International Musical Weeks - "Between the Salon and the Opera" Concert

A chamber concert in Capriata d'Orba

The International Musical Weeks arrive in Capriata d'Orba, a small town in the Province of Alessandria, Piedmont, with the concert "Between the Salon and the Opera". This event is part of the extensive classical and contemporary music festival that the Associazione Musica&Cultura Pentagramma hosts annually in the villages of the Oltregiogo, from May to December. The Capriata stage takes place in the Sala SAOMS, the historic venue of the local Workers' Society, offering an intimate and cozy atmosphere perfect for chamber music.

The Duo Bertolini | Alessandri

The evening features Nicola Bertolini on clarinet and Antonio Alessandri on piano, performing as the Duo Bertolini | Alessandri. Their program explores the dialogue between clarinet and piano through some of the most beloved chamber repertoire: from the late-Romantic depth of Johannes Brahms to the Impressionist colors of Claude Debussy, and from the brilliant virtuosity of Carl Maria von Weber to the lyrical grace of Robert Schumann. The title "Between the Salon and the Opera" evokes that unique dimension suspended between the intimacy of the 19th-century bourgeois salon and the theatricality of melodrama.

A festival spread across the Oltregiogo

The Capriata d'Orba concert is one of about twenty stages making up the International Musical Weeks program, featuring solo piano, chamber music, and orchestral performances. Beyond Capriata, the festival visits numerous neighboring towns — Bosco Marengo, Gavi, Novi Ligure, Pozzolo Formigaro, Silvano d'Orba, Rocca Grimalda, Voltaggio, San Cristoforo, Francavilla Bisio, Lerma, Carrosio, Pasturana — celebrating the churches, palaces, and historic halls of this lesser-known corner of Piedmont.

Music and solidarity

Like the entire festival, the Capriata d'Orba evening combines culture with a charitable cause: admission to the concerts is typically via voluntary donations to support the LILT – Novi Ligure delegation (Italian League for the Fight Against Cancer). Each evening thus becomes not only an opportunity for listening but also a small gesture of collective participation in support of the local community.