Santa Croce Hosts a Free Puccini Concert

Thursday, June 13: Free concert. Basilica of Santa Croce, Florence. 9 pm.

A special evening in the Basilica of Santa Croce will commemorate the centenary of Giacomo Puccini’s death with a free concert. The Florence Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Giuseppe Lanzetta, will perform alongside the choirs of Santa Cecilia of Empoli and of Santa Cecilia of Borgo San Lorenzo, directed by choirmasters Andrea Sardi and Simone Faraoni. The performance will feature tenor Shunyao Li and baritone Simone Balducci. 

The event will be dedicated to an interpretation of Puccini’s ‘’Messa di Gloria,’ one of the composer’s earliest and lesser known works, standing as a precursor for the talent he would continue to develop in his later career. ‘’Messa di Gloria’’ foreshadows some of the themes Puccini would embrace in his corpus of works including ‘’Manon Lecaut’’ and ‘’Edgar,’’ making it a fitting choice to celebrate and honour Puccini’s life and acclaimed career in its entirety. 

Admission is free, but reservations are mandatory. Booking can be done online at www.santacroceopera.it.

(Lucy Turner)