Four Seasons & Songs from Gondola New Year's Eve Concert

Buon anno! For at least three hundred years, Venice has played the role of a synonym for carnival in our imagination. The myth of the city built in the blue lagoon has been going on continuously since the time of Casanova, although at that time the final decline of its splendor was already taking place. We invite you to NFM, where, thanks to the music — the songs of gondoliers and the Four Seasons of Antonio Vivaldi — we will move into the era of decadent fun. The artistry of the Wrocław Baroque Orchestra conducted by Jarosław Thiel will accompany the charisma of mandolinist Avi Avital and Núria Rial with a crystal soprano.

In the first half of the 18th century, what was Venetian enjoyed the interest of the elites of different corners of Europe. The city portrayed by Canaletta also delighted with its music. Many travelers remembered the special custom of touring at night, among other things by bands sailing on boats. The canzoni di battello, mostly anonymous and sung in the Venetian language still alive today, had a variety of themes. However, this was not the only creation that sounded in the lagoon. In addition to St. Mark's Basilica, opera houses and churches of Andrea Palladia, high-level music was also heard in orphanages called ospedali.

In one of them, located at Riva degli Schiavoni, priest Antonio Vivaldi worked for many years. During New Year's Eve, NFM guests will have the opportunity to hear four famous concerts by this author, in which he has managed to illustrate the transformations that govern nature known to him: Le Quattro stagioni. The solo parts of these immortal works will be performed by Avi Avital, which means that they will acquire a new dimension - they will turn into mandolin concerts. An internationally recognized virtuoso, this artist specializes in early works and folk sounds from different parts of the world, and also records for Deutsche Grammophon. On the other hand, canzoni — the lyrical caresses of an anonymous composer — will be decorated by Núria Rial, an artist from Catalonia, one of the visionaries of the performance of historical Baroque music. It remains to put on a richly painted mask and get carried away by the fun!