FULL C’era una volta… Il Risorgimento Rome 2021 Marianna Mappa, Arturo Espinosa

Information on the Performance

• Work Title: C'era una volta... Il Risorgimento - 150 anni di Roma Capitale  
• Composer: various  
• Libretto: various  
• Venue & Opera Company: Virtual Online, Musica su Roma  
• Recorded: May 7, 2021
• Type: Concert Live

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS PERFORMANCE

Historical Context (150 Years of Roma Capitale)
The project reflects on the historical shift when Italian troops entered Rome via the Breccia di Porta Pia on September 20, 1870. This ended the Papal States’ temporal power and led to Rome being officially declared the capital of the unified Kingdom of Italy in February 1871.
The program primarily highlights how opera served as a stealthy vehicle for political revolution, focusing on these central elements:
1. The Works of Giuseppe Verdi (The Voice of the Revolution)
Giuseppe Verdi’s music is the undisputed centerpiece of this project. During the Risorgimento, his name famously became a hidden political acronym: V.E.R.D.I. (Vittorio Emanuele Re D’Italia). The project features:
• “Va, pensiero” from Nabucco: Ostensibly about Jewish exiles in Babylon, this piece served as the unofficial anthem of Italian patriots longing for freedom from foreign rule.
• I masnadieri, I Lombardi alla prima crociata, and La battaglia di Legnano: Operas featuring heavily charged choruses that frequently triggered actual physical protests and patriotic demonstrations inside Italian opera houses during the 1840s and 1850s.
2. National Anthems and Hymns
Beyond grand opera, the digital lectures look at the songs born directly from the battlefields:
• “Il Canto degli Italiani” (The Song of the Italians): Better known today as Fratelli d’Italia, composed in 1847 by Goffredo Mameli and Michele Novaro. The project covers how it transformed from a banned revolutionary battle cry into Italy’s official national anthem.
• “Inno di Garibaldi” (Garibaldi’s Hymn): Written by Luigi Mercantini and Alessio Olivieri, this legendary marching song accompanied the military campaigns of Giuseppe Garibaldi and his Redshirts.
3. Roman-Specific Revolutionary Melodies
Because the project specifically honors 150 years of Rome as the Capital, it highlights the musical atmosphere of Rome during the short-lived Roman Republic (1849) and the final push toward the Breccia di Porta Pia in 1870. This includes popular Roman street songs and satirical Roman sonnets that were adapted into musical resistance anthems against papal temporal rule.
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