This week the new edition of OperaFestival is starting off at the Boboli
\nGardens and with a repertoire of high-profile exhibitions that visitors to
\nTuscany simply can\u2019t miss. On this occasion the Gardens behind Palazzo Pitti
\nhosts some stunning works of art. On the 7th of June it all starts
\nwith the marvellous \u201cCirque Invisible\u201d of two internationally appreciated
\nartists: Victoria Chaplin and her husband Jean Baptiste Thierr\u00e9e. An
\nextraordinarily poetic circus which Charlie Chaplin\u2019s daughter and the striking
\nactor favoured by Barrault, Peter Brook and Fellini created actually in
\nFlorence twenty years ago. The Prato delle Colonne, a section of this
\nlandscaped garden, is the setting of
\nthis surrealistic circus, made of rags and of the perfect performances of these
\ntwo acrobatic clowns. Victoria dances on tightropes, rides chairs turned into hippogriffs
\nor conducts an orchestra of pans, crystal glasses and spoons. Thierr\u00e9e uses all
\nhis wits to cast spells on soap bubbles, and when he hits them with a hammer
\nthey chime like festive bells. Together they make animals appear from nowhere
\nand turn a small bunny into a gigantic rabbit. The \u201cCirque Invisible\u201d proves
\nhow theatrical charm can change reality. This magnificent show will run until
\nthe 10th of June.<\/p>\n
Following, from the 16th to the 20th of June, the
\nmusical production \u201cEvita\u201d, with music by Andrea Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim
\nRice. Concentrating on the rise to power and death of Eva Peron, this rock
\nopera comes directly from London\u2019s West End and is accompanied by a live
\nclassical orchestra. <\/p>\n
July, instead, is consecrated to Mozart and to the staging of his \u201cThe
\nMagic Flute\u201d, on the 8th and the 15th , and of his \u201cDon
\nGiovanni\u201d, on the 22nd and the 29th. These two operas are
\nalso on stage in the magnificent scenario of the Abbey of San Galgano, having
\nthe organizers, the Multipromo Cultural Association, decided to vary the
\nOperaFestival performance programme between two different yet beautifully
\ninspiring sites. <\/p>\n
Furthermore, July sees the performance of Carl Orff\u2019s \u201cCarmina Burana\u201d.
\nThis superb scenic cantata will be on at the Boboli Gardens on the 13th
\nand again at San Galgano on the 23rd. On the 19th the
\nGardens host the Otango Comany in \u201cCinc\u2019 Otango\u201d, an incredible tango
\nperformance with the best Argentine artists who succeed in enhancing the most
\nsincere feelings of this dance. Not to forget the Italian pop singer, that
\neternal seducer, Patty Pravo in concert on the 14th of July. <\/p>\n
As Hermia herself would declare: \u201cWhat a dream was here!\u201d <\/p>\n