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The final performance of the 2024-2025 workshop of Project Young, one of the main educational initiatives linked to the Prose Season and Other Paths of the Teatro Donizetti Foundation, is titled If We Were Shadows. The show, which will involve the young participants of the training course for young actors under the direction of Fabio Comana, will take place on Saturday, June 7 and Sunday, June 8 in the spaces of the Teatro Sociale at the following times: Saturday, June 7 at 4:00 PM, 6:00 PM, 8:00 PM; Sunday, June 8 - 10:00 AM, 12:00 PM, 3:00 PM, 5:00 PM. If We Were Shadows is an itinerant performance, a walk through the corridors, rooms, and other usually hidden corners of the Teatro Sociale inspired by the ancient history of the place and the desire to engage in creating a sort of theatrical collage, representing brief original fragments that refer to characters from different eras and situations. It all stems from a suggestion: when the audience leaves the theater, when even the “last staff member closes the door behind them and the hall plunges into” darkness, someone inside the theater begins to breathe. These are the characters from the many stories that theater has seen performed coming to life. Freed from the constraints of the stage, but imprisoned in the space and time that the authors have decided for them, these characters are eager to meet and express themselves freely, sometimes to rebel. The show requires reaching some spaces via stairs. The performance, reserved for small groups of spectators at a time, aims to offer the young participants of Project Young, 15 individuals between 21 and 28 years old selected from 30 candidates, the opportunity to put into practice the training course that began last October. During this course, they were able to meet various stage professionals, guests of the Prose Season and Other Paths, as well as young newly-professional ex-Young participants. Actors involved: Francesco Baldin, Sofia Bolchi, Martina Citroni, Martina Di Caro, Leila Gervasoni, Beatrice Gotti, Carolina Grossi, Clara Marchesi, Matteo Masolini, Elisa Mercurio, Giulia Pizzaballa, Marta Salvi, Letizia Sanchioni, Valeria Spertini, Daniela Tasca. Maria Graia Panigada, Artistic Director of the Prose Season and Other Paths, emphasizes the educational value of the "initiative she conceived: ‘The young people of Project Young inhabit the rehearsal room of the Teatro Donizetti guided by Fabio Comana. Their journey is one of searching for a true theater, in which to let themselves be represented and, for some of them, in which to seek their life's profession. Following their artistic and human journey is for me a source of encouragement for everything I accomplish within’ the Teatro Donizetti Foundation: these young people give me a sense of future, of possibility, of vitality for our theater". "Last year, with the intense experience lived by the students of Project Young under the inspiration of a master like Cesar Brie, a three-year journey concluded during which I had the opportunity to see the technical preparation and motivation of

With the usual autumn and winter programming recently concluded, the Donizetti Theatre Foundation is not stopping and, already looking ahead to the next season, is searching for front-of-house staff for the shows and events that will be held at the Donizetti Theatre and the Teatro Sociale from September 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026. For this purpose, a selection procedure has been activated, through the collection of expressions of interest, by curriculum and individual interview, to form a ranking from which the Foundation will draw the necessary personnel to cover the service. The selected staff will be assigned to welcoming and assisting the public, as described in the job posting itself. The expression of interest should be submitted by sending the appropriate request, which can be downloaded from the Transparent Administration area of the website www.teatrodonizetti.it, by June 18 to the following email address: selezionemaschere@fondazioneteatrodonizetti.org The evaluation of candidates will be carried out through analysis of the curriculum vitae and individual interview. To learn about the requirements and for more information, please carefully read the announcement published at the link: https://trasparenza.teatrodonizetti.it/documentazione/bandi-aperti/

