span><\/div>
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L’Amor che move il sole e l’altre stelle<\/h2>
\"L’Amor<\/a><\/div>

A truly Dantesque “journey” winded along new creations, entrusted to composers like Adriano Guarnieri, with the video opera L’amor che move il sole e l’altre stelle<\/em>, and Nicola Piovani with La vita nuova<\/em>, sung on a recital by Elio Germano, soprano and small orchestra. But the musical theatre was protagonist with the great Italian opera tradition as well: it was to Verdi’s last masterpiece, Falstaff<\/em>, that Riccardo Muti dedicated his first Italian Opera Academy.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n

2014<\/span><\/div>
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1914: l’anno che ha cambiato il mondo<\/h2>
\"1914:<\/a><\/div>

The L\u2019elisir d\u2019amore<\/em> and La Boh\u00e8me<\/em> were staged not in a theatre but…among the tables of a restaurant, in the irreverent and revolutionary interpretation of the young British company OperaUpClose.
\nMany events were held to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of World War I, culminating in the concert held at the foot of the Redipuglia memorial monument, a symbol of the pain and memory. The musicians of the nations that suffered the most were led by Riccardo Muti\u2019s baton.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n

2013<\/span><\/div>
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Alchimie popolari “Una balera ai giardini”<\/h2>
\"Alchimie<\/a><\/div>

The acrobatic illusionism of Momix was performed with the world premiere of Alchemy<\/em>. Then Romagna\u2019s folk dances held the stage, with those waltzes, polkas, and mazurcas born in the farmyards of our countryside. The music could be heard everywhere, from the \u201cbalera\u201d in the park in a whirlwind of a \u201cpolka day\u201d, then passing over to Strauss\u2019s noble Viennese dances, but also to Trovesi and Coscia\u2019s jazz and the estranging sound of Simone Zanchini\u2019s accordion, coming together at last for a festive tribute to Secondo Casadei.
\nThe collection of musicians was enhanced by the performance of one of the greatest cellists of our times: Yo-Yo Ma.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n

2012<\/span><\/div>
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Nobilissima Visione<\/h2>
\"Nobilissima<\/a><\/div>

Grand opening with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, on the podium of this extraordinary American group their musical director: Riccardo Muti. But, commemorating Romualdo of Ravenna, the festival\u2019s theme covered the most remote spiritual paths of monasticism, and for an entire week the city was \u201cinvaded\u201d by a small community of Tibetan monks from the ancient monastery of Drepung Loseling, and filled with the suggestive sounds of the mandala ritual. And the Roads of Friendship turned into a touching \u201cBrotherhood Concert\u201d, whereby different religious expressions came together.
\nThe first of the Autumn Trilogy was reserved for Verdi: on stage, evening after everning, Traviata<\/em>, Trovatore<\/em> and Rigoletto<\/em>, directed by Cristina Muti.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n

2011<\/span><\/div>
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Fabula in Festival<\/h2>

Once upon a time… fairy tales took shape and came to life in the exciting and grim Cinderella <\/em>by Matthew Bourne, and then in the explosive and joyful Impempe Yomlingo<\/em>, Mozart\u2019s Magic Flute<\/em> turned into a musical and imbued with the rhythmic physicality of an orchestra of African marimbas. The Roads of Friendship arrived in Africa, at the Ururu Park of Nairobi.
\nMeanwhile Kent Nagano, Zubin Mehta and Claudio Abbado returned to the podium.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n

2010<\/span><\/div>
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Ex tenebris ad lucem<\/h2>

Tenebrae<\/em>, video-scenic cantata for recorded voices, ensemble, and live electronics, marked a new commission for composer Adriano Guarnieri (the first had been in 2007 with Pietra di diaspro<\/em>) directed by Cristina Muti: bold experimentation of the visual and auditory space. But the visionary streak emerged also in Demons<\/em>, Dostoyevsky\u2019s masterpiece staged by Peter Stein: an unforgettable eleven-hour show.
\nThe first \u201ctrekking concert\u201d was created as well, a pathway among pinetrees and glades, archaeology and nature filled with songs, music, and dance.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n

