In the context of Parma Italian Capital of Culture 2021, on Saturday 18 September at Palazzo del Governatore, the exhibition Opera: the stage of society opens to the public, and will stay visible until Thursday 16 January 2022.
The exhibition is curated by the art historian Gloria Bianchino and Giuseppe Martini, based on a scenographic design project by Margherita Palli Rota.
Opera explores the two-way relationship between opera and society: 514 pieces exhibited including paintings, ancient volumes, prints, photographs, booklets, magazines, archival documents, costumes, props and audiovisual and sound materials, coming from 75 public lenders and private collectors.
Among the works on display: the paintings of Francesco Hayez I Vespri Siciliani (1846) from the Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rome, and Pope Urban II in the square of Clermont preaching the first Crusade (1835) from the collection of the Cariplo Foundation in Milan; the painting Au théatre by Federico Zandomeneghi (1885-1895) from the Matteucci Institute in Viareggio; a section of portraits of Lina Cavalieri, including the Portrait of Lina Cavalieri by Cesare Tallone (1905) from the Galleria Campari in Milan, and the series of photographs by Francesco Paolo Michetti from the Alinari Archive in Florence; the fragment 'W Verdi' from the Treviso Civic Museums; the original libretto of Monteverdi's Orfeo from the Biblioteca Teresiana in Mantua; stage and evening dresses, including a piece by Balenciaga from Tirelli Costumes in Rome.
