XXIII International Festival of Sacred Music and Art

The Orchestra and Choir of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, conducted by Daniel Harding, inaugurate the XXIII edition of the International Festival of Sacred Music and Art at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls with Giuseppe Verdi’s  Requiem for soloists, choir and orchestra, which sees as soloists the South African soprano Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha, rising star of the opera scene and "BBC New Generation Artist", the young Russian mezzo-soprano Yulia Matochkina, already established in the main theaters and festivals around the world, the American tenor of italian origins Charles Castronovo, much in demand on the stage and the bass Roberto Tagliavini, considered a talent of his generation.

Moreover, the important collaboration between the Festival and the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia is consolidated also for the year 2024, with the famous English conductor Daniel Harding as its protagonist, in one of his first appearances also as musical director of the Cecilian Academy, one of the most prestigious in the world.

This year's edition offers a particularly rich program, for six musical events in the name of spirituality, with the most renowned sacred and liturgical repertoire of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, in the majestic setting of the imposing and evocative Papal Basilicas of Rome and the Vatican. There are hundreds of internationally renowned musicians, orchestras, choirs, directors and soloists involved in the Festival, coming from Europe and non-European countries, welcomed by an international audience too. The program also includes a special tribute dedicated to two great composers of the last two centuries: Giacomo Puccini, in the year in which the first centenary of his death is celebrated, and Anton Bruckner two hundred years after his birth. Among the guest musical ensembles we find the Concerto Köln, the Swiss National Orchestra, the Vokalensemble Kölner Dom, the St. Florianer Sängerknaben, the choir of the Escolanía del Escorial, the IlluminArt Chorus, while among the main conductors, we mention Eberhard Metternich, Ralf Weikert, Tomomi Nishimoto and many others.

Photo credits: Foundation for Sacred Music and Art facebook official page