The opera will be staged in Bergamo “as part of the 2026 Donizetti festival” and will be a participatory performance aimed at younger audiences The deadline for submitting applications is July 21, 2025, and the winner will receive a fee of three thousand euros in addition to a publishing contract with Casa Ricordi The call is open to librettists Under 35 and is available at this link: www.donizettiopera.org/#librettista   A new libretto for a new opera aimed at younger audiences: this is the next challenge of the Fondazione Teatro Donizetti in Bergamo, which begins with the publication of a call to select a librettist Under 35, who will be entrusted with writing the text, in Italian, for a new opera for young audiences between 8 and 14 years old. This is a concrete opportunity for young Italian and European theater writers who will be able to hear their verses sung in autumn 2026 as part of Donizetti Opera, the international festival dedicated to the famous Bergamo composer. The call for applications with mandatory attachments is already online in the Open Calls section of the Fondazione Teatro Donizetti website, accessible via the link: www.donizettiopera.org/#librettista The call is open to all those who, as of January 1, 2025, have not yet turned 35 and is part of a project that combines dramaturgical research, education in listening, and concrete attention to emerging creativity. The opera will be dedicated to brothers Gaetano and Giuseppe Donizetti, based on a subject by Luca Baccolini, journalist, music critic, and author, with music composed by Marco Taralli. The performance will include moments of active participation from the audience in the hall, with guided choral interventions. The chosen author for writing the libretto will receive a gross fee of 3,000.00 euros and will work closely with the creative team of Donizetti Opera, in addition to signing a publishing contract with the prestigious Casa Ricordi. To participate in the selection, candidates are invited to create the dramaturgical transposition and detailed synopsis with scene divisions of two famous stories from 20th-century Italian literature: Il colombre by Dino Buzzati and Il treno ha fischiato by Luigi Pirandello, for which they will also write the libretto for at least two scenes of their choice, using prose or verse writing. Applications must be submitted no later than July 21, 2025, exclusively through the online form attached to the call. The ranking will be published on September 15, and the delivery of the final version of the libretto is scheduled for December 31, 2025. With this initiative – strongly supported by the artistic and musical director of Donizetti Opera, Riccardo Frizza – the Fondazione Teatro Donizetti reaffirms its commitment to the development of contemporary operatic repertoire aimed at young audiences, fostering the emergence of a new generation of authors capable of engaging with sung words and the great themes of modernity. At the same time, it relaunches a vision of opera as a living space, capable of educating, engaging, and renewing itself, expanding the promotion

Saturday, May 31 (5:00 PM), in the Ridotto Gavazzeni of Teatro Donizetti, marks the beginning of the fourth edition of Il Centro della Musica, a series organized by the Teatro Donizetti Foundation in collaboration with the Department of Social Policies of the Municipality of Bergamo. There will be a total of six concerts, always scheduled on Saturday afternoons until July 7, which represent a precious opportunity to enter the city's main theater, and the space named after a great conductor, on an unusual day and time. An original way to experience the city center, combining the magic of music with being together in the theater. It begins with a journey into the ever-evocative world of Argentine tango and with the Ensemble of the Italian Philharmonic Orchestra, formed for the occasion by Andrea Coruzzi, bandoneon and accordion, Cesare Carretta, violin, and Nicola Ziliani, double bass. Tango is a musical genre that originated in the early 1900s; the instrument that most characterizes it, invented in the 19th century by the German Henrich Band and from which it took its name, is the bandoneon. This instrument was used to replace the harmonium in religious functions and, thanks to its small size, traveled on the ships of European migrants seeking economic fortune in Argentina. But it is in the estuary of the Mar del Plata, between Buenos Aires and Montevideo, that tango originated, in an incredible and unique cultural blend between America, Europe, and Africa. It had enormous commercial success and, through the growing production of 78 rpm records, spread to Europe and Italy, enriching the vast tradition of Italian song. What then happened thanks to the great Astor Piazzolla was a real revolution that not by chance took the name of nuevo tango. A series of famous compositions by Astor Piazzolla - including Adios Nonino, Inverno Porteño and Oblivion - will be at the center of the concert by the “Ensemble of the” Italian Philharmonic Orchestra, along with pieces by Carlos Gardel, the quintessential voice of tango, and the Frenchman Richard Galliano, indicated by many as the most authoritative heir of the Argentine master himself. The next appointment with Il Centro della Musica will feature, on June 7, the Ensemble Locatelli directed by Thomas Chigioni and the eternal music of Johann Sebastian Bach.

