Lyric concert at the Castello Sforza

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Carlo Bottani - Mayor - City of Curtatone
We are here in the Sforza Cartel in Milan to inaugurate the Voltolinian year. 130 years ago Ismaele Voltolini was born in Roverbella, the Mantuan tenor in the world and the new Caruso, today we are here with Maestro Daniele Anselmi to celebrate it and to narrate his great deeds. This evening is the first of a series of appointments, of events where the town of Curtatone and within the Committee of Honor Ismaele Voltolini, the Mantuan tenor in the world, will have a group of guests and especially of important personalities from culture, civil society and politics who together with us will tell about these 14 months of art, culture and economy for the entire Mantuan territory.
Marco Ghirardini - President - Ismaele Voltolini Competition
This evening's concert in Milan has a special meaning because Ismaele Voltolini was born in Roverbella in the province of Mantua, but unfortunately he died in Milan where he also sang the last time. So it is quite significant that this evening there will be a concert right in the heart of Milan, in the Sforza Castle, which recalls precisely the Milanese presence of Ismaele Voltolini.
Francesca Zaltieri - President - Mantua Conservatory
It is a source of great pride for us to celebrate the Mantuan tenor Ismaele Voltolini, because he represents an identifying element of our culture, the culture of Curtatone and the culture of Mantua. And I think it was a really good initiative that of the town of Curtatone, the mayor Bottani and the great maestro Anselmi, who represents really great music in the Buscoldo theater. And so here is what it is a bit like to bring the voice of Mantua here to Milan and of course not only because Milan is an important international hub. We hope it will be a great message for contemporary society and in particular for young people.
Daniele Marconcini - President - Mantovani in the world
I am here representing the Pasquale Nestico Foundation in Philadelphia in the United States, which sponsored the last Ismaele Voltolini award, and I also represent Filitalia International, which is also a Philadelphia-based foundation, of which I am the vice-president, as well as president of the Mantovans of the world. So the echo will certainly be international, because in the United States we are doing a great deal of publicity to the activities of the Accademia della Lirica di Curtatone. I really thank Maestro Anselmi for regaining his memory and for valuing our Mantuan tenor. I thank the municipal administration in the figure of Mayor Bottani and all the friends I am meeting and meeting in this wonderful adventure that starts from Mantua and that of course we will travel around the world. Obviously, opera is one of the elements, the best ambassador for Italian culture and I am extremely pleased that in addition to having an emigration of Italians abroad, we also have a cultural emigration to Italy of all these young talents who come from countries like Korea and Japan. I think this is an episode of a long journey to enhance Italian culture and to create those elements of cultural union that we desperately need instead of walls, as the mayor always says, we build bridges

Inauguration of the Voltolinian Year in the name of the Mantuan tenor Ismaele Voltolini

With an exciting opera concert at the Castello Sforza in Milan, the Voltolinian Year officially kicked off, a cultural project dedicated to the Mantuan tenor Ismaele Voltolini 130 years after his birth.

The event, promoted by the City of Curtatone together with the Honor Committee and the Ismaele Voltolini Competition, was the first of a series of events that will involve the territory in the coming months. The evening represented a moment of great artistic, institutional and symbolic value, with the participation of representatives of institutions, the musical and cultural world.

The objective of the initiative is to enhance the figure of Ismaele Voltolini and strengthen the link between music, identity and promotion of the territory, bringing Mantuan lyrical excellence even beyond national borders. The project involves Italian and international institutions, foundations and cultural realities, and includes concerts, masterclasses, training sessions and exchange with young artists.

The Sforza Castle was chosen as a symbolic place to start this journey, which will end in 2025, on the occasion of the centenary of the tenor's death.