“Musical feasts around Baroque Opera” is the subtitle of the PurTiMiro festival, dedicated to the six-seventeen century repertoire, which takes place at the Teatro Rossini in Lugo (Ravenna) in December. The first edition in 2016 marked the anniversary of the reopening of the theatre after considerable restoration works concluded in 1986.
The festival is directed by harpsichordist and conductor Rinaldo Alessandrini. Born in Rome in 1960, Alessandrini is the leader of many ensembles dedicated to Renaissance and Baroque repertoire, including the Italian Concerto -funded by himself – and is regarded as one of the conductors who revolutionized the interpretation of Italian seventeenth century vocal music, universally acclaimed by audience and critics.
In 1986, on the occasion of its reopening, the City of Lugo started a music festival dedicated mainly to the Baroque and Neoclassical opera. After years the City of Lugo decided to entrust to a great musician such as Rinaldo Alessandrini the post of music director of the festival, with the intention of making of Lugo not only a location for first class performances but also for the rediscovery of the Italian operatic repertoire of that time.
For the Teatro Rossini, it is a return to a repertoire that, as much as the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries chamber music, is particularly suited to its architectural structure: an small exquisite stage with a perfect acoustic, built in 1760 with the contribution of the famous architect Antonio Galli Bibbiena.
Pur-ti-miro is a name inspired by the words of the famous duet “Pur ti miro, pur ti godo” at the end of the opera “L’incoronazione di Poppea” by Claudio Monteverdi. An explicit quote that summerizes the festival but also a tribute to the art of its musical director, Rinaldo Alessandrini, regarded as one of today greatest interpreters of Monteverdi’s music.
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