If you love classical music, there is one particular place you cannot possibly miss in town: Teatro Carlo Felice, the local opera house and concert hall ( www.carlofelicegenova.it ) conveniently located at the Piazza de Ferrari.
I recently went to a concert there by the Finnish pianist and conductor Olli Mustonen.
The concert started with one minute's silence to honor the much loved Italian conductor Claudio Abbado, who died last week at the age of 80. Abbado performed at Carlo Felice only last year and Mustonen's concert was dedicated to his memory.
I especially loved Mustonen's own composition Three Mysteries. Not sure, if the Italian audience was totally convinced of its qualities though: an elderly lady sitting quite close to me made her feelings known by saying loudly "I don't like it" in Italian. I choose to believe that she was in the minority, judging by the very warm and long applauds Mustonen received at the end of the concert, which also featured Mozart's piano concerto 20 (K466) and Tsaikovski's symphony number 4. Mustonen is one of those very few musicians, who can conduct the orchestra at the same time as performing the concerto as a soloist. It was quite fascinating to watch Mustonen in action: he lives the music with his whole body.
For many years Carlo Felice has been in financial difficulties and last year there was a real threat of bankruptcy. There was a lot of talk in the papers about the possibility of Carlo Felice being closed down altogether. But luckily they seem to have survived the rocky waters. It is worth keeping an eye on their current programme. You can even try to get a cheaper ticket one hour before performances, if you are not too bothered where your seat is. There are some free concerts on offer on Sundays and aperitivos with jazz on Thursdays or Fridays. Stuffy place it isn't, this Carlo Felice.
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