2009 sees the 120 year anniversary of the death of Giovanni Bottesini and the Municipality of Crema decided to dedicate the year to this great double bass player.
It is in this context that the project was born, nurtured by our Association, which consists of the production and staging of the lyrical opera “Ero e Leandro” by Bottesini, of which two repeat performances will be held at the Teatro San Domenico in Crema on 4 and 6 September 2009. It is also planned to open the dress rehearsal, which will be held on 2 September 2009, to young people.
Significantly, great effort was put into searching for the orchestra score. The author’s manuscript was found only after some months, and is in the process of being re-transcribed onto computer, thereby accomplishing the saving and safeguarding of an opera and a cultural patrimony which risked being lost over the years. In this way, the intention is to rediscover and place emphasis upon the lesser known (though by no means less relevant) face of the musician, the operatic face, and to spread consciousness of it throughout our territory and over the whole lyrical world.
The idea is to give space to talented youngsters, among them Gregorio Zurla from Crema, active as a scenographer in the most recent and important Italian lyrical projects, to whom the direction and scenography will be entrusted. He will be supported, however, by the mature and conscious musical accompaniment provided by the Piedmont Philharmonic Orchestra, which is made up of many musicians from Turin’s Teatro Regio and is conducted by Maestro Aldo Salvagno, an orchestra conductor of international renown. Among the choristers, besides the young, promising Veronique Mercier and tenor Gianluca Pasolini, who has been involved in some of the most prestigious Italian theatre, including the La Scala Theatre in Milan, the presence of bass ROBERTO SCANDIUZZI stands out. Considered the “noble bass” of the current international operatic panorama, he will have a starring role throughout the whole of the opera. Also present is the Monteverdi chorus led by the Maestro Bruno Gini.