The Gala, has been termed "the premier event" of the Verdi Festival with the participation what
the Italian press has termed "the 'all-stars' of the operatic world": Placido Domingo, Josè Carreras,
Marcelo Alvarez, Josè Cura, Daniela Dessì, Mariella Devia, Luciana D'Intino, Barbara Frittoli, Leo
Nucci, Ruggero Raimondi and Gloria Scalchi. The orchestra is from the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, with
Zubin Metha conducting. The direction is by Giancarlo Del Monaco.
The concert is being held in the modern auditorium - PalaCassa di Parma. The auditorium seats 3500
people and the tickets sold out long ago with 2000 of the spectators coming from outside Italy. It will
be televised to 87 countries, either live or in delayed broadcast (compared to 'only' 40 for Vienna New
Year Concert). Spanish Television Via Digital, will do the direct live broadcast, while the RAI will do
the delayed broadcasts which will include additional filmed material. The event will be broadcast on
Italian television RAI 2 on the 24th of March. In addition, Online Classics will be webcasting the
concert live at 7pm GMT 11 March 2001 on:
http://www.onlineclassics.com/liveevents/main.html
(The concert will also be available on the site for delayed viewing)
In an article in the Gazzetta di Parma 3/10/01 entitled 'PalaCassa tempio della lirica'
('PalaCassa a temple for opera'), Elena Formica described the intense preparations for the Gala. This
being an 'unrepeatable event', the audience must be seated by 7:45 when the doors will close. To make
sure they all arrive on time, the organizers have provided 3500 parking places - one for each spectator.
The broadcast and preparations for the performance involve...
- - a 100,000 watt electrical plant
- - 4 giant TV screens
- - 6 'super powerful' video projectors
- - 300 TV cameras
- - 72 microphones
- - 5 kilometers of electrical cable
- - 10,000 square meters of carpeting
- - a stage 45 meters wide and 23 meters deep
At a press conference the previous day the General Secretary of the Verdi Festival
Foundation, Gianfranco Carra praised the role played by the producer of the "mega-event",
Mario Dradi, who also produced the first 3 Tenors concert at Caracalla Rome in 1990. "It
has taken over a year of organization on his part to ensure a perfect outcome, following
the artists as they traveled around, establishing their availability and their preferences
for the program, discussing with them new possibilities as they arose"
The PalaCassa - renamed "el Palacio de Parma" by the Spanish television staff - presents enormous
logistical challenges. It is not an opera house, and is normally used for popular entertainments,
trade shows and conventions. The giant space (the size of a football field - 50 by 108 meters) had
to be set up for the Gala immediately after the end of a big flower show and dismantled before the
beginning of the annual convention of the Federation of Italian Industry.
In an article in the Gazzetta di Parma 3/8/01 entitled 'Grandi manovre al PalaCassa'
('Big maneuvers at the PalaCassa'), Giovanni Ferraguti pointed out that for the first time in Parma,
operatic music will take place in an unusual 'container', without the frescoes and gilded friezes of
the city's famous Teatro Regio opera house. However, with respect to the voices and the music, the
Director of the PalaCassa complex, Tommaso Altieri said "People have not yet realized the functionality
and potential of the PalaCassa as an opera theater. Not only can the space accommodate more people than
the Teatro Regio, the audience will have a perfect listening experience from the first row to the very
last one They will also be able to see the artists close up even from the back of the auditorium thanks
to four giant television screens." The concert's chief sound engineer, Daniele Tramontani said, "For
this centenary concert, we will be using for the first time in Italy, a series of special speakers
and glass-resin parabolic screens that will provide a perfect acoustic in every part of the theater.
Moreover, we will have computerized control that allows us to correct the acoustics in real time."
Parma is one of the gastronomic capitals of Italy and the preparations for the gala dinner after
the concert are taking on epic proportions. In an article in the Gazzetta di Parma, 3/10/01
entitled 'Una nota di sapore' ('A tasty note'), Francesca Strozzi wrote that in addition to the dinner,
all the guests in Parma's hotels who will be participating in or attending the concert will be receiving
a wedge of Parmigiano cheese - 1000 pieces in all, totaling 600 kilos. This of course, includes Jose
Carreras, Placido Domingo and Ruggiero Raimondi who are staying the Starhotel du Parc. Pino Agnetti
of the Verdi Festival Foundation was quoted as saying "For one evening, the best of Parma from the
gastronomic point of view will be combined with the best of the world's artists [...] Jose Carreras
agreed to participate in the concert on condition that every year from now on he receives from us
a wedge of Parmigiano cheese!"
