Today, Italian operetta may be seen in many theatres worldwide.
In Italy, numerous operetta companies have sprung up, and as they
tour the countryside, they appear in festivals such as The Summer
Operetta Festival of Palermo, and they appear on the bills of
major theatres, bringing with
them a joyous spirit and the marvelous multi-colored world of
operetta.
Certainly the most famous festival is The Trieste Operetta Festival.
Trieste is a favoured spot to devotees of operetta, if for no other
reason than the presence of Mario Nordio, who is the first and
best-loved translator of Lehàr. The Trieste festival has
flourished thanks to the generosity of Fulvio Gilleri, and artistic
director Gianni Gori. Gilleri has been very partial to our operettas,
and Gori’s taste runs more to the international.
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Also in Trieste, the Civic Theatre
Museum "C. Schmidl" is a bountiful source of news about
operetta, with historical reviews, playbills, photographs, chromo-lithographed
editions of music and libretti: in short, its collections span the
entire history of operetta.
Finally, we cannot forget Sandro Massimini, the great actor and
director who has made a fundamental contribution to the popularization
of operetta, and who has brought the charm of light opera and musical
theatre to a whole new
generation. |