One of the first signs of Florentine summer is here: Estate al Bargello, a series of open-air performances in the sculpture museum’s courtyard, has returned for its 2017 edition.
Musicians from the Orchestra da Camera Fiorentina perform
Estate al Bargello is the umbrella title for 21 shows staged by the theatre group Compagnia Lombardi-Tiezzi, the Florence Dance Festival and the Orchestra da Camera Fiorentina. Festival organizers are the Ministero dei beni e delle attività, the Bargello Museum, the Tuscan Region, and the City of Florence’s Estate Fiorentina committee, with sponsorship by the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze and additional support from the Banca CR Firenze.
The 2017 edition launched on June 19 with the hybrid play-concert Dagli Appennini alle Ande, one of the stories in Edmondo De Amicis’ book Cuore. Nightly performances of the show continue through June 23, with a break in programming before the inauguration of the Florence Dance Festival on June 27.
Dancers, Aterballetto
Co-directed by Keith Ferrone and Marga Nativo, Florence Dance Festival is now in its 28th year. The new edition looks to the venue as its main muse, with “Bargello in Danza” as the theme. Elaborating on how it was chosen, Ferrone expressed that appreciation of the palazzo has always been at the heart of the performances: “{Our} artists have been here and they’ve looked at the walls and they’ve listened to what the echoes are like. They feel the presence of the past and they bring their new work on stage as contemporary artists.”
First in the dance lineup is a June 27 performance by Compagnia Zappalà, a Catania-based troupe steered by renowned choreographer Roberto Zappalà. Titled “Naufragio con spettatore (Shipwreck with Spectator)”, the Zappalà show is loosely based on the Hans Blumenberg essay of the same name, and forms part of Zappalà’s “Re-Mapping Sicily” project.
An annual Florence Dance Festival fixture is the awarding of the “Mercurio Volante” prize, given to groups, individuals or businesses to recognize their commitment to the culture of dance. This year’s recipient is the Milan-based business Porselli, famous for its production of pointe shoes. The ceremony is set for June 29, with a mixed-bag, multicultural performance by Flamenco Tango Neapolis to follow (“VIENTO (WIND): from Naples to Seville…to Buenos Aires”).
July highlights include conceptual pieces by Johan Inger (“Words and Space”) and Jiří Pokorný (“Space Dogs”) (both July 6), as well as a site-specific performance by Molissa Fenley (July 14), a New York name known for her longstanding collaboration with composer Philip Glass. Local talents will also be spotlighted: the festival’s co-artistic director Marga Nativo will perform a new rendition of French composer Maurice Ravel’s “Boléro” with young students from the Florence Dance Center (July 16).
Choreographers give way to conductors with a July 12 event held in collaboration with Italian Brass Week (July 9-16): the Orchestra da Camera Fiorentina, conducted by Giuseppe Lanzetta, will join brass soloists Frank Lloyd, Otto Sauter, and Alain Trudel in performing music by Gordon Saville, J.M. Molter, and Lars-Erik Larsson. Violin soloist Marco Lorenzini will take the stage on July 13 for an evening dedicated to Vivaldi.
Programming for the remainder of the summer alternates between dance performances and concerts. Start times and ticket prices vary, and both the Orchestra da Camera Fiorentina (tel. 055.783374; info@orcafi.it) and Florence Dance Festival (tel. 055.289276; info@florencedance.org) have special offers available for those interested in attending multiple shows.
View additional information and showtimes on the Compagnia Lombardi-Tiezzi, Florence Dance Festival, and Orchestra da Camera Fiorentina websites.
