Elio in “Largo al Factotum… and to Verismo!”

On the 80th anniversary of Pietro Mascagni’s passing, the Mascagni Festival, in collaboration with Effetto Venezia, will host an extraordinary event at the evocative Fortezza Vecchia in Livorno. The protagonists of the evening will be the eclectic Elio, famous leader of Elio e le Storie Tese, and the internationally renowned pianist Roberto Prosseda, who will lead the audience on a unique musical journey, blending irony, lyricism, and grand spectacle.

“Who has never sung at least once in their life Figaro here, Figaro there?” – with this question Elio will open the concert “Largo al Factotum,” an experience that breaks traditional patterns and makes the lyrical repertoire accessible with lightness and genius. The musical journey will range from Rossini to Mozart, from Kurt Weill to the contemporaneity of Luca Lombardi, passing through famous operatic pieces like Don Giovanni and Il Barbiere di Siviglia, to surprising musical odes dedicated to a mosquito, a hamster, and a little fly. The goal of the evening is clear: to bring the general public closer to lyrical music, dismantling the prejudice that sees it as a distant and academic genre. “The reason I started doing this kind of shows – explains Elio – is because I believe that classical music is above all beautiful music, worth listening to. We live in a historical phase where quality is needed, but few know these pieces. My intention is to introduce them to those who have never had the opportunity to listen to them, without barriers and without genre labels, hoping that they will fall in love with them, just as I did.”