Tuscan Sun Festival

The Tuscan Sun Festival is an annual music and lifestyle festival that takes place in the small Tuscan hilltop town of Cortona, in the province of Arezzo.[1] The Independent newspaper in the UK called the festival “One of the Ten Best Summer Arts Festivals in Europe”.[2]

Described by the International Herald-Tribune as "a blend of Mozart and massages, Debussy and Dante, Tchaikovsky and cuisine",[3] the evening musical programme is balanced with daytime events including art exhibitions and workshops with visual artists, discussions with literary figures, wellness sessions like tai-chi and culinary sessions with some of Tuscany’s chefs and winemakers. The Tuscan Sun Festival includes not only international soloists, conductors and chamber orchestras who perform in the intimate setting of the town’s 400-seat theatre, Teatro Signorelli, but also within town squares like Piazza Signorelli.

Contents

History

The Tuscan Sun Festival was founded in 2003 by Barrett Wissman, cellist Nina Kotova and writer Frances Mayes, whose bestselling books have made Cortona a popular tourist destination.[4] In its first year, the festival lasted 10 days; in 2004, it expanded to 15.[5] Wissman has since branched the sun festival internationally, with a Festival del Sole beginning in 2006 in Napa Valley and, beginning in 2007, the Sun Festival in Singapore.[6][7]

In 2009, The Singapore Sun Festival was awarded Singapore's "Leisure Event of the Year".[8]

Performers

Past festivals have included visits and performances by renowned artists such as Piotr Anderszewski, Joshua Bell, The Bolshoi Ballet, José Cura, Stéphane Denève, Lang Lang, Danielle de Niese, Andrea Marcon and the Venice Baroque Orchestra, Ana Maria Martinez, Gabrielle Montero, Anna Netrebko, Antonio Pappano, Robert Redford, Sibylle Szaggars, Giuseppe Tornatore, Angela Gheorghiu, Barry Unsworth and Pinchas Zukerman. Poet Ed Mayes and painter Alberto Alfonso have exhibited their collaborative works in 2010 and 2011.

References

  1. ^ "Famed Tuscan sun shines on Cortona: Arts flourish in hill town once home to Etruscans". The Washington Times. 2005-06-11. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=WT&p_theme=wt&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=10AB4270F40B5E8E&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved 2008-11-10. "This hilltop city, the home of the Tuscan Sun Festival, is one of the loveliest places on earth." 
  2. ^ Kolesnikov-Jessop, Sonia (2007-10-16). "A festival under the Singaporean sun". International Herald-Tribune. http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/10/16/arts/sunfest.php. Retrieved 2008-11-10. 
  3. ^ Povoledo, Elisabetta (2004-08-11). "Under the Tuscan sun, a summer festival of good living". International Herald-Tribune. http://www.iht.com/articles/2004/08/11/trcortona_ed3_.php?page=1. Retrieved 2008-10-11. 
  4. ^ Avery, Gale (2004). Newsmakers 2004 Sub Part 4 Cumulation: 2004 Cumulation. Gale Research Inc. p. 311. ISBN 0787668060. http://books.google.com/books?id=FmhmAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Tuscan+sun+festival%22&dq=%22Tuscan+sun+festival%22&client=firefox-a&pgis=1. "Mayes still lives in Bramasole, and because of her books Cortona became a thriving tourist destination. The city began hosting a Tuscan Sun Festival and even made Mayes an honorary citizen." 
  5. ^ Clark, Jayne (2004-02-12). "Movies can turn locales into stars". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2004-02-12-movie-travel_x.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-10. 
  6. ^ Anderson, Porter (2007-08-01). "Wine, wedding and song". CNN. http://edition.cnn.com/2007/LIVING/wayoflife/08/01/napa.festival/index.html?iref=newssearch. Retrieved 2008-11-10. 
  7. ^ Chewyn, Desmond (2008-10-21). "Gala for an oriental sunrise". Financial Times. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ccc10b08-9f08-11dd-98bd-000077b07658.html. Retrieved 2008-11-10. 
  8. ^ Singapore Sun Festival - About

Further reading

External links