Friday, September 19, 2014

Renata Tebaldi Museum Open In Villa Pallavicino Stables

"After the great singer died in San Marino in 2004, her long-time factotum, Ernestina Viganò, destined her legacy to the Renata Tebaldi Committee (soon to become a Foundation) and its president, Giovanna Colombo, to perpetuate the artistic and personal life of this 'angel voice'. After setting aside the idea of creating a 'Castle for the Queen' inside the Torrechiara Castle in Langhirano, and thanks to the interest shown by Riccardo Muti – who was always fond of Tebaldi – the Municipality of Busseto gave the Committee permission to use Villa Pallavicino’s Stables. Musicologist Giovanni Gavazzeni – grandson of the unforgettable Gianandrea Gavazzeni, who was alongside Tebaldi when she came back to La Scala to perform in Tosca, interrupting her American exile – has been entrusted with coordinating the Committee’s activities and curating the museum, in order to best display its treasures. He has created, for example, a whole room dedicated to Madame Butterfly – a role Tebaldi performed in Barcelona in 1958, in her return to the stage after her mother’s passing. 'The word ‘museum’ can be quite terrifying,' Gavezzeni says. 'But I want visitors to feel like the Tebaldi Museum is alive.'" [Source] Learn more about the museum here.