Over 5,000 students from 30 schools in Bergamo and its province involved in watching performances and participating in individual projects: this is the first salient figure of the educational projects linked to the 2024/2025 Prose Season and Other Paths of the Donizetti Theatre Foundation. This figure confirms young people's interest in theatrical expression in general and in the specific themes addressed by the titles in the program. During the 2024/2025 Prose Season and Other Paths, numerous educational courses were offered to secondary schools, alongside sound and lighting courses, which will take place in June, and the Young Project for aspiring young actors, which will culminate in an itinerant performance scheduled for June 7 and 8 in the spaces of the Teatro Sociale. Massimo Boffelli, General Director of the Donizetti Theatre Foundation, adds: "The organization of the Foundation's activities is very complex and articulated and is not limited to just offering performances but, thanks to a series of skills and professionals we can rely on, also includes educational initiatives within all our programs, such as the Prose Season and Other Paths, the Donizetti Opera festival and Bergamo Jazz; all activities that attract significant participation from young people and schools in Bergamo and its province. Young people, now more than ever, need beauty." For Maria Grazia Panigada, Artistic Director of the Prose Season and Other Paths, "attention to young people, both as an audience and as direct protagonists, represents an aspect of absolute importance in" the activity of the Donizetti Theatre Foundation and starts from the involvement of active realities in "associations: ‘What does’ a social garden or a food pantry have to do with a prose season? Why talk about hikikomori or civil responsibility in the theater? Yet these are among the themes we have addressed in our work with students this" year. We met them in the theater spaces, in classrooms, but also by going out into the territory to explore some representative places where active citizenship can be cultivated," she says. ""I am convinced of the value of this osmosis between the internal space of the theater and the surrounding territory: I would like this aspect to increasingly become a key to interpreting our theater-making. I am also convinced that education is the heart of a" cultural institution like the Donizetti Theatre Foundation and, in this sense, it is our duty - in addition to "bringing young people closer to theatrical viewing, giving them critical tools to understand and evaluate it - to make them understand how" scenic action can be a space and time to reflect on oneself, on one's social relationship, but also on the city, on the world in which we live." ""The consequence of this work is finding oneself in the theater, before the performance, with a different attention, with a new care for listening and then, at the end, feeling the desire to confront, exchange opinions and perhaps take home new perspectives. I am therefore grateful to those who collaborate with me in the

With the program for the next Prose Season and Other Paths already announced in recent days, it's time to take stock of the season that concluded last Sunday with the poetic acrobatics of the Finzi Pasca Company and their 'Titizé', applauded by nearly 8,000 spectators. A show that literally enchanted audiences of all ages, as Artistic Director Maria Grazia Panigada noted in a post on her Facebook page: "One can describe the wind or the lapping of water, but it's much more difficult to express the emotion they evoke in us, the taste of life they leave us with, the imaginings they provoke. The Finzi Pasca Company essentially does this, and their show 'Titizé' takes us to that other side, where reality is not depicted but rather the emotions that truth and dreams, intertwining at dawn, gift us. And so this week has been one of wide-eyed wonder, smiles transformed into laughter, applause mixed with suspended sighs, with the serenity of play where everything can change without ever replacing the dream." Overall, the recently concluded Prose Season recorded a total of 52,751 attendees, with 5,770 subscriptions, an 18% increase compared to the previous season. The most-watched show was 'La coscienza di Zeno' with Alessandro Haber, with 9,265 attendees, including an additional performance for students, closely followed by 'Titizé'. "Once again, we can only express great satisfaction," comments Massimo Boffelli, General Director of the Teatro Donizetti Foundation, "The Prose Season is one of our most qualified and qualifying offerings, as demonstrated by the attention and affection of the audience. The increase from seven to eight performances has allowed us to accommodate new requests, and we can state, without fear of contradiction, that this is a number of performances that few other theaters at a national level can boast today, even in cities larger than Bergamo. And these results are achieved only thanks to a team of the highest professional level, to whom we extend our most heartfelt thanks." That the Donizetti is one of the most beloved theaters in Italy is evident from the words of the performers themselves in the shows hosted. In this regard, it's enough to report some of the testimonials of esteem expressed by them in the Season's "diary". "There are theaters that manage to contain all the mysterious game that has made your career worth pursuing: the Donizetti, for me, from my beginnings until today, is one of them," writes Franco Branciaroli, who shared applause with Umberto Orsini for 'I ragazzi irresistibili', the opening title of the Season. "It was an honor and a great joy to return here for the first time after the magnificent renovation. It was particularly moving to bring Eduardo's words to a theater so virtuous and an example for all of Italy," reads the testimony of Fausto Russo Alesi. "The only real problem at the Donizetti is having to leave," adds Silvio Orlando, who, along with his company, brought 'Ciarlatani' to the stage.

