Ensemble Cleantha, vocals
Samuele Telari, accordion
Matteo Manzitti, composer and conductor
Tuesday 01 December
Teatrostudio
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Lieder von Blut und Feen is a deeply moving musical narrative inspired by the life and poetry of Mariella Mehr, a Swiss writer of Yenish ethnicity, belonging to a nomadic and marginalised people. Born in a Switzerland marked by a fear of difference, Mehr was a victim of the policies of the Kinder der Landstrasse programme (1926–1972), promoted by the organisation Pro Juventute, which aimed to ‘normalise’ the Yenish through violent and invasive assimilation policies. Mehr’s poetic work is an extraordinary testimony to this history, which constitutes a repressed aspect of contemporary Europe. The musical project aims to transform this historical and personal wound into a coherent sonic universe capable of giving voice and substance to those words, integrating contemporary languages with references to Jenisch cultural specificity. The presence of the accordion also takes on a symbolic role: a central instrument in the Jenisch musical tradition, it represents an element of identity and intergenerational continuity. In Lieder von Blut und Feen, this extraordinary instrument engages in dialogue with electronics and the voice, evoking fragments of tradition that emerge and dissolve within contemporary sonic textures. The phonetic quality of the word guides the entire compositional process, with a musical exploration of the poetic texts in both German and the Italian translation by Anna Ruchat.
A composer and conductor, he has received commissions from leading institutions such as Ensemble Sentieri Selvaggi, the Turin Philharmonic Orchestra, Cameristi della Scala, the Orchestra dei Pomeriggi Musicali di Milano, Ensemble Recherche and the Accademia Filarmonica Romana. His works have been performed by internationally renowned artists and presented in numerous concert and theatre settings in Italy and abroad. He is the musical director of the Eutopia Ensemble and artistic director of the contemporary music festival Le Strade del Suono.
One of the most exciting accordionists of the new generation, Samuele Telari performs regularly at major international venues and festivals, including the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Royal Danish Academy of Music, the Royal Academy of Music in London, and European festivals dedicated to the accordion. Active both as a soloist and with orchestras, he is committed to developing the contemporary repertoire through collaborations with composers and numerous world premieres. Alongside his concert activities, he collaborates with the theatre and recording worlds, undertaking innovative projects and productions dedicated to the contemporary accordion.
A vocal ensemble consisting of four female singers specialising in both early and contemporary repertoire, who are involved in research and experimental music projects. The ensemble has performed works from the contemporary repertoire and presented world premieres for cultural institutions such as the Fondazione Palazzo Ducale and GOG in Genoa. It performs in Italy and abroad with unconventional programmes, characterised by an original and interdisciplinary approach to performance.
A translator and writer, she has translated major German-language authors, including Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Paul Celan, Nelly Sachs, Victor Klemperer, Mariella Mehr and Alexander Kluge, whilst also producing a substantial body of award-winning fiction and poetry, including the Swiss Literature Prize. She has contributed to newspapers and cultural magazines and worked with Radio della Svizzera italiana, whilst also directing the foundation dedicated to the poet Franco Beltrametti and working as a documentary adaptor for RSI. Active in the field of education, she has taught at the Civica Scuola Interpreti e Traduttori in Milan and currently teaches translation, as well as overseeing training programmes for literary translators.
