Matera 2019: Co-creation and Participation Drive Summer Program

Matera 2019 European Capital of Culture reaches its peak in July and August, showcasing results of a co-creation process that constitutes over 50% of the cultural program. Twenty-seven project leaders from Basilicata, selected in spring 2017, developed projects addressing what Matera and Basilicata bring to Europe and vice versa. The Foundation Matera Basilicata 2019 supported participation in all productions, inviting citizens to become co-authors. Notable events include 17 performances of Dante's Purgatorio directed by Marco Martinelli and Ermanna Montanari at ex-convent Le Monacelle, involving 2,000 citizens, co-produced with Ravenna Festival/Teatro Alighieri and Teatro delle Albe/Ravenna Teatro. The project Abitare l'Opera with Teatro di San Carlo di Napoli, directed by Giorgio Barberio Corsetti, will stage Cavalleria Rusticana in the Sassi district. The program expands to Cava del Sole, an 18th-century quarry, hosting Apollo Soundtrack by Brian Eno, Roger Eno, and Daniel Lanois, concerts by Subsonica and Vinicio Capossela, Vertigo Dance Company's Il paradiso perduto. Leela co-produced with Teatro Stabile di Napoli Mercadante, and the Open Sound festival. Exhibitions include La poetica dei numeri primi at Museo Archeologico di Metaponto and shows by Ugo Nespolo, Tobia Ravà, and Aldo Spizzichino at Palazzo Acito. The co-creation process involves citizens in Co-Opera for the opera's prologue and future calls including Il Nuovo Vangelo by Milo Rau.