Today, Giordano Bruno, the new opera composed by Francesco Filidei, with a libretto by Stefano Busellato, will be performed in Porto, at the Casa da Musica.
The libretto (in 12 scenes) is based on the life of the 16th century Italian philosopher who claimed the sun was the center of the universe. He ultimately was burned at the stake.
The action is divided between the chronology of Giordano Bruno's trial and scenes directly inspired by his philosophy. Each scene is composed around one note. From the first scene centered on F sharp, each scene related to the trial is half a tone lower, and each scene related to his philosophy is half a tone higher, starting with G. (reproduced from the website dedicated to the work)The opera should last about 90 minutes. After rehearsals in Gennevilliers near Paris (the opera is a commission of the French group T&M), the opera will receive its first performance in Porto, with baritone Lionel Peintre (Giordano Bruno), tenor Jeff Martin (1st Inquisitor), bass Ivan Ludlow (2nd Inquisitor) and countertenor Guilhem Terrail (Pope Clemente VIII). The Remix Ensemble and a 12 voices chorus are conducted by Peter Rundel, with Antoine Gindt directing.
The same production will then be performed in Strasbourg (Musica Festival, September 19th and 20th), Reggio Emilia (Teatro Valli, September 26th), Milan (Piccolo Teatro Strehler, November 7th). The tour will end in April 2016 with four performances in Gennevilliers (from 14th to 21st) and in Caen on 26th.
