The Italian conductor comes back to the Liceu Conservatory to conduct at its Auditorium within the framework of the “Futura” Conference organized by the General Consulate of Italy in Barcelona, the Italian Institute of Culture in Barcelona, the Italian Chamber of Commerce of Barcelona, Casa Seat and the Liceu Conservatory Foundation.
The Symphony Orchestra directed by the director Speranza Scappucci was the main protagonist of a musical evening where an artistic proposal of great interest could be enjoyed by the audience. The program included the overture of G. Rossini’s William Tell, Mozart’s Symphony No. 35 in D major K385 “Haffner”, and the overture of Verdi’s opera Nabucco.
This concert is part of “Futura”, an endeavor dedicated to thinking on the cultural future of Milan and Barcelona, and to explain the experience of sustainability in all areas and to foster a dialogue on topics such as gastronomy, mobility and music, in cities that have shown great resilience when deeply affected by the pandemic.
Dr. Maria Serrat, General Director of the Liceu Conservatory Foundation and the Consul General of Italian in Barcelona, Ms. Gaia Danese, addressed a speech to the attendees before the start of the concert, and dedicated it to the victims of Covid-19, health personnel involved in the care of people affected by the pandemic and all people who work in the cultural sector and who are committed to offering the comfort of culture in the current difficult circumstances.
The event, that was streamed, was attended by numerous members of the Italian community in Barcelona, friends of the Liceu Conservatory, and representatives of the Generalitat of Catalonia and the Barcelona City Council. After the enthusiastic applause, the conductor offered as an encore the very well known “Va pensiero”, from the opera Nabucco, and invited the audience to sing along with the orchestra this piece that bears an important meaning to Italian people, many of whom regard it as a second National anthem.
Speranza Scappucci is currently one of the worldwide most prestigious musical conductors, and she has made an important contribution to the normalization of the role of women with the baton in front of the orchestra. Born in Italy, she graduated from the Juilliard School in New York and the Conservatorio di Musica Santa Cecilia in Rome. Throughout her career, she has appeared in venues in Vienna, Paris, Rome, Barcelona, Zurich, Los Angeles and New York. Since 2017 she is the main guest conductor of the Opéra Royal de Wallonie in Liège. She made her debut in Barcelona during the 2017/18 season conducting Verdi’s Attila, and her last visit to the Liceu Theater was to conduct La Traviata last December.
During those days, Speranza Scappucci payed a visit to the Liceu Conservatory for the first time, to give a master class on Verdi’s opera on Thursday, December 17, within the framework of the Liceu Cambra series, with the participation of Master’s student Yelena Montero, who sang parts of La Traviata.