2009<\/span><\/div>
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…l\u00e2 ilah\u00e2 ill\u00e2… Quando ti sento arrivare il mio cuore danza, le mie braccia si aprono<\/h2>

Dance and theatre became prayer and ritual in the name of the Sufi mystic poet in Robert Wilson\u2019s new piece, Rumi. In The Blink of the Eye<\/em>, and through the absolute mastery of the body of Buddhist monks from the Shaolin Temple, guided in Sutra<\/em> by choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. And with the Basilica of San Vitale as a background, different religions intertwined in the charm of Voices in prayer<\/em>, sounds and songs mixed in with thoughts and words by Massimo Cacciari. An exceptional duo for a grand finale: the prophet of funk, Herbie Hancock, and the most prodigious piano talent of the new generation, Lang Lang.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n

2008<\/span><\/div>
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Erranti, erotiche, eretiche<\/h2>

Wandering, erotic, heretical… the female figure is evoked in all artistic expressions: from the most beloved operatic repertoire, Traviata<\/em> (directed by Cristina Muti Mazzavillani), to the most superb \u00e9toiles of our time, Sylvie Guillaum and Svetlana Zacharova; from \u201cportraits of women\u201d including those outlined by Elena Bucci (the insane hunger of knowing by Juana de la Cruz<\/em>), and by Ermanna Montanari (the proud Rosvita<\/em>), to the imaginative encounter between Norma and Medea.
\nOne of the most performed musicals in the world, Cats<\/em>, thrilled the entire audience at the Palafiera of Forl\u00ec.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n

2007<\/span><\/div>
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La pietra di diaspro “quando il cielo si squarcer\u00e0'”<\/h2>

The collaboration with the Salzburg Whitsun Festival was launched, a five-year project to rediscover the \u201cNeapolitan School\u201d. Under the direction of Muti masterpieces which had been forgotten for centuries were once again heard in the beautiful library of the conservatory in San Pietro a Majella, starting with Il ritorno di Don Calandrino<\/em> (The Return of Don Calandrino) by Domenico Cimarosa.
\nAnd for the first time choreographer Matthew Bourne, with Swan Lake<\/em>, chose Ravenna as the exclusive stage for his exciting productions.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n

2006<\/span><\/div>
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Mozart? Mozart!<\/h2>

The edition dedicated to Mozart opened with one of the world\u2019s most prestigious orchestras, the New York Philharmonic: two concerts, on the podium Lorin Maazel and Riccardo Muti. And among the \u201csoloists\u201d who took part in this edition there was the most acute and \u201cintellectual\u201d of pianists, Alfred Brendel, with the pure energetic talent of dancer Roberto Bolle. But, as usual, the \u201cclassical\u201d dimension is not enough to describe the Festival: Eugenio Barba, transcultural pioneer, examined the theatre archetypes of all time \u2013 Don Giovanni and Hamlet.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n

2005<\/span><\/div>
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Il deserto cresce…viaggio tra simbolismo e utopia<\/h2>

The voice of the muezzin echoed among the stones of the majestic Roman amphitheatre of El Djem, Tunisia, and Riccardo Muti lowered his baton, letting the religious call die down before returning to direct the Mephistopheles<\/em>: \u201cmoments like this \u2013 he would later state \u2013 transcend different religions and cultures\u201d, and underline the true meaning of the Roads to Friendship.
\nFor the first time the \u201cresident\u201d orchestra, the Luigi Cherubini Youth Orchestra, perfomed at the Festival.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n

2004<\/span><\/div>
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Illuminazioni sulla via di Damasco<\/h2>

Philip Glass, together with musicians from five continents, took inspiration from the stars of Orion<\/em>, the constellation visible all year round from every part of the planet. And the Festival\u2019s vocation of embracing different cultures and artistic forms took shape in La Galigo<\/em> by Robert Wilson: the ancient Indonesian poem tells the story of the creation of the earth and the divine mystery was mirrored by the magic of colours and hieratic gesture of sixty extraordinary performers.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n

