Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio

Eighteen musicians from ten countries who speak nine different languages. Together they transform their variegated roots and cultures into one single language, music. This is the Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio (OPV). Taking inspiration from each musician’s background and traditional music, mixing and dipping into it with rock, pop, reggae and classical, the outcome is the unique sound of the OPV. Musicians leave and others arrive changing the sound of the orchestra but not depriving it of its initial aim bent on exploring new challenges and opening horizons the world over. A fusion of cultures and traditions; old and new sounds; little known instruments; memories; distant yet universal melodies; and voices from around the world.

The idea of creating an orchestra of musicians from different countries and cultures grew out of a larger project in 2002: saving the historical Cinema Apollo in Rome from becoming a bingo hall. Conceived and created by musician Mario Tronco with filmmaker Agostino Ferrente, the Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio was developed within the Apollo 11 Cultural Association, a project supported by artists, intellectuals, professionals and locals of the Esquilino district in Rome in order to enhance the intercultural characteristics of an area where Italians are the ethnic minority.

The Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio represents something quite singular. It is the first orchestra founded on the financial support and contributions from people trying to provide meaningful employment and residency to professional musicians who have come from all over the world and have made Italy their home.

Their on-stage performance delivers a powerful message of brotherhood and peace in a way that no declaration, rally, or television debate could. But beyond its political and social value, the OPV promotes research and integration of diverse musical repertoires that are often unknown to the general public and hopes to improve the conditions of cultural and social isolation which many of the musicians often have to deal with.

The Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio held its debut concert in Rome on November 24, 2002 at the closing event of the Romaeuropa Festival.

The Magic Flute by the Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio
Mozart’s opera told as a musical fairy tale passed on orally and interpreted in various ways by the musicians of the OPV: The Magic Flute by the Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio. The first 30-minute ouverture of Mozart’s opera was performed in May 2007. In June 2009, the complete opera by the OPV debuted at the Les Nuits de Fourvière festival in Lyon followed by its Italian premiere in Rome at the Romaeuropa Festival. It has since been performed at national and international festivals and theaters including Paris, Athens, Barcelona, Naples, Genoa, Bahrain, Helsinki, Aix en Provence, Amsterdam and Rotterdam where the Orchestra recorded the live CD included in the book Il Flauto Magico secondo l’Orchestra di Piazza Vitorio (Ellliot Edizioni, 2010).

Il Giro del Mondo in 80 Minuti (Around the World in 80 Minutes)
It is evening at the moonlit Port of Belesh. A raft is moored at a dock… The passengers and crew narrate their view of the world and their lives through their music. The OPV’s new creation, Il Giro del Mondo in 80 Minuti, tells of an ideal journey in 80 minutes around the world, through men, artists and their music.

Concerts
In almost ten years of activity, the OPV has held concerts all over Italy and abroad with concerts in New York, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Los Angeles, Paris, London, Barcelona, Melbourne, Lisbon, Koln, Hanover, Istanbul, Toronto, Buenos Aires, Tunis, Mulhouse, Brussels, Luxemburg, Wupertal, Oslo, Helsinki and Stockholm to name a few, as well as participating at the Berlin Jazz Festival, the Feldkirch Music Festival and with the film at the Tribeca Film Festival.

A Film
The Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio is also a film; a film-diary that narrates the genesis of the Orchestra. Directed by Agostino Ferrente, the film has received much acclaim by critics and audiences around the globe. The world debut was screened at the Locarno International Film Festival in 2006 as the special closing event.
Cineclub Internazionale Distribuzione

The Orchestra Today
The OPV continues to work on new ideas including the production and performances of Il Giro del Mondo in 80 Minuti (produced by the Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio) and their new album L’Isola di Legno (released by Parco della Musica Records). It is also on tour with concerts and performances of the Magic Flute at home and abroad.