PRESS RELEASE (2/09/2014)
Thursday, September 4, a Loano, a concert of sacred music by the Viara-Rhodes duo, organized under the auspices of the’Department of Tourism, Culture and Sports of the City of Loano.
At 9:15 p.m. at Church of St. Augustine and St. Rita, Paola Viara, soprano, and Silvano Rodi, organ, will perform 19th-century Italian and French compositions for voice and organ dedicated to the Marian repertoire.
Alongside pieces for voice and organ by Vincenzo Bellini, Pietro Mascagni, Camille Saint-Saens, Jacques N. Lemmens compositions for “solo organ” by such composers as. Theodore Dubois (“Toccata in G”), Cesar Franck (“Grand Choeur”), Ottorino Respighi. Finally, in the evening, the unreleased piece “Festive Concert” by Antonio Ascenso Ligurian organist and composer born in Ventimiglia in 1850 and died in Loano in 1938.
Paola Viara, graduated in singing in 1989 from the “G. Verdi” Conservatory of Turin with M° Elio Battaglia, and simultaneously attended chamber singing courses on the German Lied at the “Hugo Wolf ” Superior School for Collaborative Singers and Pianists in Acquasparta. In 1995 she perfected in Modena with Arrigo Pola (first maestro of Luciano Pavarotti). She made her debut at the Teatro Regio in Turin in the part of the “Dwarf Sable” in the musical fairy tale “Hansel & Gretel” by Humpderdinck, which started the 1991 - 1992 opera season. She has performed in concerts in Turin (Settembre Musicale), Perugia, Livorno, Savigliano, Agrigento and in numerous Ligurian cities. She has sustained the role of “Adina” in Donizetti's Elisir d'amore, ’Santuzza“ in Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana, ”Nedda“ in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, ”Mimì“ and ”Musetta“ in Puccini's Boheme. She has been a member of the Monte Carlo Opera Chorus since 1999 and regularly participates in the opera seasons of the Sala Garnier and Grimaldi Forum of the Principality of Monaco and the tours of the Monaco Theater. In the 2004 summer season he was also a member of the Arena di Verona Chorus.
Silvano Rodi, graduated in harpsichord, organ and organ composition at the “N. Paganini” Conservatory of Genoa under the guidance of A. Bellasich-Ghersi and A. Baronti. In 1986 he was awarded the “Premier Prix d'Orgue” at the “Conservatoire National Regional Pierre Cochereau” in Nice, France, specializing with R. Saorgin in the interpretation of French Baroque music. He also attended master classes with D. Roth and G. Litaize in Cremona, with Louis Gonzales Uriol and Luigi Ferdinando Tagliavini at the Academy of Organ Music in Pistoia, and with R. Jaud in Tortona. Titular Organist of St. Devote Church in Monaco Principality, he has given organ recitals in Italy, France, Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, England, Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia and Monaco Principality. As a harpsichordist and organist, he is a member of the “Collegium Musicum Alpazur,” an ensemble dedicated to the interpretation of early music with original instruments. He is an Honorary Inspector of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and consultant to the Diocese of Ventimiglia-San Remo for ancient organs. He has edited and published several monographs and studies on organ restoration. He has recently recorded on CDs: ’Italian Organ Music on Historic Organs in the Province of Imperia“ for Casa Musicale Eco di Monza; ” Historic Organs of the Roya and Bevera Valleys” for Ligia Digital; ”Renaissance and Baroque Music for Pan Flute and Organ“ with Philippe Emmanuel Haas on the Sion-Valere organ for the Swiss record company VDE-Gallo. Since 1998 he has been teaching Organ at the Conservatoire Départemental de Musique des Alpes-Maritimes in Nice, France.
