The concert season at the Vita e Pace Cultural Centre continues, with a programme for 2026 inspired by the theme People, Characters and Personalities: the concert Acting through Song: Opera Gives Voice to the Character is set to take place.
The stars of the event are the soprano Rita La Vecchia, the bass-baritone Mattia Pauluzzo and the pianist Andrea Troni, who will take the audience on a journey through the great figures of opera, immortalised by the music of the most celebrated composers: Mozart, Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi and Puccini.
The programme features a rich array of unforgettable characters. From Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro come the irresistible Figaro with his famous aria Non più andrai, farfallone amoroso and the sweet Barbarina with L’ho perduta, me meschina. From Bellini’s La Sonnambula, Amina and Count Rodolfo will come to life, whilst from Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra we will witness the drama of Jacopo Fiesco, mourning the death of his daughter Maria. There is also room for Donizetti with Adina from L’elisir d’amore, Puccini with Colline and the moving Vecchia zimarra from La Bohème, and with Lauretta performing the famous O mio babbino caro from Gianni Schicchi. Pamina and Papageno from Mozart’s The Magic Flute will also be featured.
A notable feature of the programme is the composition by Mattia Pauluzzo, who has set to music one of the most famous scenes from Alessandro Manzoni’s The Betrothed: Perpetua, Perpetua, a dialogue between Don Abbondio and his faithful housekeeper.
Alongside the vocal arias, pianist Andrea Troni will perform two orchestral pieces transcribed for piano: the overtures to Giuseppe Verdi’s La forza del destino and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s The Magic Flute, showcasing the full potential of the magnificent half-grand piano housed in the church, which is capable of evoking the sound of an entire symphony orchestra.
Until September, the spaces adjacent to the church are hosting the exhibition The Silence of Portraits, a show featuring works by six contemporary artists.
Vicolo Santa Maria, Avigliana