Toni Servillo narrates Berlioz on ITsART from January 28
Beginning on January 28, ITsART will broadcast a concert featuring actor Toni Servillo as the narrator, with conductor Stefano Montanari leading the Orchestra and Chorus of the Teatro Regio di Torino, under the direction of chorus master Andrea Secchi. The concert repertoire consists of the overture from La Dame Blanche by François-Adrien Boieldieu, Symphony in C major by Georges Bizet, and Lélio, ou Le retour à la vie by Hector Berlioz. In this performance, Servillo portrays Lélio, Berlioz's alter ego, who revives through music after a suicide contemplation due to love. The event took place at Officine Grandi Riparazioni in Turin. Notably, La Dame Blanche debuted on December 10, 1825; Bizet's Symphony was posthumously premiered in 1935; and Berlioz's Lélio was influenced by his heartbreak over Harriet Smithson. The concert will also feature interviews in the ITsART Incontra segment.
Key facts
- Available on ITsART from January 28, 2022
- Toni Servillo narrates, Stefano Montanari conducts
- Orchestra and Chorus of Teatro Regio di Torino, chorus master Andrea Secchi
- Program: Boieldieu's La Dame Blanche overture, Bizet's Symphony in C major, Berlioz's Lélio
- Servillo turns 63 on January 25
- Performance at Officine Grandi Riparazioni, Turin, part of Regio Metropolitano
- La Dame Blanche premiered December 10, 1825, over 1000 performances
- Bizet's Symphony composed 1855, premiered 1935 in Basel
- Berlioz's Lélio inspired by rejection from Harriet Smithson and affair with Camille Moke
- Camille Moke married piano builder Camille Pleyel
- Berlioz considered murder-suicide but wrote Lélio instead
- Servillo calls Lélio postmodern and eccentric
- Montanari says Lélio hides despair beneath joy
- Interviews available in ITsART Incontra segment
Entities
Artists
- Toni Servillo
- Stefano Montanari
- Andrea Secchi
- François-Adrien Boieldieu
- Georges Bizet
- Hector Berlioz
- Harriet Smithson
- Camille Moke
- Camille Pleyel
- Reynaldo Hahn
Institutions
- ITsART
- Teatro Regio di Torino
- Officine Grandi Riparazioni
- Regio Metropolitano
- Opéra Comique
- Conservatoire de Paris
Locations
- Turin
- Italy
- Basel
- Switzerland
- Paris
- France