The Italian Embassy in Manama, in collaboration with the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities (BACA), organized the concert “An Italian Journey” on Thursday 9 March 2023, on the occasion of the international festival “Spring of Culture” organized annually by BACA.
The evening saw soprano Laura Baldassari, tenor Francesco Brito and pianists Sabrina Avantario and Stefano Weiler perform together at the Cultural Hall theater in Manama, paying homage to the great Italian musical tradition with a succession of classical pieces, opera arias and duets which took the audience on a journey through compositions such as Rossini, Donizetti, Puccini, Schicchi, Verdi, Mascagni, Tosti and Respighi.
Soprano Laura Baldassari began opera studies at age 18, honing her technique with world-renowned teachers, including Patricia Brown and Maestros William Matteuzzi and Ferdinando Cordeiro Opa. Winner of the 1st prize “Dino Caravita” and a scholarship from the prestigious Lions Club “Dante Alighieri” of Ravenna in 2008, the soprano subsequently completed her studies with honors at the Young Artist Program of the Town Hall Theatre in Bologna. During her career, she has performed in leading roles and as a soloist in some of the most important Italian opera houses, as well as in the Wiener Saal in Salzburg.
Ambassador Paola Amadei, in an interview with the local press, declared: “The collaboration with the Bahraini Authority for Culture and Antiquities is excellent and reflects the great interest that the Bahrainis have for Italian culture. We have organized numerous events recording an excellent response from the community and we are very pleased that the tradition of Italian opera that originated in our country in the 16th Century is also so appreciated in Bahrain”.
