This year the Tuscan Sun Festival has controversially left Cortona for Florence but the small town of the Val di Chiana, abandoning any juicy gossips, has immediately reacted with a vital and determined project the “Cortona Mix Festival”, result from the joint proposals of its municipality and the publishing house Feltrinelli. More than a festival, it is an event aiming at erasing the customary secluded isolation of arts, looking rather for their juxtaposition giving way to new ideas and rich and varied scenarios.
A new approach, in fact, characterizes the Mix Festival.
Tomorrow, on the opening day, Saturday 28th 2012, in the magical setting of Piazza Signorelli Charlie Chaplin’s tender tale of “ Modern Times” will be shown on a giant screen, accompanied by the American conductor Timothy Brock ‘s notes of Chaplin’s original soundtrack. A philologically correct procedure where the worldwide famous silent images of Chaplin’s masterpiece gain a new vitality and more direct emotional involvement. This experimental workshop goes on the following days and in Cortona you can listen to the No Smoking Orchestra by the Balkan director Emir Kusturica or the mixture of classical and jazz music of Stefano Bollani.
A jazz night on the stage and on the screen through the documentary Body &Soul , homage to the great piano jazz player Michel Petrucciani.
As to dance Eleonora Abbagnano, premierè etoile of the Paris Opera will perform together with the dancers from the best international companies such as The New York, the Royal Danish and Hamburg Opera Ballets.
In Cortona Italian and foreign writers are expected: Stefano Benni, Erri De Luca, Jonathan Coe, Marcela Serrano. Theatre is not forgotten, Italian actors and actresses such as Anita Caprioli, Maddalena Crippa, Luca Zingaretti have been invited.
Plenty of opportunities for the visitors who can choose among the several events livening up the streets, squares and theaters of Cortona. Every evening The Mix Show offers concerts, performances and parties whereas the kaleidoscopic Cocktail MIX is going to focus on multidisciplinary issues ranging from Fellini’s films to football and from contemporary philosophy up to the movingly fascinating tribute to the Italian writer Antonio Tabucchi .
The natural backdrop of all that are the streets, squares and unique views of this small Tuscan town plunged in a glorified landscape rich in artistic and gastronomic traditions.
Guided tours to the best wine cellars of the Cortona could not be missing in this festival which is experiencing for nine days up to August the5thth 2012 a medley of entertainment and culture .
The conclusion of the festival is going to be Mix Prize, the award to the best book published in Italy in 2011/2012 season, by the joint vote of Feltrinelli booksellers and bookshops and visitors of the Cortona Festival Mix, beyond any academic statement. A challenge from the Feltrinelli group collecting- in the words of the managing director Dario Giambelli- the widespread desire for participation and interest in live events, despite the consumption slump. ”
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