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Catania Events December 2006
Sicily Events December 2006

Christmas time and new year's eve in Sicily

Catania - The 2005 Christmas Tree at University Square

Christmas celebrations in Sicily begin in earnest on 8th December (just over a month away), when families traditionally start decorating their homes for the festive season. While Christmas trees are now common, it was only during the 2nd World War, during the Allied occupation that they first became popular.


A much more widespread custom is the nativity scene, invented, so they say, by Saint Francis of Assisi. While popular all over Italy, Sicily is probably second only to Napoli in the magnificence of its “Presepi”, which can be found in most homes and the vast majority of churches.
Another wonderful tradition that can be seen in many Sicilian small towns is the night of the Luminari on 24th December when large bonfires are lit to keep baby Jesus warm.

Gastronomically speaking, there is no one particular dish that all Sicilians eat at Christmas. However, such important festivities call for groaning tables and banquets of Epicurean proportions. Serious eating begins on the evening of 24th December and continues for 24 hours. As might be expected in the land of cassata and cannoli, sweets and desserts are of tantamount importance. The most traditional of these are buccellati, large round biscuits filled with almonds, pistachios and dried fruits. Presents are opened after dinner on Christmas Eve and huge family gatherings are considered par for the course.

If all that wasn’t enough, barely a week later it is time for another “cenone” (literally big dinner) to celebrate the New Year. Traditionally lasagne is supposed to bring good luck (though other types of pasta certainly won’t!) but more and more people are now turning to the more Italian tradition of eating lentils, which auger wealth. However, once more, what you eat is not so important – the essential thing is that there must be copious quantities and that at midnight a bottle or two of spumante are chilled to perfection and ready to pop.

The final curtain comes down on Christmas on Epiphany on 6th January. Children jiggle with excitement as they wait for the arrival of “La Befana” an ugly witch-like figure who distributes sweets to children who have been good, and coal to those who have not.

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Catania Events November 2006
Sicily Events November 2006

Catania Opera House - "Vincenzo Bellini"
Massimo Bellini Theatre - Artistic Season 2006-2007

The Teatro Massimo Bellini is the opera house in Catania which opened on 31 May 1890.
The event was celebrated by a performance of Norma,
the masterpiece of the composer Vincenzo Bellini to whom the Theatre was dedicated.
Throughout its history, the opera house has performed almost all of Bellini’s work.
From its beginnings, a wide variety of operas have been performed by some highly renowned singers.
Each year the theater presents a season of opera, symphonic and chamber music.
The twelve hundred seats in the acoustically perfect hall fill to capacity every year.

Catania - Vincenzo Bellini Theatre

Concerts

The Philarmonic Orchestra - Catania Bellini Theatre

Opera and Ballets

Ballet - Massimo Bellini Catania Theatre


Concert Season 2006-2007

13th, 14th October 2006 - sinfonic Concert music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Director Hubert Soudant with T. Carlini, A. Metzger, C. Zink, R. Romei, P. Lobert

20th, 21st October 2006 - vocal-sinfonic Concert music by Wolfgang Amaedus Mozart

Director Hubert Soudant with Soprano Valeria Esposito

17th, 18th November 2006 - sinfonic Concert music by F. Schubert, G. Mahler

Director Stefano Ranzani

24th November 2006 - CONCERT RECITAL

L'arte vocale nella musica sarda tradizionale

22nd, 23rd December 2006 - vocal-sinfonic Concert music by Cimarosa-Respighi, Berlin, Menotti

Director Fabrizio Maria Carminati with Soprano D. Schillaci and Baritono M. Camastra

22nd January 2007 - PIANO Concert

Piano Player Grigory Sokolov

1st, 2nd February 2007 - CORAL Concert music by Brahms, Pizzetti, Listz

Director Tiziana Carlini

23rd, 24th February 2007 - TRUMPET Concert music by Mozart, Hummel, Tartini, Haydn

