Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco and his music was part of an evening that celebrated 200 Years of Italian Opera in the United States, which took place at the Fondazione Corriere della Sera in Milan on 29 January 2025. The presentation of “A Bridge of Music” began with a conversation led by Ferruccio de Bortoli, president of the Fondazione Corriere della Sera, which preceded a concert of music by Rossini, Paganini and Castelnuovo-Tedesco.
During the pre-concert talk, Prof. Giuseppe Gerbino of Columbia University and Prof. Francesco Zimei of Università di Trento spoke about Italian opera’s beginnings in the United States in the 1820s; Claudio Orazi, Superintendent of Opera Carlo Felice in Genoa, announced the ambitious schedule of programs that “A Bridge of Music” has planned for the next five years; Enrico Girardi, music critic of the Corriere della Sera spoke about Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s unusual journey from Florence to Hollywood following Mussolini’s racial laws, and he interviewed the composer’s granddaughter Diana about Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s contributions to artistic ties between Italy and the United States.
Following the conference, the mezzosoprano Elmina Hasan, violinist Giuseppe Gibboni (winner of the 56th Paganini Prize), and the pianist Valentina Messa performed a concert program dedicated to Gioachino Rossi, whose Barber of Seville was the first Italian opera performed in the United States; Niccolo Paganini, one of the most prominent representatives of the Genoese music culture; and Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, a unique voice in the story of 20th century Italian music.
A video recording of the event is available HERE.
“A Bridge of Music” is an international cultural project conceived by Superintendent Orazi in 2016 with the aim of enhancing music as a driver of cultural diplomacy between Italy and the United States.
The initiative’s next event will be in New York: The Italian Academy at Columbia University will host a conference and concert on Tuesday, 11 February 2025 at 5:30 pm.