The Donizetti Theatre Foundation, together with the Municipality of Bergamo, announces the 2025|2026 Season of Prose and Other Paths, the backbone of the Theatre Season, whose complete program also includes Operetta and Opera, as well as numerous educational projects currently being defined. A rich and articulated program that will take place at the Donizetti Theatre and the Social Theatre over six months, from December 2025 to May 2026, with seven titles on the bill for the Prose Season, with eight performances for each show (from Saturday to Sunday of the following week; Monday rest), and as many for Other Paths, with three matinees. In bringing greetings and renewing the commitment of the Municipal Administration, Mayor Elena Carnevali emphasizes how the Season of Prose and Other Paths occupies "a prominent place in the life of the City of Bergamo. It is a crucial moment of sharing and cultural growth: theater, in its multitude of languages, is the mirror of reality and reality is reflected in it, with all its burden of humanity. Bergamo has long been a city with a pronounced theatrical vocation, and the work carried out by the Donizetti Theatre Foundation, thanks to its diversified activities, is the bearer of great values, also in terms of educating younger generations. All this contributes to making our city even more special." Sergio Gandi, Councilor for Culture, expresses his appreciation for artistic choices "of absolute quality that make a fundamental contribution to the cultural offer of Bergamo. A city that explores different expressive fields – from music to cinema, from visual arts to dance to spoken theater indeed – and that draws its richness from research and experimentation. Not just simple spectacular entertainment – though this is obviously needed too – but a set of proposals, including courageous ones, that can stimulate interest and curiosity." George Berta, President of the Donizetti Theatre Foundation, takes the opportunity to thank those who work for the success of all the Foundation's activities: "The positive results achieved in recent years are the fruit of teamwork, from those who support us, both public and private entities, to the staff and those who collaborate with us. My thanks therefore go beyond formalities: behind every contribution, whether economic or professional, there is total adherence to a vision we believe in. A vision with broad horizons that positions the Donizetti Theatre Foundation as a qualitatively reliable interlocutor for anyone who cares about cultural and entertainment proposals, in the city but also elsewhere." Massimo Boffelli, General Director of the Donizetti Theatre Foundation, draws inspiration from the success of the 2024|2025 Season: "Over 52,000 were the total spectators for Prose, 5,000 for Other Paths. These are significant, important numbers that once again attest to our driving force, the attention and affection of the public for our proposals. Last year we increased the performances for Prose from seven to eight, which we naturally confirm: a number of performances that – we can state with confidence – few other theaters at a national level

The renowned company of actors, clowns, acrobats, dancers, and musicians led by Daniele Finzi Pasca, beloved by the Bergamo audience and beyond, returns to Teatro Donizetti to present Titizé - A Venetian Dream: the show, the final title of the 2024/2025 Prose Season and Other Paths of the Teatro Donizetti Foundation, will be on stage from Saturday, May 10 to Sunday, May 18. Directed and lighting design by Daniele Finzi Pasca. Music, orchestration, and sound design by Maria Bonzanigo. Set design by Hugo Gargiulo. Costumes by Giovanna Buzzi. On stage: Gian Mattia Baldan, Andrea Cerrato, Francesco Lanciotti, Léa Kral, Luca Morrocchi, Gloria Ninamor, Caterina Pio, Rolando Tarquini, Micol Veglia, Leo Zappitelli. Produced by Compagnia Finzi Pasca and Fondazione Teatro Stabile del Veneto - Teatro Nazionale in partnership with Gli Ipocriti by Melina Balsamo. Duration 1 hour and 20 minutes without intermission. Show times: evening 8:30 PM; Sunday, May 11 and 18 at 3:30 PM; Monday, May 