In 2000 Bologna was
named a European City of Culture, it brought much
attention from those who previously had known little about the city,
although Bologna’s cultural life has been thriving for centuries.
Bologna has many strong musical links, earning the epithet ‘Italians,
salute! Musical Bologna is passing!’
Mozart
and Rossini both studied in Bologna and Mozart
was just fourteen years old when he became a member of the city’s
Accademia Filarmonica, one of Europe’s leading
musical academies, which was founded in 1666. Rossini,
who hailed from nearby Pesaro, made his operatic debut here in 1814,
with Tancredi and The Italian Girl in Algiers.
Both works received a cool reception, in marked contrast to the
Italian premiere of Wagner’s Lohengrin, which
delighted the Bolognese audience and ran for a record 18 performances.
The rapturous plaudits stunned even the egocentric Wagner,
who declared such success was only possible in a city whose motto
was Libertas (Freedom). Wagner was later made an
honorary citizen of Bologna, adding further lustre to the city’s
musical reputation.
Today, in Bologna the musical tradition continues to flourish. Regular
concert cycles are performed, ad hoc, in the Sale Mozart
at the Accademia Filarmonica and in various churches
around Bologna. Posters are pinned up outside the venue and tickets
may be bought at the door.
Popular music is also popular in Bologna with both national and
international rock stars frequently performing in the football stadium
outside the city. Tickets can be bought at record
shops around the city.
Music
The
Teatro Comunale, Largo Respighi 1 (telephone number: (051) 529
999), is the primary venue for opera and also classical music in
Bologna. Since 1763, the theatre has welcomed some of the world’s
greatest composers which include Rossini, Verdi
and Wagner. The opera season, reckoned to be second
only to Milan’s La Scala, begins at the end of November and
continues through to the end of June. Tickets start at €13
for a place in the gods but are often very difficult to come by.
The Teatro Comunale organises prestigious concerts, in the theatre
and in local churches from September through to June. Music is also
featured at the Accademia Filarmonia, Via Guerrazzi
13 (telephone number: (051) 222 997) and the Basilica di
Santa Maria dei Servi, Via dei Borsaglieri 1 (telephone
number: (051) 261 710).
Dance
The ballet season is organised by the Teatro
Comunale, Largo Respighi 1 (telephone number: (051) 529 999),
while Teatri
di Vita, Via di Pratello 90/92 (telephone number: (051) 523
113), holds performances of contemporary dance and often hosts visiting
dance companies from overseas.
Theatre
Bologna has fourteen theatres in total, offering a wide selection
of drama, from Shakespeare to experimental theatre. All the performances
are conducted in Italian and often include dialect, so a good understanding
of Italian or a selfless interpreter is vital.
Tickets are available at the respective box offices. The
Teatro Duse, Via Cartoleria 42 (telephone number: (051) 213
836), is the most traditional of the playhouses and, from November
to May, attracts Bologna’s middle class with its popular repertoire
of classical drama.
The recently renovated Arena
del Sole, Via Indipendenza 44 (telephone number: (051) 291 0910),
offers a more diverse programme, ranging from the conservative to
the avant-garde.
Teatro
Dehon, Via Libia 59 (telephone number: (051) 342 934 or 344
772), is the top spot for comedy. The
Teatro Testoni, Via Matteotti 16 (telephone number: (051) 377
968), specialises in shows for children every Saturday and Sunday
afternoon.
Film
Bologna is a city of students and, inevitably, cinema is the paramount
art form. Films usually reach Italy before the UK, so visitors can
enjoy a sneak preview of the latest Hollywood blockbuster or take
in an arthouse picture in its original language. The
Nosadella, Via Nosadella (telephone number: (051) 331 506),
shows films in their original language and the Adriano,
Via San Felice 52 (telephone number: (051) 555 127), shows films
in English on Mondays, while Tiffany, Piazza Porta
Saragozza 5 (telephone number: (051) 585 253), has a Wednesday showing.
Films are shown outdoors at the Arena Puccini,
Via Serlio 25, in the summer.
Cultural
Events
Bologna hosts many international festivals and concerts. Among them
are Grandi Interpreti, a cycle of concerts from
April to June, featuring the best soloists, orchestras and musical
groups in the world, as well as Suoni dal Mundo,
a series of concerts taking place in November and December, dedicated
to world music, and Sintonia d’Assoli, a
festival of jazz and contemporary music, during the summer months.
The Cineteca Comunale, Bologna’s Municipal Cinema
Library, organises two international exhibitions dedicated to the
visual arts. The first is Cinema Ritrovato, which
is held at the end of April, which looks back at the history of
cinema with a series of screenings and lectures. The second is the
biannual Cinema dei Paesi Arabi, celebrating Arabic
film making, with the next event held in January 2004. Bologna
Sogna is a summer-long festival comprising art exhibitions,
experimental theatre, cabaret, rock, poetry and puppets, and often
performed outdoors.
Literary
Notes
'I know of no other city with such
a distinctive character,’ said the German writer,
Herman Hesse, on his visit to Bologna in 1901.
Many writers passed through Bologna on their Grand Tour of Italy
in the 18th century. Goethe was enchanted by ‘the
wide porticoes that meander through most of the town, providing
shelter from the sun and rain,’ although he wrote that ‘the
leaning tower is a disgusting sight.’ Stendhal
meanwhile eulogised Bologna as ‘a city of spirit.’
Today, Bologna is home to the postmodern and visionary author, Umberto
Eco, most famous for Il Nome Della Rosa
or The Name of the Rose (1980), which was turned
into a Hollywood movie starring Sean Connery and
Christian Slater, and Pendolo di Foucault
or Foucault’s Pendulum (1988). Victor
Crowther’s The Oratorio in Bologna 1650-1730 (1999)
is a thorough and colourful investigation of this 17th- and 18th-century
musical phenomenon in Bologna. |
