A grand summer of theater, high fashion, dance, and cinema in Venice. Experience the Venetian cultural scene from its very heart.
Architecture, theater, dance, music, cinema, and live performances. Venice embraces all the arts with a program of cultural events and exhibitions animating the summer of 2021 and beyond. Here are the dates to mark in your calendar.
Venice Open Stage
Venice Open Stage is the festival that brings international theater to Venice. From July 13 to 25 in Campazzo San Sebastiano, in the Dorsoduro district, the evenings will be enlivened by 11 free performances (booking required by calling 345 6105044), staged by local and national companies, as well as groups from Switzerland, Greece, and Croatia.
The focus of the festival’s 9th edition, organized by the cultural association Cantieri Teatrali Veneziani, is the celebration of Venice’s 1600th anniversary. The title, as the young organizers explain, is Par tera, par mar (By land, by sea), which expresses “the idea that there were no limits to the ability of Venetian inhabitants to explore and understand the world and its variety. Travelers and merchants brought customs, novelties, and avant-garde ideas from the Mediterranean to the Far East into the city, just as our festival has presented countless styles of approach to the performing arts for nine years.”
Among the shows, there will also be theater and dance performances, multisensory representations dedicated to physical accessibility, and performances dedicated to women.
The schedule
Tuesday, July 13 at 9:45 PM
The beautiful tragedy to be human by the Accademia Teatro Dimitri of Verscio (Switzerland)
Wednesday, July 14
The OFF 2021 section opens with Let me be by the Fuori Equilibrio company from Florence
Thursday, July 15
Ida D.’s Thirtieth Birthday by the Super sekt company
Friday, July 16
Closing the OFF section will be La principessa Azzurra by the La Fuffa company
Saturday, July 17 and Sunday, July 18
The Faculty of Fine Arts / School of Drama of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki will present Kaspar
Monday, July 19 and Tuesday, July 20
Academy of Dramatic Arts of Zagreb (Croatia) with Tartuffe
Wednesday, July 21 July
The “Venice 1600” section opens with the La Ribalta company from Pisa and Interno camera
Thursday, July 22
Tomato Soap, by the Venetian/Bolognese group Manimotò
Friday, July 23
“Venice 1600” with Saichebanca by Ilynx teatro
Saturday, July 24
Fuck Me(n) by the Evoè Teatro company
Sunday, July 25
Ippogrifo Produzioni closes Venice Open Stage 2021 with La Papessa
The Venice Biennale
The great energy of the Venice Biennale has ignited Venice with the 17th International Architecture Exhibition, curated by Hashim Sarkis and open until November 21. An exhibition that speaks of our planet and our future, answering the question How will we live together?.
Blue, the 49th International Theatre Festival, recently concluded under the direction of Stefano Ricci and Gianni Forte, who presented a program of performances reflecting on the consciousness of a new cultural Renaissance, such as the one the city of Venice has been experiencing lately.
The Biennale Danza is scheduled from July 23 to August 1, curated by the brilliant British choreographer Wayne McGregor, featuring Italian premieres, two world premieres, and three European premieres, with hundreds of artists from all over the world. Among the names is Italian choreographer Marco D’Agostin, winner of the 2018 Ubu Prize for best performer under 35.
Numerous daily events are scheduled, and the Biennale College Danza activities, dedicated to training and increasingly an integral part of the Festival, are not to be missed.
This year’s Biennale Musica is dedicated to “Choruses” from September 17 to 26, 2021. The festival is directed by Roman composer Lucia Ronchetti and focuses on the voice as the absolute protagonist. Vocal production is presented in various aspects through concerts, sound installations, experimental performances, vocal happenings, a processional opera, and a chamber music theater work. The Choir of the Cappella Marciana and the Teatro La Fenice will be present, alongside some of the most representative artists in Europe, composers of different generations, vocalists, and performers from various musical traditions.
The Centro Informatico Musicale e Multimediale – CIMM (Computer Music and Multimedia Center) of the Venice Biennale at the Civic Center of the Teatro del Parco Albanese in Mestre is growing in value and importance within the region. Together with the young composers and performers of the Biennale College, they will create new works in the various compositional forms featured in the Festival.
Biennale College Musica is dedicated to composers interested in creating site-specific sound installations. The project is divided into three phases: the conception of the work under the supervision of Artistic Director Lucia Ronchetti in collaboration with various tutors, work in the CIMM (Computer Music and Multimedia Center) studios, and the production of new works with the participation, if required, of bass Andreas Fischer.
A widespread festival featuring meetings, conferences, and music lessons. An invitation to listen in the city’s historic venues and theaters, such as the Arsenale, St. Mark’s Basilica, Teatro La Fenice, Teatro Malibran, the Lo Squero Auditorium of the Cini Foundation, the Benedetto Marcello Conservatory, and the Teatro del Parco Albanese in Mestre.
High fashion in Venice
In mid-July, Venice hosts a very special fashion week. While major international high-fashion brands have arrived in the lagoon for their collection shows—Wednesday, July 14, Yves Saint Laurent on the island of Certosa with artist Doug Aitken; Thursday, July 15, Valentino des Ateliers at the Gaggiandre dell’Arsenale, broadcast worldwide with a special visual streaming for sustainable events; followed in August and September by Dolce & Gabbana and Alberta Ferretti—Venetian fashion and craftsmanship will be presented at the Hotel Excelsior on Friday, July 16, with the first show of the summer Venice Fashion Week.
Venice Fashion Week – Summer Edition, on July 29, presents the Venetian excellence of historic and emerging “Made in Venice” brands and designers.
Cinema and theater under the stars
Cinema in Campo San Polo returns with Cinemoving, a very Venetian tradition for spending a pleasant evening in the cool air. Italian cinema titles are a must, with screenings of comedies and films for children. This year, for the first time, the San Polo, a look at Europe series will take place: sixteen evenings dedicated to European cinema.
All performances are free of charge, subject to availability, and can be booked on the website www.culturavenezia.it starting five days before the event and up to three hours before the start of the show.
On August 29, Theater in Campo San Polo also begins. Kicking things off is the G. Verdi Music Academy of Venice, which stages the comedy Una bionda in carriera together with Theama Teatro and CMT Musical Theatre Company, in a free interpretation of the classic comedy film Legally Blonde.
On August 30, Lucrezia Lante delle Rovere stars in the play The Man with the Flower in His Mouth by Luigi Pirandello, and on August 31, Decamerock: the new show by Massimo Cotto with live music by Francesco Santalucia, which is also a tribute to L’ultimo giorno di sole by Giorgio Faletti.
Article by Lucia Pecoraro.