12 closed. Thursday, May 15, at 6 p.m., at the Music Room of the Donizetti Theater, is scheduled for a meeting about the show with Daniele Finzi Pasca and his company. Coordinated by Maria Grazia Panigada, Artistic Director of the Prose Season and Other Paths. Faithful to the language of dreams that returns evanescent images, allusions and mirages, Titizé is a performance that leads the viewer into a rarefied and surreal universe. Its narrative, seemingly fragmented but deeply allusive, unfolds in a kaleidoscopic play that interweaves different planes of meaning, evoking a hyperbolic "grammelot." "Titizé", "you are": an emblematic word full of rhythm, which with its evocative sound draws attention to the power of the verb "to be", emphasizing the universality of an experience imagined to intimately involve a heterogeneous audience of all ages. The show blends tradition and innovation in a fascinating union between clowning, the language of the body and acrobatics - which allows for allusion, creating metaphors, amplifying emotions - and the use of innovative stage machines, giving life to a theater of wonder and lightness, without having to resort to words. With a cast of ten talented performers, Titizé invites you to immerse yourself in the essence of Venice, where past and present blend into a single fascinating story and the tales, scattered like shells on the beach, each with its beauty and mystery, are recomposed into a precious mosaic. "The clowning we practice has always been intimately linked to tradition and carries echoes of the language of Commedia dell'Arte. We come from a theater of wonder and simplicity that over the years we have contaminated using increasingly fascinating stage machines, inventing a visual aesthetic that is our own. We build shows in which we immerse multidisciplinary performers in rarefied universes where wonder sometimes manifests itself in naive, sometimes ingenious, other times surreal ways," writes Daniele Finzi Pasca in the director's notes of Titizé "The dramaturgy of our shows often seems fragmented and allusive perhaps because we always refer to the architecture of dream language that uses words sparingly

While anticipation grows for the summer concerts at Lazzaretto - on June 27 the Mare Nostrum Trio with Paolo Fresu, Richard Galliano and Jan Lundgren, on July 10 Kurt Elling the Yellowjackets, on July 18 Herbie Hancock - Bergamo Jazz Festival presents its usual event on April 30 to celebrate International Jazz Day, sponsored by UNESCO and for which Herbie Hancock is the ambassador. The concert, which emphasizes the shared values of jazz and further demonstrates Bergamo Jazz Festival's connection with its territory, will take place with free admission in the PwC Gardens of the Accademia Carrara (6:30 PM), near the Venetian Walls, a site protected by UNESCO, and will feature pianist Claudio Vignali, one of the most interesting jazz piano specialists. To attend the concert, it's necessary to book on Eventbrite. Ticket holders for the concert can visit the Accademia Carrara Museum at a discounted rate of €8.00 instead of €15.00, either before or after the event. The audience will be seated on the garden lawn: it is therefore recommended to bring blankets or cushions for the most comfortable listening experience possible. In case of bad weather, the concert will be held at the Teatro Sociale in the Upper City at the same time. Claudio Vignali is one of the most significant Italian jazz pianists of his generation: graduated in classical piano and jazz music, he has always had an interest in electronic sounds as well. One of his favorite forms of expression is piano solo, in which he combines diverse musical loves, from classical - Bach, Chopin, Ravel but also Rachmaninoff - to jazz standards, from his own compositions to songs by Italian singer-songwriters. In other words, every Claudio Vignali concert is a musical journey where tradition and modernity coexist in perfect harmony. In 2013, Claudio Vignali won the third overall prize at the most important international jazz piano competition, the "Parmigiani Montreux International