Neapolitan comic theatre at the Ravello Festival
Appointments include Stefano Bollani in Rome and the Brazilian guitar of Yamandu Costa in Padua
2' min read
2' min read
At the renowned Ravello Festival, now in its 72nd edition, the good opportunity to take a plunge into 17th-century Naples, multicultural capital of the Mediterranean and Europe's largest metropolis (together with Paris). Presenting this Intermezzo is an ensemble such as the Cappella Neapolitana, conducted by Antonio Florio, well known for its decades-long work on Neapolitan musical civilisation. Featured instruments, however, in Padua and Rome. One of the greatest guitarists, the Brazilian Yamandu Costa; and the jazz piano of Stefano Bollani.
Ravello
On the 26th at Villa Rufolo, "Bello tiempo passato", one of the earliest Neapolitan comic intermezzos, from 1673; with the Neapolitan Chapel ensembles directed by Antonio Florio. The plot is typical of the plot of seventeenth-century comic companies. The scene opens on the Neapolitan alleys of a city that was the most populous in Europe (on a par with Paris), the capital of the Mediterranean. A Calabrese man wanders around, lamenting for a distant love and the injustices he has suffered, in his dialect that sounds almost incomprehensible. He is stopped by a Neapolitan, an innkeeper who wants to take advantage of the stranger's naivety to get money out of him by offering him appetising food. But along comes a young man who has been chasing his prey, the Calabrese himself, to make fun of him. At the most beautiful moment, a Spanish soldier appears...
For the 72nd Ravello Festival, which continues until 25 August.
www.ravellofestival.com
Padova
On the 26th in Piazza Eremitani, an excellent opportunity to hear Brazilian guitarist and composer Yamandu Costa, one of the greatest guitarists of today. With his superb seven-string guitar, he plays from choro to classical; but Yamandu is also a gaùcho (a resident of the province of Rio Grande do Sul) full of milongas, tangos, zambas and chamané. He is therefore a 'mix' of all these styles, thus justifying the meaning in Tupi-Guarani (native Indian-Brazilian language) of his beautiful name, Yamandu, 'the forerunner of the waters'. For Castello Festival, which ends on 1 August.
