Tickets for Free Classical Concert in a Florence Landmark

One of Florence’s chief landmarks will open its doors to the public for a free orchestral concert on Wednesday, 10 September.

The performance, conducted by Maestro Diego Ceretta, features music by Luigi Cherubini and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The programme, lasting around 60 minutes without interval, will be performed by the Orchestra Regionale della Toscana (ORT) in collaboration with the Opera di Santa Croce. Choirmaster Raffaele Puccianti will lead soloists Francesca Pia Vitale (soprano), Eleonora Filipponi (mezzo-soprano), Dave Monaco (tenor), and Francesco Leone (bass). 

The evening of music in the magnificent Basilica of Santa Croce will open with Luigi Cherubini’s Marche religieuse, a solemn work by the Florentine composer, whose sacred music earned him admiration across Europe. Beethoven famously described Cherubini as ‘Europe’s greatest living composer’, a reputation reflected in the march’s stately, devotional character. Its performance in Santa Croce carries special resonance, as the basilica is also the burial place of another great composer, Gioachino Rossini. 

The composition is followed by Mozart’s Requiem in D minor, K. 626, the composer’s final and unfinished masterpiece. It has widely regarded as one of the most moving works in his repertoire, Christoph Wolff described the Requiem as embodying Mozart’s dramatic confrontation with death. Its stormy intensity will find a particularly powerful setting within the historic walls of Santa Croce. 

The concert is presented as a celebration of the orchestra’s 45th anniversary. ORT describes the evening as ‘an event of great musical and symbolic value, renewing the deep bond between the Orchestra della Toscana, the city, and its community.’ This special performance is offered as a gesture of gratitude for the support the orchestra has received over the past four and a half decades.

The programme begins at 9 pm. Admission is free, though advance booking is required. Tickets can be reserved online from Monday, 1 September at https://www.santacroceopera.it/

The venue itself is as remarkable as the music. Construction of Santa Croce began in 1294, but it was not elevated to the rank of minor basilica until 1933, an honorific granted by the Pope to churches of exceptional importance. Known as the “Temple of the Italian Glories,” it houses the tombs of Michelangelo, Machiavelli and Galileo in addition to Rossini.

Few settings could rival such grandeur for an evening of beautiful and awe-inspiring music.

(Molly Jayne Evans)