HERE CULTURE IS AT HOME
In recent years, the Emilia-Romagna Region has worked to spread the awareness that culture and creativity are essential resources for building the future, namely identity and economic and employment development. There are almost 80,000 employees and over 30,000 active companies here in the cultural-creative field. As for live performances alone, with its 15,000 performances a year, Emilia-Romagna is among the top regions in Italy for offerings. This figure, in addition to being the result of regional policies that believe in and invest in this sector, is the fruit of the long tradition of a land that has given birth to great artists and show business figures: from Giuseppe Verdi to Luciano Pavarotti, and then Vasco Rossi, Ligabue, Zucchero, and Laura Pausini, ambassador of our region to the world. Here, scattered throughout the territory, even in the smallest towns, there are over 100 historic theaters (77 still active today) that testify to a love for theater and melodrama deeply rooted in this land since the 18th century. In fact, there are six historic theaters (Teatro Municipale di Piacenza, Teatro Regio di Parma, Teatro Municipale “Romolo Valli” di Reggio Emilia, Teatro Comunale “Luciano Pavarotti” di Modena, Teatro Comunale “Claudio Abbado” di Ferrara, Teatro Comunale “Dante Alighieri” di Ravenna), which together with the Fondazione Teatro Comunale di Bologna, the main opera entity of the region, produce and program both the classic opera repertoire and contemporary works with continuity and recognized quality.
In the realm of opera and classical music, important events such as the Ravenna Festival—one of the most acclaimed and prestigious festivals in Europe involving great artists of our time like Maestro Riccardo Muti, who lives in Ravenna and whose presence always enriches the annual program of events—and the Verdi Festival, over a month of operas, concerts, and events between Parma and Busseto, the birthplace of Giuseppe Verdi. In Busseto, the International Verdi Voices Competition is held, where young singers from all over the world gather every year, as is the case for the bel canto master classes in Modena taught by Mirella Freni and Raina Kabaivanska.
With the aim of promoting the dissemination of classical music, the training of young musicians, and the musical education of the community, the Emilia-Romagna Region has established the Arturo Toscanini Foundation, which has two ensembles: the Regional Orchestra of Emilia Romagna and the Arturo Toscanini Philharmonic, a point of excellence in production activities, a protagonist in the performance of the great symphonic repertoire thanks to the presence of great soloists and international conductors. The region hosts countless festivals and musical events of various genres: from ancient music (Grandezze & Meraviglie) and classical music (Nuove Atmosfere, the concert series of the Arturo Toscanini Philharmonic, Bologna Festival, Emilia-Romagna Festival, Ferrara Musica, Sagra Musicale Malatestiana) to contemporary music (Ferrara sotto le Stelle, MICO, Traiettorie, Arti Vive Festival), from Jazz (Bologna Jazz Festival, Ravenna Jazz, Piacenza Jazz Festival) to soul (Porretta Soul Festival). In Reggio Emilia, the National Dance Foundation is located, created by the Region together with the Municipality, the only public dance production center in Italy, a place of training, study, and research in the field of ballet, whose company, Aterballetto, represents the most important contemporary dance company in Italy. Numerous dance festivals are held in the region, in addition to the programs of the theaters Comunale di Bologna, “Luciano Pavarotti” di Modena, “Claudio Abbado” di Ferrara, and Regio di Parma. In the theatrical field, the programming is very rich: from children’s theater (in Bologna an entire theater—Testoni-La Baracca—is entirely dedicated to productions for children aged two to seven years) to puppet theater, from civil theater to street theater. In Pennabilli, Artisti in piazza 2016 is held, while, as every year at the end of August, Ferrara hosts the Buskers Festival. But ancient theater also finds representation in archaeological areas: in Veleia, the Ancient Theater Festival is held every summer; in Sarsina, the birthplace of the Latin playwright Plautus, the Plautus Festival can be attended in August. However, it is in contemporary performing arts that our region represents a reference point not only at the national level. Among the festivals, we particularly remember the Santarcangelo Festival, now in its 49th edition, and Vie Festival between Modena and Bologna. Also regarding the avant-garde and the search for new languages and new forms of artistic expression, Live arts week stands out, a unique event in Italy with performances, site-specific, concerts, live media, expanded cinema, held in Bologna in spring, and AngelicA, International Music Festival, which has just celebrated its twenty-ninth birthday. Gender Bender is also the main multidisciplinary festival of live arts and cinema dedicated to gender identity.
EMILIAROMAGNACREATIVA: YOUR DAILY APPOINTMENT WITH CULTURE IN EMILIA-ROMAGNA
To get an idea of the vastness, variety, and spread of cultural offerings in Emilia-Romagna, as well as always updated and accurate information on events, festivals, and exhibitions, just consult EmiliaRomagnaCreativa, the creativity portal of the Emilia-Romagna Region. Here, in the Show channel, you will always find an open window on OperaStreaming, just the most recent of the projects promoted by the Emilia-Romagna Region.
CULTURAL PROMOTION ABROAD
Hundreds of live performances, cinema, exhibitions, and conferences from the Emilia-Romagna Region are brought to many countries on all continents, thanks to the collaboration of diplomatic and cultural representations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. To be informed about the internationalization activities of regional culture, you can consult the site Cultura d’Europa.
