(16 February 2017) Emilia-Romagna showcases one of its prized jewels once again in the Big Apple: The Festival Verdi in Parma and Busseto from September 28 until October 22, 2017. The General Director of the Teatro Regio di Parma Theatre, Anna Maria Meo; the Director of the ICI Giorgio Van Straten, and the President of the Emilia Romagna Region Stefano Bonaccini will be presenting the Festival Verdi at the Italian Cultural Institute of New York. The presenters are on an institutional mission to meet with companies and Emilia Romagna’s regional network of higher education, training programmes, and globalisation to attract investments. Prior to the presentation of the Festival, President Bonaccini met with the director of the Italian Cultural Institute, Van Straten at the historic 686 Park Avenue building during which time they discussed in-depth about Emilia Romagna’s and the Institute’s cultural activities which are fundamental in promoting Italian national cultural and artistic heritage in a vibrant and cultural hub such as New York City. After the automobile and bigdata sectors, the focus of the workshop with professionals, investors and research centres; comes culture. “Festival Verdi is a highly prestigious event in the international music landscape recognised by the Italian government as festival of international interest. An absolute excellence that represents the cultural value of an Italian region such as Emilia Romagna that combines tradition with innovation; connects cultural, tourism, and financial fields for a 360-degree promotion of Emilia Romagna. It is no coincidence that Emilia Romagna closed 2016 with 50 million visitors if we consider non-traditional areas such as music events. It is a threshold that was made possible to achieve by a boom in art cities, demonstrating that culture is also an important factor in development” stated Bonaccini at the first American press review for professionals in the tourism sector. (Red)

THE FESTIVAL ON TOUR

Live and filmed performances of Verdi’s arias offered by great singers such as Nadine Serra and Michael Fabiano and the soprano Maria Agresta; have characterised the Festival’s presence in New York City. The Festival Verdi will venture on an international ‘roadshow’ in Munich (February 22), Stockholm (March 15), and London (March 23). This was made possible thanks to the collaboration between Regional Council for Culture, the Teatro Regio Foundation, Apt Servizi Emilia-Romagna, Parma Incoming, Enit, and Italian Cultural Institutes. The proposal made to the American public is to completely focus on the life and work of Giuseppe Verdi with a special focus on his music which will be the centre of exclusive theatre soirees in Parma and Busseto, along with ‘Verdian’ sites (Parma, Busseto, Roncole Verdi and Sant’Agata), his passion for agriculture, the fruits of his land that he often shared with his guests.