Date:11/11/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/11/11/stories/2006111101390200.htm

New Delhi

Italian orchestra to enthral Delhi

Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar

WEST MEETS EAST: The orchestra of Teatro Regio di Parma will cast its magic in the ambience of Delhi's Purana Quila on Saturday.

New Delhi: The magic of Italian opera is all set to cast its spell on Delhi with the orchestra of Teatro Regio di Parma (Theatre Royal, Parma) bringing to the Capital this Saturday evening a concert that would provide an insight into one of the most famous operas across the world.

The concert will be held in the backdrop of the historic Purana Quila and will be conducted by Marco Boni. The singers will include soprano Daniela Bruera and tenor Luca Canonici. Organised by the Embassy of Italy, Italian Cultural Institute, Delhi Tourism and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, the orchestra will bring alive the music from Teatro Regio, considered one of the world's most prestigious opera houses.

It was opened in 1829 with Zaira, an opera composed for the occasion by Vincenzo Bellini.

The building, commissioned by Duchess Marie Louise and designed by the architect Nicola Bettòli, took eight years to be completed. It is well proportioned and imposing: 84 metres long, 37.5 metres wide and almost 30 metres high. It can hold 1,200 spectators. The Neoclassical façade has decorations representing Fama and La Lira. The entrance hall leads to a semi-circular structure housing the stalls which were decorated in white and gold by Girolamo Magnani in 1853, four tiers of boxes and a gallery. The gilded bronze chandelier was made by Lacarrière in Paris.

The Trionfo di Pallade or Trionfo della Sapienza, the drop-curtain painted in tempera by Borghesi, is generally considered one of the most beautiful in the world and, thanks to its recent restoration, completed in 1999, it has returned to its original splendour. The work portrays Marie Louise (represented as Pallas or Minerva) sitting on her throne.

The Teatro Regio combines the magnificence of a historical building with an extraordinarily technologically advanced organisation, classing it among the most efficient theatres, thanks also to the complex modernisation, restoration and reinforcement of the stage area carried out for the "Celebrazioni Nazional" (national celebrations) in 2001 on the centenary of the death of Giuseppe Verdi.