On the 5th and 13th September, the city of Ravenna will host a series of events to mark the 700th anniversary of the death of Dante Alighieri.
On the 5th, in the presence of the President of the Italian Republic, there will be the solemn re-opening of the Poet’s tomb, accompanied by musical performances inspired to his work: the vocal ensemble Voces Suaves will perform Quivi sospiri by Luzzasco Luzzaschi, from the Secondo libro dei madrigali a cinque voci (1576) which sets to music verses from the III canto of the Inferno; to follow, Io sono amore angelico by Joanne Metcalf from Il nome del bel fior (1988), with verses from the XXXIII canto of Paradiso; then, pianist Yulianna Avdeeva will play the Fantasia quasi Sonata – Apre’s une Lecture de Dante, by Franz Liszt, while baritone Luca Micheletti and pianist Davide Cavalli will perform Il conte Ugolino from the XXXIII canto of Inferno, by Gaetano Donizetti. Closing the event, actor Elio Germano will read the XXXIII canto of Paradiso.
On the 13th, more events including in particular a performance by Marco Martinelli and Ermanna Montanari, the offering of the oil for Dante’s tomb votive candle by the city of Florence and a presentation by Professor Carlo Ossola, President of the Comitato Dantesco Nazionale. You can follow all the events on live streaming on www.ravennafestival.live, in the section www.ravennafestival.live/live-stream.