hree cultural events under the programme “Italy, Cultures, the Mediterranean”, promoted by the Italian Embassy in partnership with the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities (BACA), kicked off last week in Bahrain.
On 25 March, within the framework of the “Spring of Culture” festival, the programme featured the Duo Etnopolis, composed of violinist Luca Ciarla and accordionist Antonino De Luca, who proposed a captivating repertory of Italian and Mediterranean folk music. On 27 March, it was the turn of pianist Francesco Maccarrone and mezzosoprano Laura Capretti, the star students of the Turin Conservatory, who performed a concert of Italian and European opera arias (Schuman, Verdi, Bellini, Toschi). Both performances were held at the Cultural Hall of Manama and were greeted with great public acclaim (by an audience of about 1,000 people).
On 29 March, the Italian Ambassador in Bahrain, Domenico Bellato, together with the President of the BACA, Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, at the presence of a large public of professionals of the sector and of the media, opened the exhibition “Scenamadre”, set up by the Accademia Albertina di Belle Arti of Turin in the foyer of the National Theatre of Bahrain. The exhibition displays high-precision scale models and highly artistic reconstructions of the evolution of the art of stagecraft in Italy and beyond, through a rich and unprecedented take on a sector – set design – that reflects the history of the civilizations that conceived it and is closely linked to the culture of design: exactly as in the scale models of “Scenamadre”, it combines high-quality craftsmanship with the spirit of artistic experimentation. The exhibition will run until June and will be visited by the students of the Art and Design Departments of major Bahraini universities.
The cultural initiatives organised within the framework of the Spring of Culture Festival are part of the “Italy, Cultures, the Mediterranean”, a cultural programme embracing the “Enlarged Mediterranean”, with the aim of promoting dialogue by highlighting different cultural and social identities that combine tradition and innovation.
