This August 22, at the 63rd edition of the Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto (August 20-23 and 27-30), marks the world premiere of Silvia Colasanti’s Arianna, Fedra, Didone, 3 monodramas for actress, female choir and orchestra, based on Ovid’s Epistulae Heroidum. Adaptation and translation by René De Ceccatty. Conducting the Orchestra Giovanile Italiana and the International Opera Choir will be Roberto Abbado. Text will be recited by Isabella Ferrari.  


Here are some excerpts from the introduction by Silvia Colasanti.

Love is the protagonist of my third work of musical theater inspired by the classic myth, which I composed after Minotaur and Proserpine, and which was “commissioned” by Giorgio Ferrara for the Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto.  […]

Imaginary letters of love, longing and death all revolve around the theme of the absence of one’s beloved, and exude nostalgia for happy times gone by and the desperate yearning to relive them. 
 […]

These heart-rending letters, oozing with torment, overflow with passion and tenderness as they look back on the events of love lost, no longer from the perspective of the hero, who shows weakness in his refusal, but from the point of view of the abandoned woman, who becomes the real hero.  

The actress plays the parts of the three women, each with her own story and temperament. The result is a wonderful fresco of the female universe. In some cases, the voice of the protagonist is entrusted to the all-female chorus, and sung in Latin. This provides an opportunity for the protagonist to reflect and see herself from the outside, as she explores the different aspects of her soul, while memories are amplified and become real and within reach. […]


Arianna, Fedra, Didone (2019/2020)
3 monodramas for actress, female chorus and orchestra
2.2.2.2./ 2.1.1.1./ 2 perc, harp, strings (min. 8.6.4.4.1)
Duration: 60’

Photo:  © Max Pucciariello