Spoleto, April 12, 2023 - An extraordinary concert is scheduled for Sunday, April 16, at at 6 p.m. at the Teatro Nuovo Gian Carlo Menotti: Metamorphosis is the title of the event realized under the patronage of Rai for Sustainability and the collaboration of Rai Umbria. The Quartetto del Mare and the Piccola Orchestra dei Popoli will play together on stage, an encounter that under the auspices of Nicola Piovani becomes a unique opportunity for participation and intercultural dialogue. to Spoleto two musical worlds meet, that of the Western classical tradition and the multiethnic world of non-European traditions: from traditional Turkish and Lebanese songs to to Japanese ones, from David Maria Turoldo's music poetry to Argentine tango and Balkan melodies. The concert closes with a tribute to Maestro Nicola Piovani, who will be present for the occasion, and a performance of the song La vita è bella.
The concert raises funds to for the House of Spirit and the Arts Foundation, which is sponsoring the project.
A significant detail is that of the origin of the instruments: the wood of the violins, viola and cello played by the Quartetto del Mare comes from boats used by migrants who landed to Lampedusa. The first "Violin of the Sea" was made by inmates of the Violin Making and Carpentry Workshop at the Milan-Opera Prison with a technique that was used in England in the 1500s to make violas from gamba. Nicola Piovani is among the first musicians to have joined the initiative by dedicating to this instrument the Song of Wood, a piece premiered for Pope Francis by the first violin of the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia Carlo Parazzoli, which will also be performed in this concert. Thanks to the skilled hands of the luthiers involved and the inmates of some Italian Penitentiary Institutes, the wood of about 60 boats from the Favarolo pier in Lampedusa was transformed into musical instruments, with the aim of creating a true "Orchestra of the Sea."
The Spirit and Arts House Foundation seeks to provide dignity and employment opportunities to people who are in situations of severe social hardship.