Trumpet Player Mauro Maur

07th March 2007 - RECITAL music by Bach, Ysaye, Berio, Paganini

Violinist Sergej Krilov

23rd, 24th March 2007 - sinfonic Concert music by Saint-Saens, Debussy, Berlioz

Director Marc Soustrot

30th, 31st March 2007 - CELLO Concert music by Shostakovic, Rachmaninov

Director Jan Chalupecky and Cello Player Enrico Dindo

20th April 2007 - PIANO Concert music by Schumann, Shostakovic, Chopin, Beethoven, etc

Winners of Busoni Festival 2005 - piano player Mariangela Vacatello - piano player Giuseppe Andaloro

11th, 12th May 2007 - CLARINET CONCERT music by Dvorak, Von Weber, Schumann

Director Lou Ja and Clarinet Player Calogero Palermo

19th May 2006 - RECITAL

Piano Player Mikhail Pletnev

8th, 9th June 2006 - CORAL-SINFONIC Concert music by Listz, R.Wagner, S.Wagner

Director Alun Francis e Director of the Chorus Tiziana Carlini

15th, 16th June 2007 - VIOLIN CONCERT music by Shostakovic, Sibelius, Rendine

Director Marzio Conti and Violonist Boris Belkin

ORCHESTRA, CHORUS AND TECHNICIANS OF CATANIA OPERA HOUSE "VINCENZO BELLINI"

Opera Season 2006-2007

7, 9, 11, 12, 14, 16, 19, 21, 22, 23 November 2006
DON GIOVANNI of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

7, 9, 10, 12, 14, 16, 17, 19 December 2006
HÄNSEL UND GRETEL of Engelbert Humperdinck

19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26 January 2007
UNA LADY MACBETH NEL DISTRETTO DI MTSENSK of Dmitri Shostakovich
In partnership with Riga Opera House

9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 February 2007
SPARTACUS of Aram Khachaturjan
In partnership with Yuri Grigorovich Theatre Ballet of Krasnodar

6, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18 March 2007
NORMA of Vincenzo Bellini
Director Giuliano Carella, Walter Pagliaro, scene Alberto Verso
Main Interpreters: Dimitra Theodossiou, Carlo Ventre, Nidia Palacios, Riccardo Zanellato
In partnership with Teatro Massimo of Palermo

19, 21, 22, 24, 26, 28, 29 April and 2 May 2007
ANDREA CHENIER of Umberto Giordano
Director Alun Francis, Federico Tiezzi, scene Maurizio Balò
Main Interpreters: Andrea Bocelli, Martina Serafin, Alberto Gazale
Teatro Massimo Bellini - Catania

23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31 May and 1 June 2007
LA BELLA ADDORMENTATA of Piotr Ilic Ciaikovsky
In partnership with the Ballet of Cremlino National Theater

30 October and 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11 November 2007
TOSCA of Giacomo Puccini
Director Daniel Oren, Renzo Giacchieri, scene Raffaele Del Savio
Main Interpreters: Adrienne Dugger, Salvatore Licitra, Alexandru Agache
Teatro Massimo Bellini - Catania

6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16 December 2007
PLAMENY (FLAMMEN) of Erwin Schulhoff
In partnership with Praga (Czech Republic) National Theatre

ORCHESTRA, CHORUS AND TECHNICIANS OF CATANIA OPERA HOUSE "VINCENZO BELLINI"

Opera House Teatro Massimo "Vincenzo Bellini" - Vincenzo Bellini Square - Catania Historical Centre
Opera Tickets
Via Perrotta, 12 - 95131 Catania Tel. 0039 (0) 95 7150921 - Fax 0039 (0) 95 7306104
E-mail: botteghino@teatromassimobellini.it
Opening Hours 2006-2007: Mon-Sat 9,30-12,30 and 17,00-19,00 (closed Mon and Sat afternoon)

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Catania Events October 2006
Sicily Events October 2006

Sicily: World Patrimony

The five sicilian sites declared by the UNESCO

to be Patrimony of the World:

Aeolian Islands

Baroque cities of Val di Noto

Siracusa and the rocky Necropolis of Pantalica

Agrigento archeological zone

Roman Villa of Casale at Piazza Armerina

Italy is the first country in the world for the number of sites declared
by the UNESCO to be a World Patrimony site.
Five of them are in Sicily and another one is being proposed:
Etna Volcano, its park and the towns there.

