The "Luglio nel Chiostro" festival (Rome, 28-31 July) closes with four free-admission events

Passione Lirica closes out the second edition of the Luglio nel Chiostro series with four evenings dedicated to opera and instrumental repertoire, taking place from July 28 to 31 in Rome at the Chiostro del Buon Pastore. "Passione Lirica" is one of the three strands making up Luglio nel Chiostro 2026, and it closes the series with four free-admission evenings, all starting at 9pm.

Opening the program on Tuesday, July 28, will be La Serva Padrona, a comic intermezzo in two parts composed in 1733 by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi to a libretto by Gennaro Antonio Federico. Regarded as one of the most important examples of the eighteenth-century comic intermezzo, the opera tells of the cunning young servant Serpina, who manages to overturn the social order and become mistress of the house by marrying Uberto. Its essential structure, immediate melodies and close bond between music and text played a decisive role in establishing opera buffa as an independent genre within European musical theatre. Soprano Daniela Rosaria Barbara will play Serpina, while bass Federico Benetti takes on the role of Uberto. Alessandro Avallone will be Vespone, Uberto's mute servant, and will also provide the narrative and musical introduction. On stage, the Orchestra da Camera Benedetto Marcello, conducted by Maestro Simone Veccia. 

On Wednesday, July 29, the Orchestra da Camera Benedetto Marcello, once again under the direction of Simone Veccia and with an introduction by Alessandro Avallone, will present the concert Tra Ottocento e Novecento – melodie cantabili per orchestra d'archi. The program brings together tradition, stylistic renewal and folk influences through the music of Ottorino Respighi, Samuel Barber, Edward Elgar and Béla Bartók. On the bill are Respighi's Antiche danze e arie, Suite n. 3, Barber's Adagio for Strings, Elgar's Serenade for Strings in E minor and Bartók's Romanian Folk Dances. 

On Thursday, July 30, to mark the eightieth anniversary of women winning the right to vote in Italy, the program will be devoted to the great female figures of opera. Through arias, duets and ensemble pieces, the evening will trace a path through female characters who differ widely in temperament, history and musical writing. Women caught between desire, passion, conflict, irony and tragic strength, portrayed through the repertoire of Bellini, Rossini, Puccini, Bizet, Leoncavallo and Verdi. The program will be performed by sopranos Angela Nisi and Patrizia Polia, together with mezzo-sopranos Eleonora Cipolla and Cristina Melis, accompanied on piano by Eugenia Tamburri. The evening will be introduced by Alessandro Avallone and will also feature Cantus Mundi – Corale Femminile Aureliano, conducted by Piera Lanciani, with Fabio Montesi on piano and Stefano Salvatore on percussion. 

The series will close on Friday, July 31 with the Gran Gala Lirico, an evening of song, poetry and theatre devoted to arias, duets and ensemble pieces from Italian and international opera. The program will move through some of the repertoire's best-known pages, from intimate lyricism to dazzling virtuosity and the dramatic complexity of ensemble writing. The evening will star soprano Patrizia Polia, mezzo-soprano Eleonora Cipolla, tenor Carlo Putelli, baritone Paolo Ciavarelli and bass Federico Benetti, accompanied on piano by Eugenia Tamburri, with an introduction by Alessandro Avallone. The pieces on the program include works by Mozart, Rossini, Verdi, Puccini, Bizet, Bellini, Gershwin and Bernstein, culminating in the quartet Bella figlia dell'amore from Rigoletto, performed by Patrizia Polia, Eleonora Cipolla, Carlo Putelli and Paolo Ciavarelli. Maestro Simone Veccia, conductor of the Orchestra da Camera Benedetto Marcello, has built up over the course of his career a broad repertoire devoted to contemporary music, musical theatre and the rediscovery of lesser-performed twentieth-century scores. His credits include productions of Don Giovanni, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Don Pasquale, La Traviata, Rigoletto and Cavalleria rusticana, working with orchestras and institutions in Italy and abroad. 

All events are free admission and will begin at 9pm at the Chiostro del Buon Pastore, Via di Bravetta 383, Rome. 

PROGRAM

Tuesday, July 28, 9pm
La Serva Padrona
Comic intermezzo in two parts
Music by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi
Libretto by Gennaro Antonio Federico

Serpina – Daniela Rosaria Barbara, soprano
Uberto – Federico Benetti, bass
Vespone – Alessandro Avallone
Orchestra da Camera Benedetto Marcello
Conductor Simone Veccia
Narrative and musical introduction by Alessandro Avallone

Wednesday 29 July, 9 pm
Between the 19th and 20th centuries – lyrical melodies for string orchestra

Orchestra da Camera Benedetto Marcello
Conductor Simone Veccia
Narrative and musical introduction by Alessandro Avallone

Music by Ottorino Respighi, Samuel Barber, Edward Elgar and Béla Bartók

Thursday 30 July, 9 pm
The great female figures of opera

Angela Nisi, soprano
Patrizia Polia, soprano
Eleonora Cipolla, mezzo-soprano
Cristina Melis, mezzo-soprano
Eugenia Tamburri, piano
Narrative and musical introduction by Alessandro Avallone

Featuring Cantus Mundi – Corale Femminile Aureliano
Conductor Piera Lanciani
Accompanying pianist Fabio Montesi
Percussion Stefano Salvatore

Friday 31 July, 9 pm
Grand Opera Gala
Arias, duets and ensemble pieces from Italian and international opera

Patrizia Polia, soprano
Eleonora Cipolla, mezzo-soprano
Carlo Putelli, tenor
Paolo Ciavarelli, baritone
Federico Benetti, bass
Eugenia Tamburri, piano
Narrative and musical introduction by Alessandro Avallone

Organisation
Musica e Arte ETS

Classical music consultants
Alessandro Avallone and Simone Veccia

Ride the wave of great music

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