Britten
Nacoski, Ciammarughi

Luca Ciammarughi, piano

Blagoj Nacoski, tenor

Benjamin Britten (1913–1976)

Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo

Selection from the Folk Songs

Concert with surtitles in the original language and Italian

35' | Ticket €10

At the Teatro Sociale di Mantova, pianist Luca Ciammarughi and tenor Blagoj Nacoski bring to Trame Sonore a recital entirely devoted to Benjamin Britten, a central figure in twentieth-century English music and a composer of extraordinary sensitivity to the human voice and its relationship with the world.

The Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo, composed in 1940, mark a pivotal moment in Britten’s output: the first work written expressly for tenor Peter Pears (1910–1986), his lifelong partner. The seven sonnets explore themes of love and beauty across time, set to poems by Michelangelo Buonarroti — an artist who, alongside his visual work, also cultivated a poetic production of remarkable depth. Musically, Britten adopts an Italianate style, based on the principle of accompanied melody and a vocal line rich in nuance, responsive to every semantic inflection of the text.

The Folk Songs, arrangements of traditional songs from the British Isles, Ireland, France, and America, were born during Britten’s years in the United States as a way to reconnect with his English roots and also as repertoire for recital performances with Pears. The English composer transforms these popular songs into refined miniatures, where music becomes a mirror of the deep bond between human beings and the world around them — the land, the seasons, love, and loss.