Let's go on a virtual tour of Central-East Sicily
to understand what it means to be acknowledged by
the whole world as a heritage land for all.

The Aeolian Islands (Lipari, Alicudi, Filicudi,Vulcano, Salina, Panarea, Stromboli). Map of Aeolian Isdlands

We can start from these famous islands situated on the north side of Eastern Sicily where the elements of nature - water, fire, air and land - form the space, creating a single, unique area.

The Baroque cities of Val di Noto (Catania, Caltagirone, Militello Val di Catania, Modica, Noto, Palazzolo Acreide, Ragusa Ibla, Scicli) are the next stop of our tour.

Let's stop at Catania, a mix of ancient city thanks to its historical centre and modern city, with its easy-going people mentality. The historical centre is unique in the world for its baroque style made of Etna rocks. One of the wonderful buildings located on the real baroque heart of Catania is the PRINCIPE HOTEL CATANIA. Let's move to Noto, acknowledged to be the "Capital of the Baroque". Here everything is modelled in soft local stone, skilfully worked into harmonious shapes to become a splendid "stone garden" in a unique, unreapetable style. The city was building like a stage set, with the perspectives being studied and corrected, playing with the lines of the facades, the window-frame decorations, curves and twists, and cast-iron balconies with their curved shapes. On the third Sunday of May, don't miss the infiorata, when a colorful carpet of flower petals, with different types every years, is laid on the street.

Siracusa with the island of Ortigia, the perfect example of a baroque city, built entirely on the sea and now undergoing an interesting initiative for urban recovery. Siracusa - Greek Theatre

The Orso archeological museum, the Papyrus museum, the cinema museum and the new acquarium are just some of its extraordinary attractions. Nearby, in the iblei mountains district, we have Palazzolo Acreide, one of the oldest archeological areas in Italy, with 3000 years of history of the Siculi, Greeks, Romans, Byzantynes, Arabs, Normans and Spanish. The Archeological Park hosts the Greek theatre and the remains of the temple of Aphrodite. To the south-east we find the Intagliata and Intagliatella caves, initially used as stone quarries to build the ancient Akrai, and then as a burial place. On the slope of the ancient city we can find the other caves known as "feral temples", places of veneration. At the foot of the hill there is a series of bas-reliefs and rock carvings called "Santoni", dedicated to the cult of Cybele, goddess of fertility. Set among the iblei mountains in an extraordinary natural site we find Pantalica which, with its 5000 tombs, is the largest Necropolis in the Mediterranean. According to some experts this is the site of the Siculean city of Hybla. With its position, bordered by two large canyons along which the Anapo and Calcinara rivers flow, the view from the necropoli is highly suggestive.




Agrigento and the Valley of the Temples, moving towards the coast of Sicily dominating the Mediterranean Gulf.
Here, as nowhere else in the Mediterranean, Hera, Hercules, Zeus, Castor, Pollux, Vulcan, Asclepius and Concord received the maximum honours. We are in the valley most sacred to the gods that man has ever imagined and built. We recall our ancestors and celebrate this place in february with the International Festival of the Almond Blossom, a gathering of folklore groups from five continents that meet among the temples in the sign of friendship and peace.





