Italy wants to include the opera on UNESCO's list of intangible heritage. According to advocates, recognition would provide a vital boost to the revival of the Nice singing, with the organization of festivals, specific training programs in schools, the creation of a “World Opera Singing Day” and an international award.
The hope is that, next December, the Unesco decide to include opera singing, a form of theatre made of music, on the list of intangible cultural heritage to be protected worldwide.
“We did our best, our dossier is of the highest level and it could not be any different, since our country has the largest number of UNESCO heritage sites and assets”, guaranteed the Under-Secretary of Culture, Lucia Borgonzoni, in an interview with Courier.
A community of 30 thousand professionals and practitioners
Opera has its roots in central Italy in the 17th century, and then “expanded throughout the peninsula and later abroad” thanks to the international fame achieved by artists and Italian composers who gave humanity great masterpieces.
Historically, it has performed a “social aggregation function” through the skillful interweaving of musical and literary skills.
Today, among conservatories, musical academies, historic theaters and lyric-symphonic foundations, Italian opera singing represents a community of more than 30 thousand professionals and practitioners – including singers, teachers, scholars, historians, composers, conductors, musicologists, directors, set designers, music lovers and enthusiasts, choir masters, skilled workers and students.
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