Ravenna Opens its Doors to the World

Festival a Celebration of the Arts and Friendship

Fifteen years ago, the city of Ravenna inaugurated a festival which today is one of its main attractions.
Music is the focus of its annual festival, an event which runs from early June through July. However, while a variety of music is showcased — ranging from jazz to dance to ethnic music — it also is home to exhibitions, drama, and film.
The city’s exquisite Byzantine basilicas and piazzas form the perfect backdrop to the festival whose aim it is to celebrate not only the arts, but to cultivate international bonds of friendship, compassion and unity. Accordingly, in 1997, the festival’s first “Roads of Friendship” was inaugurated, its focus being the worn-torn city of Sarajevo. The focus of this year’s festival is “Enlightenment on the Road to Damascus,” a testament to arts close ties with spirituality and spiritual discovery.
This year’s programme includes Orion, composed by the American Philip Glass, who was also a founder of the minimalist movement. The performance pays tribute to our galaxy’s largest constellation, creating a bridge between the human and natural world. Also on this year’s list of events is “I la Galigo”, the longest known epic. The literary masterpiece was composed at Sulawesi, near Bali by a group of pirates, the Bugis. Other performances include a recital by Maurizio Pollini and the opera Salome.
Past festivals have staged Il Trovatore (2003), a performance by Bob Dylan (2002) and Luce D’Oriente (1999).
For more information, visit www.ravennafestival.org. Events run from June through the month of July.

Publication Date: 2004-06-06
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=4058