Nicola Piovani: La Vita Nuova
The Church of Sts. Simon and Jude, situated next to the Brutalist Hotel InterContinental on U Milosrdných Street in the Old Town of Prague, dates back to 1354, when a hospital was founded on the site. Nowadays, chamber, choral and organ concerts are held regularly throughout the year.
Free admission, please reserve your ticket.
Nicola Piovani – composer and conductor
Oreste Valente – narrator
Maria Rita Combattelli – soprano
Prague Philharmonia
Marina Cesari – saxophone
Vittorino Naso – percussion solo
La Vita Nuova
Performed in original Italian with Czech subtitles.
The cantata based on Dante Alighieri's poems La Vita Nuova (The New Life) for narrator, soprano, and orchestra will be presented in Prague by its composer, the Oscar-winning Italian composer and conductor Nicola Piovani. "It's a musical composition inspired by Dante's amazing poetic work, overwhelming both in its narrative content and its remarkable form – prosimetrum, which still amazes Dante poetry experts today," says Nicola Piovani.
La Vita nuova is Dante Alighieri's first known work. Written in 1292-1293, it consists of 42 chapters alternating between poetry and prose (this literary genre is called prosimetrum). Their theme is Dante's platonic love for his beloved Beatrice. Nicola Piovani's cantata premiered in summer 2015 at the Ravenna Festival.
Italian composer Nicola Piovani won the 1998 Academy Award for Best Original Dramatic Score for Roberto Benigni's film La Vita è bella (Life is Beautiful). He has composed over 130 film scores, including Federico Fellini's Intervista, Ginger and Fred, and La voce della luna (The Voice of the Moon). He has also collaborated with French directors (Danièle Thompson, Philippe Lioret, and Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt) and in May 2008 received the title Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters at the Cannes Film Festival. He also works in musical theater and composes concert and chamber music. In 2023, he was awarded the World Soundtrack Academy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Italian soprano Maria Rita Combattelli specializes in bel canto repertoire roles. She has performed at many prestigious Italian opera venues including Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, the Rossini Opera Festival, and Teatro Comunale di Bologna, and has appeared as guest artist at the Royal Opera House Muscat, Oman, and the Auditorium in Tenerife. She has a long-term collaboration with Nicola Piovani and has performed in many of his compositions.
Italian theater and film actor, director, and educator Oreste Valente studied classical literature (Greek language and literature) and graduated from Bottega Teatrale in Florence under Vittorio Gassman. The excellent Prague Philharmonia orchestra will also participate in the first Prague performance of the cantata La Vita Nuova.
The concert is organized by the Italian Cultural Institute and the Italian Embassy in Prague. Admission is free, but tickets must be selected on the event website and collected via the "buy ticket" option.