2003<\/span><\/div>
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Ravenna visionaria “pellegrina e straniera”<\/h2>

A truly \u201cSaison Russe\u201d was on stage: the innovation of the Russian theatre, Helikon, and of its founder Dmitry Bertman invaded the Alighieri, with four works \u2013 from Tchaikovsky\u2019s magnificent Queen of Spades<\/em> to the sensual Lady Macbeth in the Mtsensk District<\/em> of \u0160ostakovi\u010d, from the funny eclecticism of Stravinskiy\u2019s Mavra<\/em> to the timbric virtuosity of Rimsky-Korsakov\u2019s Kashchey the Deathless<\/em>. And Russian is also the Festival\u2019s dancing heart with the Kirov Ballet of the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n

2002<\/span><\/div>
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New York: 11 settembre<\/h2>

In New York\u2019s wounded heart, on the edge of Ground Zero, where the blind terror struck every human certainty, in an absolute and unnatural silence, the notes of Verdi\u2019s Va \u2018pensiero<\/em> resonated: Riccardo Muti led the Chorus of La Scala, the Musicians of Europe United, professors of leading European orchestras, and many members of the New York Philharmonic.
\nThe Roads of Friendships arrived in the States as well, but one of the most emblematic American voices arrived in Ravenna, Bob Dylan.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n

2001<\/span><\/div>
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Dalla via dell’ambra alla via della seta… in compagnia del grande bardo<\/h2>

The infinite expressive resources of opera were staged with the transgressive interpretation by Eimuntas Nekro\u0161ius (Otello<\/em>) and with the virtual technology of Cristina Mazzavillani Muti\u2019s first directorial experimentations (Capulets and Montagues<\/em>). Pierre Boulez was back as well, while James Levine and Jeffrey Tate took the stage in Ravenna for the first time.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n

2000<\/span><\/div>
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Cantastorie, gitani e trovatori<\/h2>

The new millennium Festival opened with a huge party: bright lights and amazing fireworks lit up the city, sounds and traditions of Romagna intertwined with southern ones, far into the night. This paved the way to a multi-faced programme: from Paisiello\u2019s masterpiece, Nina o sia la pazza per amore<\/em>, with Muti conducting on the podium of the La Scala complex, to Lou Reed\u2019s memorable concert.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n

1999<\/span><\/div>
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I pellegrinaggi della Fede anno III Verso Gerusalemme<\/h2>

With Pagliacci<\/em>, Riccardo Muti completed the \u201cverismo\u201d diptych that he had begun a couple of years before with Cavalleria Rusticana<\/em>. The same extraordinary creative team set the stage with Liliana Cavani as director, Oscar award-winning Gabriella Pescucci, and Dante Ferretti for costumes and scenery. But the Festival also moved toward renewed spirituality, along an unprecedented \u201cvia dei canti\u201d (song pathways), from the perfection of the Hilliard Ensemble to the mysterious sounds of the baganna<\/em>, the Ethiopian harp…searching for the \u201cgenius vocis\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n

1998<\/span><\/div>
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I pellegrinaggi della Fede, anno II Donna Mater, voci erranti del mondo<\/h2>

With Pagliacci<\/em>, Riccardo Muti completed the \u201cverismo\u201d diptych that he had begun a couple of years before with Cavalleria Rusticana<\/em>. The same extraordinary creative team set the stage with Liliana Cavani as director, Oscar award-winning Gabriella Pescucci, and Dante Ferretti for costumes and scenery. But the Festival also moved toward renewed spirituality, along an unprecedented \u201cvia dei canti\u201d (song pathways), from the perfection of the Hilliard Ensemble to the mysterious sounds of the baganna<\/em>, the Ethiopian harp…searching for the \u201cgenius vocis\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n

1997<\/span><\/div>
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“La via dei Romei” I Pellegrinaggi della Fede<\/h2>

