Paolo Fantin, Aquagranda

Fifty years after a tragic flood which hit Venice in 1966, La Fenice theatre dedicates to the memory of that tragic episode the opening of its Opera and Ballet Season 2016-2017, with the first performance of Aquagranda, commissioned to the composer Filippo Perocco on a libretto by Roberto Bianchin and Luigi Cerantola based on the book Acqua Granda. Il romanzo dell’alluvione by Roberto Bianchin.

The highlight of Paolo Fantin’s sets is no doubt the big plexiglass wall which slowly fills with water over the first 45 minutes of the opera. The water is then released creating a cascade flooding the stage. Video projections are used to evoke images of the historic flood. Two lateral wings, where the choir is accommodated, occupy partly the stage and partly the pit.

Watch the full opera