Piazza Armerina, in the of the sunny Sicily, the city of mosaics and of the Norman Palio race held in August, to enjoy the Roman Villa del Casale.
With a monumental appearance, it covers an area of 4000 square metres and consists of a long series of rooms including a Frigidarium, a Tiepidarium with gimnasium and a small sanctuary. The whole place is decorated with mosaics (with exceptional artistic quality and new technique) showing naturalistic mythological scenes and the customs of the period.


Sicily, with its magnificent history, is once again attracting visitors who are attentive and curious, happy to participate in cultural events, drawn to its theatre, literature, landscape, monuments and cities, or even, quite simply, by the quality and mellow way of life.

It is a history that speaks through dozens of Archeological areas, hundreds of magnificent historic city-centre and villages, 76 nature reserves, 4 large national parks and 6 protected marine areas. And through its sea, its mountain, its colour, flavours and aromas.

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Catania Events September 2006
Sicily Events September 2006

The Tourist eruption of the Etna continues

New eruptions have begun at Etna Volcano and regular explosions occurred every 5-10 seconds. The eruption sent chunks of lava from a fracture in the mountain into the air and the flow is not near any of the residents surrounding the volcano and was not posing any threat. There are many tourists who attract one of the most beautiful and spectacular of the nature.

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Catania Events Agoust 2006
Sicily Events Agoust 2006

Taormina Arte 2006

A Festival dedicated to music, theater and dance.

It is one of the most famous events in Sicily.

In the wonderful setting of the Ancient Theater, from june to the end of august,

will be there performance and exhibitions of famous artists from all over the world.

AGOUST

03-05/08/06 - DON GIOVANNI - More Info

06/08/06 - ENRIQUE BATIZ - More Info

08/08/06 - JULIO BOCCA & BALLET ARGENTINO - More Info

09-10/08/06 - MONODRAMMI IN MUSICA - More Info

09-10/08/06 - LA TEMPESTA - More Info

11/08/06 - DECAMERONE IN SICILIA - More Info

12/08/06 - DECAMERONE - More Info

13/08/06 - UNA NOTTE CON MOZART - More Info

14-16-19-20/08/06 - MUSICA IN BIANCO E NERO - More Info

18-19-20/08/06 - IL GATTOPARDO - More Info

22/08/06 - ATMAN - More Info

22/08/06 - PROGETTO MOLO NORD - More Info

23/08/06 - I PAZZI DI PALERMO - More Info

24/08/06 - FURA DELS BAUS - More Info

JULY

06/07/06 - KATAKLO' - More Info

07/07/06 - MONTY ALEXANDER - More Info

11/07/06 - BANDA NAZIONALE DELLA POLIZIA DI STATO - More Info

14-15-16/07/06 - WOMAD IN TAORMINA - More Info

19/07/06 - ORCHESTRA VITTORIO EMANUELE - More Info

21/07/06 - FRANCESCO CAFISO QUARTET - More Info

25/07/06 - MUSICHE PER IL CINEMA - More Info

29/07/06 - LONDON CHAMBER ORCHESTRA - More Info

30/07/06 - ASCANIO CELESTINI-NICOLA PIOVANI - More Info

DON GIOVANNI

03-05/08/06 - h 21.30
Location Ancient Theater

DON GIOVANNI di W. A. Mozart
Orchestra Filarmonica di Palermo
Coro Filarmonico di Palermo
Onofrio Gallina direttore
Don Giovanni SIMONE ALAIMO
Leporello Nicola NICOLA ALAIMO
Donna Anna ELENA PAVLOVA
Donna Elvira YUKA NAKAO
Don Ottavio NICOLA PISANIELLO
Masetto ADRIANO CATANESE
Zerlina AUDE PRYIA
Commendatore EMIL ZHELEV
regia di Simone Alaimo

ENRIQUE BATIZ

06/08/06 - h 21.30
Location Ancient Theater
ENRIQUE BATIZ pianista L. Van Beethoven – Sonata n. 8 in do minore op. 13 “Patetica” F. Chopin – Fantasia in fa minore op. 49 Mussorgsky – Ravel – Quadri di una esposizione F. Chopin – Polacca n.6 op.53 "Eroica

