The 86th Maggio Musicale Fiorentino came to an end with the choral symphony concert conducted by Zubin Mehta: exactly two months – from 13 April to 13 June – of intense and important opera and symphonic programming, with a total of 40 performances that brought almost 31. 000 people crowded on several occasions to the point of “sold out” not only the Sala Grande and the Sala Zubin Mehta, but also other spaces of the theatre, as happened for the events in the Sala Regìa and in the Sala Coro, the latter until now almost unknown to most of the public.
“With the Festival just finished, I feel I can express my great satisfaction for these two months that have been so engaging and exciting – says the Superintendent Carlo Fuortes – a total of about 31,000 spectators, over 1,300. 000 euro in box office receipts recorded and a total of 20 performances sold out in every order of seats – some of which many weeks in advance, as in the case of the performances of Turandot and the inaugural concert by Daniele Gatti and the concerts by Riccardo Muti and Myung-Whun Chung – can only be judged as a luminous and excellent result for the Maggio. A goal we have achieved thanks to all the people who work in the theatre in all its departments, to the excellence of the Orchestra and Choir, and to ‘our’ maestros Zubin Mehta and Daniele Gatti. I interpret this result also in the perspective of a rediscovered and positive confidence of the city of Florence towards “its” opera house because the response of the Florentine public that crowded the halls of the Maggio for our programming was extraordinary; truly important data and numbers that instil renewed optimism in the future”.
A programme with three operas – Turandot, Jeanne Dark and Tosca – with the first and last programmed to celebrate the centenary of Giacomo Puccini’s death and separated by the world premiere of Jeanne Dark, the new opera commissioned from Fabio Vacchi, five symphonic and choral concerts with the Orchestra and Chorus of the Maggio, three conducted by maestro Daniele Gatti, one by maestro Zubin Mehta and one by maestro Myung-Whun Chung and the prestigious hospitality of the Wiener Philharmoniker with maestro Riccardo Muti. The four concerts of the ‘Maggio diffuso’ conducted by Domenico Pierini, plus other concerts resulting from the Maggio’s important collaborations with city institutions such as the Bartolomeo Cristofori Academy, the Cherubini Conservatory, the Fiesole School of Music, the Homme armè, the Orchestra della Toscana, the Gamo, the Orchestra Giovanile Italiana, Tempo reale, Alongside these realities, there is also the proposal of a ballet La trilogia dell’estasi, the result of a co-production of the Maggio with the Compagnia Zappalà.
Turandot inaugurated – sumptuously – the opera programme of the 86th Maggio Festival: staged under Zhang Yimou’s historic direction (resumed by Stefania Grazioli) and conducted by Zubin Mehta, Puccini’s last masterpiece saw the Sala Grande of the Theatre, whose seats were sold out weeks in advance, literally ‘invaded’ at each of the five scheduled performances and also crowded for the open rehearsal on 18 April, with a total of almost 10,000 visitors. 10.000 in total attendance. The performances of the new production of Tosca – directed by Daniele Gatti and conducted by Massimo Popolizio – also reached 10,000 admissions. This is the Festival’s latest opera title that was received with great enthusiasm by both the public and the critics. Equally notable was the public turnout for the opera’s dress rehearsal, with just under 1,300 spectators in the Sala Grande, the majority of whom were all under 30 thanks to an agreement with Unicoop Firenze, which provided around 1,000 tickets for young people. Warm success also for the title chosen as the median between Giacomo Puccini’s two masterpieces, namely Fabio Vacchi’s Jeanne Dark, conducted by Alessandro Cadario and directed by Valentino Villa: the opera, in its world premiere, was acclaimed both by the specialised press and by the public, who responded positively to a proposal that was certainly innovative – as is the Maggio’s tradition – and far removed from the schemes of the classic operatic titles in the repertoire.
On the symphonic front, the choral symphony concerts (the Choir is conducted by Maestro Lorenzo Fratini) conducted by Gatti for the opening on 13 April and by Mehta for the closing on 13 June, as well as the concert conducted by Chung on 25 May and that of Riccardo Muti on the 12th conducting the Vienna Philharmonic, which saw the Sala Grande filled to the brim, were all sold out. The Mehta Hall was also almost sold out for the two concerts also conducted by Maestro Gatti on 5 May and 7 June.
The concerts of the Orchestra della Toscana conducted by Riccardo Bisatti, the Orchestra Giovanile Italiana conducted by Alexander Lonquich and the ensemble of L’Homme Armé – the latter also almost sold out, with an attendance rate of almost 95% – conducted by Fabio Lombardo, were a great success. The Maggio Diffuso initiative, where the Maggio Orchestra and its first violin Domenico Pierini performed in four historic churches in the Metropolitan City of Florence, and the two evenings dedicated to dance with La trilogia dell’estasi by the Compagnia Zappalà Danza also met with warm approval.
Also contributing to the excellent outcome of this edition of the Festival were the renewed and fruitful collaborations with the Accademia Bartolomeo Cristofori for five concerts dedicated to the fortepiano; with the Conservatorio di Musica Cherubini in Florence and the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole for the four concerts – the first, third and last of which sold out in every order and the others with a very high fill rate – with their chamber ensembles for the ‘Young Musicians Project’ in the Maggio Choir Room; with the Gamo ensemble and the Maggio Elettrico shows.
