Opera white

OPERA FOR OUR ROOTS

Opera white is an educational-musical program for institutionalized seniors with the goal of using opera as a tool to combat loneliness within nursing homes (RSA, Residenze Sanitarie Assistenziali). It aims to facilitate socialization among the elderly and promote their inclusion in the community in which they reside.

Throughout the program, residents learn some choral songs that they can then perform during the final show, making their participation essential to the success of the performance. This also encourages them to use their mnemonic and learning abilities.

Format

The concept of Opera white was born during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. It was driven by the desire to create new opportunities for connection and care within nursing homes (RSA) following a challenging period of forced isolation. This element sets the show apart from other Opera Education projects by bringing theater directly to its audience, promoting the enhancement of welcoming spaces that had long been deprived of new socialization opportunities.

The format is built on the development of an educational approach tailored to an elderly audience. It promotes opera as an opportunity for interaction with the community in which they live and the development of group identity, ultimately leading to an improvement in the quality of life for the individuals involved.

Training

Opera white begins with the preparation of the environment and staff, including a training session for educators and hospice animators on the benefits of music for the elderly. They learn how music can help recover mnemonic abilities and improve emotional well-being. During this session, the participatory elements of the final performance are introduced, and materials are provided to support the animators in the preparatory process.

The preparation phase for the performance follows: a month-long period during which residents of the facilities will meet three times with a music therapist and a singer to learn the participatory pieces and the story of the opera. These meetings involve the experimentation of educational strategies that can be applied daily by the facility’s educators.

Performance

The final performance, open to the facility’s residents and their families, will be a 45-minute reduction of the Opera Education’s annual opera. It will feature a cast of 3 singers, an actor, and a pianist. During the performance, the elderly participants will join in by singing selected songs and interacting with the stage through a small hand choreography.

In its third edition, Opera white aligns with the initiatives of the Opera Education platform with a new production inspired by Falstaff by Giuseppe Verdi—the comic opera based on a Shakespearean subject that marked the end of the composer’s career.

The performance will reach 17 nursing homes (RSA) in the Como and Milan areas, offering shows and training activities specifically designed for residents and care staff, thanks to the support of Fondazione Cariplo as part of the “Per la cultura” grant program.

Falstaff, the time of pranks

based on Falstaff by Giuseppe Verdi
Dramaturgy and direction by Andrea PiazzaCopertina Falstaff Opera white

Produced by AsLiCo

Opera white – 3rd Edition

Director’s notes

Alice, an elderly lady, returns to her childhood home after many years and, while tidying up the old cellar, finds herself immersed in memories. Among the objects from the past, she discovers a funny love letter from a certain Falstaff, an old braggart who once tried to woo her and her friend Meg with two identical letters.
From there begins a journey into a past filled with laughter, disguises, and pranks, set in the courtyard of her youth—leading up to that night when the whole village came together to teach that drunken man an unforgettable lesson.
Today, Alice still laughs at that story, and upon meeting her two new neighbors, she gets an idea: maybe it’s never too late for another prank… and perhaps even a dinner invitation! Because, after all, “Everything in the world is a jest,” and the desire to have fun knows no age!
The memories of elderly Alice intertwine with the music and scenes drawn from Verdi’s original work in a musical tale that dives into the recollections of a working-class courtyard long ago, constantly shifting between past and present.

Past editions

Turandot - II edition

In the 2023/2024 season, the second edition of Opera white celebrates the centenary of Puccini by dedicating the new production to the last great composer of the tradition.

Memories of a Love

Concert of arias from Turandot by G. Puccini

Director: Andrea Bernard
Assistant Director: Simone Ruvolo
Pianist: Martino Dondi
Produced by AsLiCo

Opera white – 2nd Edition

Director’s Notes

Memories of a Love is a story shrouded in the mist of time, where memory and recollection weave the fabric of an immortal tale. We find ourselves inside the halls of a museum dedicated to the legendary Princess Turandot. Ping, one of the terracotta warrior statues, is alone inside the museum, lost and disoriented, desperately searching for his companions Pang and Pong, who may have left without him. In his attempt to return to his beloved China, Ping recalls the adventurous love story between Turandot and Calaf.

The narrative is divided into three chapters, each leading us deeper into the twists and turns of this epic love story, gradually revealing the secrets and emotions that shaped the fate of its protagonists. Each chapter is a journey through time, a dive into memories, where the past intertwines with the present, and memory becomes the guiding thread of a tale celebrating eternal love and the strength of human feelings.

The magic flute - I edition

In the 2022/2023 season, the first edition of Opera white presents an original adaptation of W. A. Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte.

The Magic Flute: An extraordinary chronicle


Loosely inspired by Die Zauberflöte by W. A. Mozart
A musical performance with singers, actor, and pianist
Directed and adapted by Davide Marranchelli
Produced by AsLiCo

Opera white – 1st Edition

This show is born directly from the audience: starting from a newspaper article, it unfolds the chronicle of a journey—the journey of the hero Tamino, who with his magic flute must face trials alongside his amusing helper Papageno to save Princess Pamina.

Will the two heroes manage to calm the wrath of the Queen of the Night and restore peace to the kingdom?

Watch the trailer