JULIO BOCCA & BALLET ARGENTINO

08/08/06 - h 21.30
Location Ancient Theater

JULIO BOCCA & BALLET ARGENTINO
Desde Lejos
Nine Sinatra Songs
Piazzolla Tango Vivo

MONODRAMMI IN MUSICA

09-10/08/06 - h 21.30
Location Duchi di Santo Stefano Palace
MONODRAMMI IN MUSICA Tre opere da camera
AVERROE’ di Daniele Martino musica di Marco Betta
L’UOMO DAL PASSAMONTAGNA di Fabrizio Catalano su un racconto di Leonardo Sciascia musica di Giovanni D'Aquila
LE CARTE SALVATE di Albino Taggeo (da un'idea di Rosanna Festa) musica di Albino Taggeo regia di ALDO CESAR FAGA' ENSEMBLE STRUMENTALE SYMPHONIA LAUS MICHELE AMOROSO direttore

LA TEMPESTA

09-10/08/06 - h 21.30
Location Ancient Theater
LA TEMPESTA di William Shakespeare con Virginio Gazzolo e Vanessa Gravina Regia di Walter Manfrè

DECAMERONE IN SICILIA

11/08/06 - h 21.30
Location Duchi di Santo Stefano Palace
letture e musica dal vivo con Beppe Barra e Nuklearte a cura di Renato Giordano

DECAMERONE

12/08/06 - h 21.30
Location Ancient Theater
DECAMERONE di Giovanni Boccaccio riduzione teatrale di Renato Giordano con Beppe Barra e Andrè De La Roche regia di Renato Giordano

UNA NOTTE CON MOZART

13/08/06 - h 21.30
Location Ancient Theater
ORCHESTRA SINFONICA ACCADEMIA DI PALERMO JANOS ACS direttore SUNE HJERRILD, tenore VALERIE GABAIL,soprano MAURIZIO LO PICCOLO, basso baritono CLAUDIA MUNDA,soprano Brani di W. A. Mozart dalle Nozze di Figaro dal Don Giovanni dal Flauto Magico da Così fan tutte Janos Acs Direttore d`Orchestra DEI TRE TENORI José Carreras -Placido Domingo -LucianoPavarotti

MUSICA IN BIANCO E NERO

14-16-19/08/06 - h 21.30
Location Duchi di Santo Stefano Palace
Giovanni Renzo al pianoforte

IL GATTOPARDO

18-19-20/08/06 - h 21.30
Location Ancient Theater
dal romanzo di Tomasi di Lampedusa con Luca Barbareschi regia di Andrea Battistini produzione Regione Siciliana - Assessorato Regionale Turismo Fondazione Teatro della città di Latina prima nazionale

ATMAN

22/08/06 - h 21.30
Location Ancient Theater

Compagnia di danza contemporanea Itai
coreografie di Lino Privitera

PROGETTO MOLO NORD

22/08/06 - h 21.30
Location Duchi di Santo Stefano Palace
Sicilia - Buenos Aires Storia di emigrazione siciliana in Argentina video di Sandro Dieli musiche dal vivo dei “Sun” libro di Roberto Alaimo mostra fotografica di Ernesto Bazan

I PAZZI DI PALERMO

23/08/06 - h 21.30
Location Duchi di Santo Stefano Palace
reading byRoberto Alajmo all'organetto Marcello Alajmo

