DISCOVERING MORRICONE

This unique tribute to the music of the great Italian composer is enriched with new, largely lesser-known but immensely beautiful pieces from Maestro Morricone’s boundless repertoire, bringing to life the new show *Alla scoperta di Morricone* (Discovering Morricone). More than just a concert, it is a journey of words, evocative moments and solo performances that guide the audience through the decades that have made Italian and international cinema and music great. 

This incredible journey begins amidst the melodies that have remained in the collective memory of generations – with the evocative power of *Mission*, *The Legend of 1900*, Once Upon a Time in the West, *Nuovo Cinema Paradiso*, *The Hateful Eight*, *Once Upon a Time in America*, *For a Few Dollars More*, *Malena* – and which has characterised the Ensemble Symphony Orchestra’s work in recent seasons – continues by exploring other works such as *The Untouchables*, *The Caliph*, *Reverse Canon*, *Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion*, and with a significant focus on the great songs written for artists such as Dulce Pontes, Joan Baez, Amii Stewart and Mina in a new symphonic arrangement.

500 film scores, 70 million records sold worldwide, six nominations and two Oscars won, three Grammys, four Golden Globes and a Golden Lion make Ennio Morricone one of the all-time giants of music. Hence the idea of the Ensemble Symphony Orchestra, the pride of our country, to pay tribute to the Maestro.

The Ensemble approaches Morricone’s music following a series of major national and international collaborations: Mario Biondi, Max Gazzè, Franco Battiato, Giovanni Allevi, Renato Zero, Francesco Renga, Pooh, Baustelle, PFM, Andrea Bocelli, Sting, Kylie Minogue, Robbie Williams, Nile Rodgers, Sam Smith and Luis Bacalov. With over six hundred concerts across Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, France, Austria, the United Kingdom and Belgium, the orchestra demonstrates great versatility and a keen eye for every genre of music, with a repertoire ranging from the best-known opera arias to the soundtracks of world-famous films, from ‘Frozen’ to ‘Harry Potter’.
This tribute will feature a succession of soloists and principal players from leading Italian theatres and symphony orchestras. Special guests include the soprano Anna Delfino, a favourite with European opera audiences, who will bring to life the emotion of ‘Deborah’s Theme’ from *Once Upon a Time in America*, the talented cellist Federico Covre with his interpretation of *Nuovo Cinema Paradiso*; and trumpeter Stefano Benedetti, who will treat the audience to unforgettable pieces such as *A Fistful of Dollars*. Among the lesser-known but highly fascinating pieces is a tribute to *Uccellacci Uccellini*, born from the collaboration between the genius of Ennio Morricone and Pier Paolo Pasolini.

Accompanying the audience and bringing the characters and settings to life is the talented actor Andrea Bartolomeo, an actor, director and theatre lecturer. Since 1998, with Teatro Nucleo, he has performed at the most important international open-air theatre festivals and in squares across Europe, South America and Asia. Since 2014, he has been working with director Alessandro Serra, with whom he has staged the multi-award-winning *Macbettu*, which has been on tour across three continents since 2016, and the production *The Cherry Orchard*, which has been on an international tour since 2019. He is the artistic director of two festivals (the Giovenco Teatro Festival and the Gioiosa Percussioni Festival) and of the Centre for Research into the Performing Arts, nestled in the natural surroundings of the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park.
Stefano Ungari is responsible for the sound design of the production, whilst the lighting design is by Alberto Ciafardoni.