Mission and activities of the Hans Werner Henze Foundation
From 23 July to 31 August, set and costume designs from Hans Werner Henze's villa will be on display in the foyer of the Teatro Poliziano in Montepulciano, representing an important piece of theatre history: They include pictures by the last representative of the finta prospettiva, Filippo Sanjust (première of The Bassarids in Salzburg in 1966 and Der junge Lord in Berlin in 1965), designs for the première of the ballet Undine at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in 1958 by Lila de Nobili, Renzo Vespignani's set designs for I Bassaridi at La Scala in Milan in 1968 and Rouben Ter Arutunian's set designs for the television opera La Cubana, first broadcast in 1974 on Channel XIII, New York). Younger artists are also represented, such as Nanà Cecchi and Christoph Hetzer, who created the sets for the world premiere of Henze's last opera, Gisela!, for the European Capital of Culture Ruhr.2010.
The opening of the exhibition will take place on 23 July with welcome speeches by the mayor, Andrea Rossi, the artistic director of the Cantiere, Roland Böer, and an introduction by the curator Michael Kerstan, accompanied by the trumpet sonata and the marimba piece Five Scenes from the Snow Country by Hans Werner Henze - all in all a worthy tribute to the artistic and social oeuvre that Henze created here in this place and in the world. At night, a ballet gala will take place on the Piazza Grande in front of the cathedral, with Henze's ballet L'Usignolo dell'imperatore performed with live music and conducted by Roland Böer.
