Tutto Verdi
Encouraged by Bilbao and ABAO Bilbao Opera’s strong bond with the Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi, in 2006, a small friends of the opera association started a unique cultural project to delve into the composer’s figure and work, with two aims: an artistic aim, with the performance of all Verdi’s operas from 2006 to 2022, 30 titles altogether; and a cultural aim, with parallel activities to gain a deeper understanding of Verdi.
A historical, ambitious and emblematic project due to what the staging of all Verdi’s operas over 16 years has meant at the artistic level, and at the cultural level, due to the programme of conferences, courses, exhibitions, recordings, productions and activities scheduled around it to present, delve into and discover the most celebrated composer in the world.
Throughout these sixteen years other cultural institutions, such as the University of Deusto, DeustoForum, the Fine Arts Museum of Bilbao and the National Institute of Verdi Studies in Parma, have joined this project.
An unprecedented experience with international support and impact, and the participation of important figures linked to the Verdi universe such as the Tutto Verdi Honorary Committee, made up of:
- Claudio Abbado †
- Carlo Bergonzi †
- Riccardo Chailly
- Dinko Fabris
- Iñaki Gabilondo
- Peter Gelb
- Enrique Iglesias
- Stéphane Lissner
- Federico Mayor Zaragoza
- Riccardo Muti
- Leo Nucci
- Pierluigi Petrobelli †
- Giulietta Simionato †
- Mario Vargas Llosa †
By the time it was completed, the project had carried out numerous activities and initiatives: DVD and CD recordings; exhibitions such as Salid sombras Serenas! El aspecto visual del espectáculo Verdiano, in collaboration with the Fine Arts Museum, and tributes such as Giulietta Simionato’s; the publication of books of extraordinary renown; or the inauguration of a Verdi statue in Bilbao. In this effort to make Giuseppe Verdi known and visible, ABAO Bilbao Opera has received awards and recognitions such as those of the magazine Opera Actual, the Premios Líricos Teatro Campoamor awards in 2010, the Opera XXI award for the Best New Latin American Production for the opera Alzira or the Best Edited Books award from the Spanish Ministry of Culture, in 2013, in the General and Popular Works category, for the editing of Verdi de Puño y Letra.
Ten editions of the «Verdi Week» were held between 2006 and 2016 together with DeustoForum. An activity aimed at acquainting ourselves with the figure of the composer from different perspectives, beyond the music, focusing on his personality and his work, through social, political, economic, psychological and historical aspects. 56 speakers of 13 nationalities took part in this initiative, relevant figures in numerous fields of activity who shared unknown aspects of the Italian composer.
All the titles performed have made a contribution to the history of ABAO Bilbao Opera: 13 premiered titles, 124 performances, 28 productions, 12 of which were own productions or co-productions with international theatres, 153 singers, 15 musical directors, 19 stage directors and 8 orchestras.
The project concluded in 2022 with the «Tutto Verdi International Awards» ceremony.
