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From 19 April to 1 July, classical music will once again take centre stage in Florence for the 88th edition of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Festival: a packed programme of events, including operas and concerts, at the prestigious Teatro del Maggio.
The Festival opens on Sunday 19 April with a contemporary opera: John Adams' The Death of Klinghoffer, directed by Luca Guadagnino. The second opera on the programme, running from Tuesday 12 May with four subsequent performances, is Giuseppe Verdi's Un ballo in maschera, in a new production by the Maggio and directed by Valentina Carrasco. The third and final opera is dedicated to the Baroque period, with Handel's Giulio Cesare, an opera seria in three acts, which opens on Sunday 14 June and will be performed on subsequent dates. It will be directed by Davide Livermore.
On the symphonic side, Daniele Gatti, the Maggio's musical director, will present a cycle dedicated to Ludwig van Beethoven's nine symphonies over four performances, starting on 18 June (Symphonies Nos 1, 4 and 7), 23 June (Symphonies Nos 5 and 6), 28 June (Symphonies Nos 2 and 3) and 1 July (Symphonies Nos 8 and 9). Zubin Mehta, the Maggio's Honorary Conductor for Life, will give a particularly symbolic concert on 29 April, the very day of his 90th birthday, which he has decided to celebrate at the Maggio and in Florence.