At night, on a military plane, Riccardo Muti and the Orchestra of La Scala flew over the Adriatic, crossing over to Sarajevo, the Bosnian city wounded by the war, scattered with smouldering rubble and debris, calling for help and asking to be listened to. Thus Le Vie dell\u2019Amicizia (The Roads to Friendship) were created, \u201cbridges of brotherhood\u201d casted every year to unite peoples and cultures through the power of music. That strength that emanated from the unique and unmistakable gesture of Carlos Kleiber, in one of his rare and precious concerts.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n

1996<\/span><\/div>
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Ravenna mediterranea tra Oriente e Occidente (anno II)<\/h2>

For the first time the Wiener Philharmoniker took their place in the orchestra pit, outside of their own theatre. At the Alighieri they were led by Riccardo Muti for Cos\u00ec fan tutte<\/em> under the very Neapolitan direction of Roberto de Simone. It was the first stage of the Mozart-Da Ponte trilogy, with Don Giovanni<\/em> and Nozze di Figaro<\/em>, that Muti and the Viennese would complete a few years later. But the Festival knew no genre boundaries since Keith Jarrett\u2019s great jazz music rocked the festival.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n

1995<\/span><\/div>
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Ravenna mediterranea tra Oriente e Occidente<\/h2>

Ravenna\u2019s Mediterranean calling was rediscovered, a crossroads of cultures and ancient civilizations, suspended \u201cbetween East and West\u201d, from the incredible voice of Sister Marie Keyrouz to the flamenco of Cristina Hoyos. But evocative oriental echoes were heard with the concerts of the most prestigious performers as well: Misha Maisky, Martha Argerich, Mstislav Rostropovich, and Valery Gergiev.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n

1994<\/span><\/div>
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Bellini e Wagner (anno secondo)<\/h2>

The collection of great conductors was enriched with new names: Giuseppe Sinopoli, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Seiji Ozawa, Myung-Whun Chung … and of course Riccardo Muti, the \u201clocal\u201d conductor, leading a new production of Norma<\/em>, and shining over the ancient mosaics of Sant\u2019Apollinare in Classe with the expressive, powerful notes of Verdi\u2019s Requiem<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n

1993<\/span><\/div>
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Bellini e Wagner<\/h2>

The most prestigious of German orchestras, the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Claudio Abbado, arrived in Ravenna for the prologue, while for the finale the unforgettable Italian voice of Luciano Pavarotti rose above the waters of the city\u2019s harbour: both along the common thread connecting \u201cBellini and Wagner\u201d. A memorable show was the Dantesque poetic workshop by Federico Tiezzi with Sandro Lombardi (I Magazzini) performing Paradiso (or Heaven)<\/em>, the dramaturgy by Giovanni Giudici, followed in the subsequent years by Purgatorio (or Purgatory)<\/em> and Inferno (or Hell)<\/em>, by Mario Luzi and Edoardo Sanguineti respectively.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n

1992<\/span><\/div>
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Intorno a Rossini<\/h2>

Everything revolved \u201caround Rossini\u201d: the kaleidoscopic musical universe of Rossini was transfused in the hypnotic and compelling choreography of Micha van Hoecke in Adieu \u00e0 l\u2019Italie<\/em>. But also in the piano recitals by foremost names in Italian piano music such as Aldo Ciccolini and Maurizio Pollini.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n

1991<\/span><\/div>
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Cherubini e la scuola francese<\/h2>

\u201cCherubini e la scuola francese\u201d (Cherubini and the French School): Luca Ronconi\u2019s direction and Riccardo Muti\u2019s baton, with the Orchestra and Chorus of La Scala, brought on stage Lodo\u00efska<\/em>, the musical revolution of one of the greatest European composers. And for the first time on the austere backdrop of the Basilica of St. Francis \u201cHigh Mass\u201d was played, conducted yet again by Muti.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n

1990<\/span><\/div>
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Salieri e la scuola di Vienna<\/h2>

The Ravenna Festival was created, in the name of great music and Dante. Riccardo Muti inaugurated the very first edition, then Pierre Boulez, Carlo Maria Giulini, Lorin Maazel took the stage, while Dante readings were carried out by Paolo Poli and Enrico Maria Salerno. Roman Vlad set the mood for the artistic stance.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n

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