1600 Venezia anniversary tribute

On Thursday 25 March at 6.30 p.m. the Rai will pay tribute to the city by broadcasting on Rai2 an evocative special dedicated to Venice, hosted by Alessio Boni.

A greeting from the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella and the Mayor of Venice Luigi Brugnaro and then the story of Venice through images and music, performed by the Orchestra and Choir of the Teatro la Fenice.

"1600 Venice Special Anniversary" will not only be an opportunity to retrace the history of the City, but also to tell the story of a Venice that looks to the future, to technology and to environmental protection. A city that, since the time of the Serenissima Republic, has been both a Stato da Mar (Sea State) and a Stato da Tera (Land State) and that, in this delicate balance, is committed to being a point of reference for the new generations. Images, therefore, of a city that in these 1600 years has deserved to be included in the Unesco World Heritage List and that claims its vocation for growth and development.

The musical programme includes mostly music written for Venice and the Fenice, starting with Giuseppe Verdi. It is no coincidence that pages from Attila, composed for the theatre in 1846, have been chosen. But also Otello, which pays homage to the city in the finale of the third act. And La traviata, premiered at La Fenice, as well as Ernani, which made its debut at La Fenice a few years earlier. But the theme also recurs with L'italiana in Algeri, which Rossini wrote for the Teatro di San Benedetto. Then the Barcarolle from Jacques Offenbach's Contes d'Hoffmann. The only exception is the "Nessun dorma" from Puccini's Turandot, chosen for its emblematic value as a universal song of the redemption of the human soul.

Maestro Renato Palumbo will conduct the Fenice Orchestra and Choir, and on stage will be tenor Fabio Sartori and soprano Francesca Dotto. A programme by Giovanna Ciorciolini, Stefania Bove written with Alessandro Migliaccio, directed by Fabrizio Guttuso Alaimo.