Composition Commission issued to John Palmer: Opera Nova 2019 – Re di donne

Experimental Opera House of Spoleto, Italy

Every year the Teatro Lirico Sperimentale performs a contemporary opera with the Opera Nova project. For 2019 the Briton John Palmer has composed Re di donne which, with a libretto by Cristina Battocletti, explores the topic of femicide. Killing women purely on the basis of their gender is something that has pervaded human history for centuries. Even today, the number of gender-related murders worldwide is alarmingly high. The opera will focus on the murder of fifteen-year-old Sarah Scazzi, who, according to a true story, was the victim of a cruel violent crime in 2010. Palmer sets to music the incomprehensible and confusing psychological aspects, the power games between two women and a man in a love triangle. Jealousy and coercive control destroy the lives of three women, while the man is ultimately allowed to avoid any legal punishment. The composer and the librettist confront the audience with unscrupulous sexism and machismo and view the Pisa tragedy from a critical perspective. The new production will be premiered in September 2019 under the direction of Alessio Pizzech and musical direction of Vittorio Parisi. The Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation will be funding the composition commission.

September 6 – 8, 2019
Teatro Caio Melisso, Spoleto, Italy

Further Information:
tls-belli.it