FURA DELS BAUS

24/08/06 - h 21.30
Location Congressi Palace
Metamorfosis da Franz Kafka

THE BEST OF KATAKLO' FOR TAORMINA

06/07/06 - h 21.30 Location Ancient Theater
Kataklò Athletic Dance Theatre

MONTY ALEXANDER

07/07/06 - h 21.30 Location Ancient Theater

ITALIAN POLICE NATIONAL BAND

11/07/06 - h 21.30

Location Ancient Theater
Cheryl Porter voice
Maurizio Billi director

WOMAD IN TAORMINA

14-15-16/07/06 - h 21.30
Location Ancient Theater
14th July Sam Tashabalala Drummers of Burundi Jimmy Cliff
15th July Ahn Sook Sun Laudari guest star Carmen Consoli Cesaria Evora
16th July Guo Yre Rodrigo Y Gabriela Simple Minds

WOMAD returns to the spectacular Teatro Antico on the Mediterranean hillsides of Taormina in Sicily for three evenings of concerts from a thrilling line-up of international artists.
The Teatro Antico is constructed within the spectacular ruins of a Greek amphitheatre overlooking Mount Etna and the bays below - a venue that's hard to beat for atmosphere and location.

WOMAD stands for World of Music, Arts and Dance, expressing the central aim of the WOMAD festival - to bring together and to celebrate many forms of music, arts and dance drawn from countries and cultures all over the world. WOMAD was originally inspired by Peter Gabriel: "Pure enthusiasm for music from around the world led us to the idea of WOMAD in 1980 and thus to the first WOMAD festival in 1982. The festivals have always been wonderful and unique occasions and have succeeded in introducing an international audience to many talented artists. "Equally important, the festivals have also allowed many different audiences to gain an insight into cultures other than their own through the enjoyment of music. Music is a universal language, it draws people together and proves, as well as anything, the stupidity of racism." As an organisation, WOMAD now works in many different ways, but our aims are always the same - at festivals, performance events, through recorded releases and through educational projects, we aim to excite, to inform, and to create awareness of the worth and potential of a multicultural society. The WOMAD Festivals Since the first festival in Shepton Mallett, England in 1982, WOMAD has presented more than 145 events in 22 different countries and islands. Having established its presence in the UK, WOMAD's unique nomadic indentity evolved gradually during the eighties. In 1988, the festival began to be presented internationally, with initial events in Denmark and Canada. Since then, WOMAD's worldwide profile has grown quickly, now embracing events in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, the Canary Islands, Sicily and the UK each year. The festivals are often weekend-long, family-oriented, active and diverse musical events, featuring simultaneous performances on two or three stages, including participatory workshops and special events for children, as well as music and dance sessions hosted by many of the visiting artists. The WOMAD Foundation organises the WOMAD festival workshops as well as other educational and outreach projects. The Foundation is a registered educational charity established in 1983 and is the educational arm of the WOMAD Festival organisation. For more information on the WOMAD Foundation click on the 'WOMAD Foundation' button on the right.

VITTORIO EMANUELE ORCHESTRA

19/07/06 - h 21.30

Location Ancient Theater
Maurizio Arena director

FRANCESCO CAFISO QUARTET

21/07/06 - h 21.30
Location Ancient Theater

MUSICHE PER IL CINEMA

25/07/06 - h 21.30
Location Ancient Theater

Giorgio Armani Ennio Morricone La Filarmonica della Scala ed il Coro Filarmonico della Scala

LONDON CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

29/07/06 - h 21.30

Location Ancient Theater
Christopher Warren Green director
Mario Galeani pianista
W. A. Mozart – Ouverture da “Le Nozze di Figaro” KV 492 L. Van Beethoven – Concerto per pianoforte e orchestra n. 5 op. 73 “L’Imperatore” R. Wagner – Idillio di Sigfrido F. Mendelssohn – Sinfonia n. 4 “Italiana”
Concerto in memoria di Aurelio Turiano

ASCANIO CELESTINI - NICOLA PIOVANI

30/07/06 - h 21.30

Location Ancient Theater

LETTURE DA PIERPAOLO PASOLINI DI ASCANIO CELESTINI
AL PIANOFORTE NICOLA PIOVANI

musiche originali di Nicola Piovani


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