Recently, I was chatting with a group of patrons just out front of the Teatro Niccolini on via Ricasoli at the left arm of the Duomo. “Why take on Florence’s oldest theatre, a veritable 17th-century jewel? What’s the plan?” they asked. “Well,” I answered genuinely, “Florence is so famous for its dead artists. I’ve been thinking about spending some time sharing live ones.” They all laughed.

The fact is that the “dead artist” thing is entirely true. There are living artists presenting their works throughout Florence on a regular basis. Granted, the attention received is far less than for the dead ones, but time and again I’ve heard: “Once the museums close, once we’ve had our bistecca, we’re at a loss for something to do at night.” This goes both for Italians and visitors alike. The venerable Maggio Musicale Fiorentino has a nightly program of classical arts on the edge of the centro, but there is nothing walkable in the centre on a regular basis associated with “theatre-going”.
To that end, I created FirenzeOnStage.com and have begun programming Florence’s oldest theatre, the Teatro Niccolini. We began our season with world-renowned actor Jeff Goldblum and his jazz band. We continued on with star trumpet player Jens Lindemann with Italy’s all star jazz band and then a gathering of women world leaders in the arts, politics, food and financial industries. Initial indications from the public show that they are pleased having these occasions to attend and would appreciate more of the same varied, unusual and interesting events on stage. That’s why we have celebrity programming for November that features international artists performing international works.



We have Patrick Duffy (Bobby Ewing from Dallas) alongside television and cabaret artist Linda Purl in A.R. Gurney’s Love Letters. We have the voice of Hans from Disney’s Frozen, Santino Fontana, in a Broadway evening with Seth Rudetsky, known as “The Mayor of Broadway”. Interestingly, in the spring, Teatro Verdi will be presenting the Italian touring production of the Broadway musical Tootsie. It so happens that Santino created the lead role in Tootsie and he won a Tony award.
Three superstar pianists will unleash their virtuosity on Florence: Sergio Tiempo, Boris Giltburg and Francesco Libetta. These artists are considered the virtuosos of the concert stage. Hearing them play live is to be enthralled with the possibilities of what a piano can do, and hearing them in the natural acoustics of a theatre created 120 years before the piano itself was invented several blocks away at the Uffizi, in 1770 by Bartolomeo Cristofori, is a treat like no other.

Then we have the Klezmerata Fiorentina featuring soloists from the Maggio Orchestra in traditional thrilling Eastern European music. We also have my dear friend and one of the most recognized tunesmiths alive, Charlie Fox, the man who composed songs like Killing Me Softly With His Song and themes such as The Love Boat, Happy Days, Wonder Woman and literally hundreds more in his story about music. This month we will also be having a grand singalong of Broadway songs.
December features more international talent as talented Italians galore take to the stage. There’s a story about Niccolò Paganini in Italian with virtuoso violinist Philippe Quint. We have opera superstar Charles Castronovo from La Scala, Maggio and the Met in a solo “up close” program. And then we have our marquee program for December, a thrilling group to have in Florence with tickets going on sale the first week of November.



Surely the highlight of the holiday season, we welcome Dame Helen Mirren and Mikhail Baryshnikov live on stage with Oscar-winning film director Taylor Hackford (Ray, An Officer and a Gentleman, The Devil’s Advocate) in a screening of Mirren and Baryshnikov’s White Nights, followed by a live discussion with the stars. It’s set to be an evening like no other, right in our theater by the Duomo in Florence.
Join us for programming that will stir the soul and get you dancing this fall season in the most beautiful city in the world.
This season at Teatro Niccolini

The recently relaunched historic Teatro Niccolini under the artistic direction of Hershey Felder intrigues with a fascinating programme this autumn/winter.
Venezuelan virtuoso Sergio Tiempo performs The Music of Two Loves on November 3, with a repertoire of Chopin and South American composers. Boris Giltburg plays the piano titans on November 6, regaling audiences with the likes of Rachmaninoff. Quatuor Arod follows on November 10, with the quartet playing Beethoven, Szymanowski and Schumann. Love Letters, a play starring Linda Purl and Patrick Duffy is on November 11, with Tony Award-winning Broadway star Santino Fontana giving a concert with pianist and radio personality Seth Rudetsky on November 12. A Baroque group plays on November 17, Klezmerata Fiorentina virtuosi from the Maggio Musicale Orchestra perform on November 10 and Raffaele Pe, countertenor La Lira di Orfeo, on November 23. Pianist Anne Queffélec gives a performance on November 24, followed by Francesco Libetta on November 25. Hollywood composer Charles Fox is in concert on November 27 and Hershey Felder’s American Songbook Sing-along finishes the month on November 30. Savour musical plays Rachmaninoff and the Tsar on December 6 and 7 and Paganini on December 12 and 13. Hear from The Swingle Sisters on December 14 and tenor Charles Castronovo on December 19. Dame Helen Mirren, Mikhail Baryshnikov and Taylor Hackford will take to the stage of Teatro Niccolini for a showing of White Nights and a chat on December 18.