Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/264109
From March 8 to March 25, Sarasota Opera will host an exhibition from the Rome Opera House titled Homage to Giuseppe Verdi: Celebrating the Bicentennial of his Birth, the Opera has announced. The exhibition "tells the story of the most famous performances of Verdi's operas [and] the great performers, singers, set designers and costume designers who have kept the leg- end of Giuseppe Verdi alive," a news release says. On display will be select scenic and costume sketches from productions "designed by some of the greatest opera names of the 20th century," including Luchino Visconti, Franco Zeffirelli, Pierluigi Pizzi, Danilo Donati and Nicola Benois, the release adds. The exhibit will also feature 18 costumes dating back to 1916, some worn by Beniamino Gigli, Renata Scotto and Angela Gheorghiu, along with a video collage of Verdi operas performed at the Rome Opera House, the release points out. "Sarasota Opera patrons have become pas- sionate about Verdi's music and we are glad to be able to bring a piece of Italy's rich oper- atic history to Sarasota," says Sarasota Opera Maestro Victor DeRenzi in the release. "I want to thank the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma and the Italian Foreign Ministry for allowing this exhibit to come to Sarasota, as well as Piero and Rachele Rivolta (underwriters), for their help in making this possible. We are happy SARASOTA OPERA TO HOST HOMAGE TO VERDI EXHIBIT FROM ROME Sarasota News Leader February 21, 2014 Page 123 The Sarasota Opera House is located on Pineapple Avenue in downtown Sarasota. Photo by Norman Schimmel