“We are proud to be able to offer such a rich program of events. I wish to thank the sponsors that continue to support us: their presence is the confirmation that the work performed is going in the right direction”. This is how the City Council Member for Culture of the Municipality of Verona, Francesca Briani introduced the 71st Edition of the Estate Teatrale Veronese, of which Cattolica Assicurazioni is a sponsor together with Banco Bpm, Agsm and the Santi winery.

The festival will showcase from 15 June to 28 September important stars of the national and international stage in prose, music and dance. “The dominus of the playbill is William Shakespeare - reiterated the Artistic Director, Gianpaolo Savorelli -, moreover Verona is a Shakespearean city par excellence at the national and European level”. “Cattolica Assicurazioni cares about the development of Verona as cultural centre capable of attracting Italian and foreign visitors - commented Emanuela Vecchiet, Director of Communications and Institutional Relations of the Cattolica Group -. Because of this, we wanted to renew, once again this year, our support of the Estate Teatrale Veronese, magnet for the enhancement of the territory”.

The prose segment boasts three national firsts with the adaptation by Franco Branciaroli (also main protagonist) of “Moby Dick” by Herman Melville; the comic duo Ale&Franz involved in “Romeo & Juliet, born under an opposite star” and “The Merchant of Venice” with Mariano Rigillo. Enhancing this segment are another two dates with the tragedy by Euripides “Helen” under the direction of Davide Livermore, the director that inaugurated the opera season of the Scala of Milan and “The Tempest” with Eros Pagni and Gaia Aprea.

The dance segment is offering the long-awaited return to Verona of the tightrope walking ensemble of Momix with the new “Alice” performance, inspired by the fantastic universe created by Lewis Carroll. “I don’t intend to tell the entire story of Alice - stated the Artistic Director of the Moses Pendleton Company - but to use it as starting point to give free rein to invention. I am curious to see what will happen and I am becoming increasingly curious the more I know Lewis Carroll who, like me, was a passionate photographer”. In addition, after 14 years, the prestigious international modern dance company, Nederlands Dans Theater 2, founded in 1959 to support the main company with new talent, will return to the banks of the Adige. In fact, the NDT2, over three years prepares 16 ballerinas of classical dance, coming from all over the world, to move on to the Nederlands Dans Theater.

The two sections dedicated to music, Rumors and Verona Jazz, are offering nine concerts. It starts 15 June with James Bay’s only Italian stop. On 22 June it is the turn of Carmen Consoli accompanied by an unplugged formation, the next day it will be the British song-writer, Tom Walker, performing on the stage of the Roman Theatre, while on the 25th the Massimo Volume and the Giardini di Mirò will perform. The Rumors festival will close on 21 July with the Negrita. For the Verona Jazz festival, on 19 June there will be the concert of Mauro Ottolini and Fabrizio Bosso Band is on the programe with “Storyville Story”, while on 20 June Paolo Fresu, Giovanni Sollima and the Orchestra of Perugia will offer “Two Islands”. The 21 June performance is guaranteed with the concert “Enrico Rava Special Edition” while on 24 June the Glenn Miller Orchestra will close the music section with “Jukebox Saturday Night”.