Evviva la Rossa! Romina Boscolo's Tribute to Milva Captivated the Audience
Evviva la Rossa!
A Tribute to Milva by Romina Boscolo
Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden
Premiere: 6th May 2023
“Romina Boscolo’s tribute to her late compatriot Milva captivated the audience at the Kleines Haus”
One could describe the evening as "Diva on the Loose," which the Wiesbaden ensemble member Romina Boscolo presented to the audience last weekend alongside the ensemble le MUSE as part of the May Festival. Together with the ensemble director and arranger Andrea Albertini, the Italian artist paid tribute to her late compatriot Milva with a homage titled "Long Live the Red!" and thereby captivated the audience at the Kleines Haus.
“Her demonically iridescent, mysteriously deep mezzo-soprano voice finds the ideal balance of strength and sensuality for the chansons, and thus the program becomes the perfect blend of nostalgia and modernity. ”
When classically trained opera singers attempt to perform pop songs or chansons, there is often the problem that they cannot completely shed their operatic singing style, and thus the repertoire and voice do not quite match each other. However, this association does not arise for a second with "Long Live the Red!" – here, everything simply fits together perfectly. Romina Boscolo presents in her homage, interpreted by director Silvia Gatto as the journey of an artist, not only the hits of Maria Ilva Bolcato, also known in Germany as Milva, who was famous for her bright red hair. Argentine tangos and chansons by Edith Piaf complete the approximately 90-minute program. Boscolo does not make the mistake of trying to imitate the great icons. She presents "Bella ciao," "La cumparsita," and "Zusammenleben" just as much in her own way as "Milord" or "La Marseillaise." Her demonically iridescent, mysteriously deep mezzo-soprano voice finds the ideal balance of strength and sensuality for the chansons, and thus the program becomes the perfect blend of nostalgia and modernity. The five musicians of the ensemble le MUSE create a colorful musical tapestry for the show; they originally met in the well-known ensemble Rondo Veneziano and are now touring with their leader Andrea Albertini, performing works from the Baroque to the Neo-Baroque in Europe, Asia, and the United States.
On this evening, Andrea Albertini proves himself not only as a sensitive accompanist to Romina Boscolo or as a passionate conductor and soloist in the instrumental pieces; it is his ingenious arrangements for the lineup of a classical string quartet, each complemented by himself on accordion or piano, that turn the one and a half hours into an emotionally moving musical journey in Italian, French, English, Spanish, and German, once again demonstrating the artistic versatility and adaptability of Romina Boscolo.
