Prometeo. Tragedia dell’ascolto

To celebrate the Centennial of the birth of Luigi Nono (1924 – 1990), the Historical Archive of Contemporary Arts (ASAC), in collaboration with the Fondazione Archivio Luigi Nono and TBA21-Academy, presents the return of Prometeo. Tragedia dell’ascolto: the memorable opera by the Venetian composer, performed at the Biennale Musica 1984, was staged again in the same venue, the church of San Lorenzo, now Ocean Space, from January 26th to 29th 2024.

For the occasion, La Biennale di Venezia has published an anastatic reprint of the catalogue co-edited with Casa Ricordi in 1984, a precious book that collected important statements by the protagonists who gave life to this “tragedy composed of sounds, with the complicity of a space” (Luigi Nono).

The new book opens with some original texts in Italian and in English. The introduction by the President of La Biennale di Venezia Roberto Cicutto, is followed by an essay by the Artistic Director of the Music Department Lucia Ronchetti, who underscores the Venetian composer’s “Promethean effort”, a text by Carlo Fontana who reconstructs the adventure of that first edition of Prometeo and an essay by Marco Angius who highlights the technical and compositional aspects of the opera and its “ineffable labyrinthian system”.

The original cover, beautifully reprinted by Grafiche Aurora (Verona), opens the anastatic reprint of the entire libretto published in 1984 and introduced by a number of institutional texts: Carlo Maria Badini (Superintendent of the Teatro alla Scala), Paolo Portoghesi (President of La Biennale di Venezia) and Carlo Fontana (Director of the Biennale Musica).

The opera’s composer Luigi Nono analyses the mechanisms of acoustic perception and the relationship between sounds and architecture; Massimo Cacciari reflects upon the concept of the “tragedy of listening”; Michele Bertaggia conducts an interview in which the renowned Venetian composer dialogues with the author of the opera’s texts; Hans Peter Haller explains the techniques of “live-electronics” and the electronic treatment of sound; Alvise Vidolin explores the interactions between acoustic instruments and electronic devices; Renzo Piano reconstructs the genesis of the musical space of Prometeo. The book also presents a series of illustrations and annotations on the scores, as well as photographs, sketches for the spaces and studies by Emilio Vedova for the lighting, providing a detailed account of how the opera came into being.

The general index and table of illustrations conclude the catalogue.

Studio Headline in Rovereto was responsible for the graphic design of the cover and the layout of the book Prometeo. Tragedia dell’ascolto., 2024.