Jazz Piano Solo Competition," where he had previously been selected among 10 jazz pianists under 30 from around the world. In addition to receiving other awards and recognitions, he has collaborated with important internationally renowned artists including: Dave Weckl, Joe Locke, Tiger Okoshi, Rob Mazurek, Gretchen Parlato, Shawnn Monteiro, Alex Sipiagin, Eivind Aarset, Arne Hiorth, Oddrun Eikli, Gunnar Gunnarsson, Tarun Balani. He has toured extensively worldwide, including Japan, Germany, England, France, Spain, Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, Poland, Finland, Greece, Austria, Belgium, and Turkey. Currently, in addition to leading his own projects and teaching at the Turin Conservatory, he is part of the Pericopes group and collaborates with guitarist Eleonora Strino, saxophonist Javier Girotto, and American bassist Ugonna Okegwo. INFORMATION https://www.teatrodonizetti.it/it/evento/claudio-vignali-piano-solo/ https://www.eventbrite.it/e/1200215259149?aff=oddtdtcreator

The Prose Season of the Donizetti Theater Foundation opens to contemporary dramaturgy with Building 3. Story of an Absurd Intent , a play written and directed by the Argentine Claudio Tolcachir, on stage in the main city theater from Saturday, April 5 to Sunday, April 13. On stage: Rosario Lisma, Valentina Picello, Giorgia Senesi, Stella Piccioni, Luca Tanganelli. Translation by Rosaria Ruffini. Lighting by Claudio De Pace. Costumes by Giada Masi. Produced by Piccolo Teatro di Milano – Teatro d'Europa, Carnezzeria srls, Timbre4, in collaboration with Aldo Miguel Grompone. Duration 1 hour and 30 minutes without intermission. Show times: evening 8:30 PM; Sunday April 6 and 13 at 3:30 PM; Monday April 7 no performance. Building 3. Story of an Absurd Intent is a comedy that tells the story of five characters who share the confined space of an office: their personal stories intertwine, with moments of emotion, grotesque effects, and comedy. There's Sandra, a single woman who does everything to get pregnant (Giorgia Senesi); Ettore (Rosario Lisma), a fifty-year-old mama's boy, who only after his mother's death ventures into his first clumsy romantic experiences; there's the confused, intrusive, affectionate Monica (Valentina Picello), who, not knowing how to live her own life, inserts herself into others'; there's the conflicted love between Manuel, a fragile and violent boy (Luca Tanganelli) and the more balanced Sofia (Stella Piccioni). Betrayals, misunderstandings, uncontrollable desires, dreams, and regrets: all of life unfolds before the eyes of the spectators, who recognize themselves in these stories, because Claudio Tolcachir knows how to put us in front of the mirror of our feelings. Written with great truth, the comedy is very funny, and portrays moving and comical characters. We are all the five inhabitants of Building 3. It's us who regret our first love, who fight loneliness every day, who discover ourselves in mourning, who are betrayed by those we least expect, who can't find the words, who lie to hide, whose pain makes us ridiculous, us, naive at fifty, disillusioned at twenty. Well-known to Italian audiences as well, Claudio Tolcachir is a playwright, director, actor, and founder of Teatro Timbre 4 in Buenos Aires. In 2021, he founded Timbre 4 Madrid in the Spanish capital with Lautaro Perotti and Santi Marin. An undisputed protagonist of the new Argentine scene, acclaimed also in Spain, he achieved his first international success in 2005 with the multi-award-winning La Omisión de la Familia Coleman, presented in the most important capitals of the world, including Milan, Madrid, Paris, Lisbon, Dublin, New York, and still on tour. In 1998 he founded the TIMBRE4 company, since 2001 a multi-theater venue and acting school, a fundamental cultural reference point in Buenos Aires, with which he stages texts written and directed by him, such as: La omisión de la familia Coleman, Tercer cuerpo, El viento en un violín (which together form the "Living Room Trilogy", collected in a volume and published in Italy by Editoria & Spettacolo, 2012), Emilia; then Dínamo and Próximo. He has been