The Opera Simphony Orchestra, conducted by Maurizio Tambara, presents the Great Christmas Concert.

Here are the traditional Christmas events that the Municipality of Varenna offers every year to entertain tourists and residents, and to emphasize the value of our religious traditions, which have always characterized our history.

On December 29

At 9:00 PM

Free admission

At the Church of San Giorgio

“GREAT CHRISTMAS CONCERT”
which reaches its 7th edition

OPERA SIMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Conductor: MAURIZIO TAMBARA

They will perform famous pieces from the Christmas tradition (such as Merry Christmas, Jingle Bells, Stille Nacht, and more).

THE CONCERT WILL BE PRECEDED (ALSO BY TRADITION) BY THE AWARD CEREMONY WITH THE GRANTING OF SCHOLARSHIPS TO THE MERITORIOUS STUDENTS OF VARENNA.

Opera Symphony Orchestra

The Opera Symphony Orchestra Association was established as an organization to promote opera and symphonic music. It has worked in the field of opera, for example, organizing a singing competition with a final in September 2020 in Carate Brianza, which showcased the talents of Michela Comida and Debora Katz. In the symphonic field, it recorded the first six symphonies of Beethoven, completed with a television crew in 2019 at the Levico Terme Theatre.

It has also performed world premieres of Perosi’s works for large symphonic orchestras and has hosted internationally renowned musicians such as Andrea Bacchetti, Bruno Canino, Laura Marzadori, and Irene Veneziano. The Association later presented the violin artistry of Tetyana Fedevych, heir to D. Oistrakh’s violin school, to various municipalities in Milan. To spread its activities, the Association publishes the online newspaper Nuova Musica and broadcasts the program “The Many Faces of Contemporary Music” on Radio Polis, where Elena De Simone, Colette Cavasonza, and Clarissa Romani have been frequent guests, conducting research and recordings on women composers of the 18th and 19th centuries. One of its collaborations is with the Musica e Prosa Association, which focuses on the education of singers in opera staging, diction, acting, and all that is connected to singing in a performative context, in relation to text, costumes, sets, and lighting.

The Association’s collaborations with local entities have led it to work with the Canossian School in Milan, various ecclesiastical institutions, Milan’s district libraries, the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory of Milan, and to develop an international network, which has included concerts at the University of Constanta (Romania), the historic Smetana Hall in Prague, the Sanctuary of Trzebnica, and the Royal Theatre in Warsaw for Gazeta Polska, as well as at the University of Tirana.

Maurizio Tambara

Maurizio Tambara studied music in Milan, complementing instrumental disciplines with composition and conducting. He began his conducting studies with Pierluigi Urbini and completed his training under Julius Kalmar at the Vienna Music Academy, where he earned a diploma from the Wiener Meisterkurse für Dirigenten. He was appointed assistant by Maestro Kalmar and made his debut in this role in the opera productions of the Vienna Lyrical Academy in 1989.

He later attended several advanced courses nationally and internationally in Argentina, Austria, South Korea, New Zealand, France, and Romania.

Throughout his career, he has conducted numerous symphonic ensembles in Italy and abroad, including: the Orchestra dei Solisti della Scala, the Veneto “Gianfrancesco Malipiero” Instrumental Group, the “Hans Swarowsky” Symphony Orchestra, the Messina Chamber Orchestra, the Venice Chamber Orchestra, the Reggio Calabria Chamber Orchestra, the Genoa Philharmonic Orchestra, the “Città di Cantù” Classic Orchestra, Bahia Blanca Symphony Orchestra, Pro Arte Orchestra (Vienna), Bacau Symphony Orchestra, Cracovia Symphony Orchestra, Iasi Philharmonic Orchestra, Moldava State Philharmonic Orchestra, Bucharest Symphony Orchestra, and many others, receiving critical and public acclaim. He has also been invited to conduct numerous string and wind ensembles.

He collaborates with various associations as a conductor, concert organizer, and teacher of conducting, as well as organizing courses, competitions, and masterclasses. He was the principal conductor of the “Hans Swarowsky” Symphony Orchestra, with which he performed classical and romantic composers’ works. He is currently the principal guest conductor of the Opera Symphony Orchestra.

His concert collaborations have featured soloists such as:

Alessandra Sonia Romano (Violin), Alessandro Lupo Pasini (Piano), Alessio Verna (Baritone), Alexandra Ivchenko (Soprano), Clarissa Bevilacqua (Violin), Ciro Fiorentino (Choir), Claudia Pavone (Soprano), Danilo Costantini (Clavichord), Francesco Quaranta (Oboe), Giuseppe Distefano (Tenor), Leonardo Marzagalia (Piano), Marco Corsini (Violin), Marco Fornaciari (Violin), Renata Campanella (Soprano), Renato Cazzaniga (Tenor), Sandra Conte (Piano), Sebastiano Vianello (Violin), Suntae Im (Tenor).

He has led orchestral exercises at the “Onde Sonore” Academy, the Orch’Idea Orchestra of Abbiategrasso, and the Ensemble Giovani Armonie (EGA) of Casalpusterlengo, working with music schools (SMIM). He is the principal conductor of the Orchestra Filarmonica dei Navigli (https://www.orchestra-filarmonica.com/) and has taught courses and masterclasses in conducting at the LA School of Arts in Piemonte. For over twenty years, he has organized conducting courses for the Hans Swarowsky Cultural Association in Milan, assisting Maestro Julius Kalmar. He has been invited to teach conducting in Argentina, Portugal, Bulgaria (Sofia), and China (Beijing Conservatory).

Throughout his career, he has received special mentions for outstanding performances and interpretations, including first performances. He was the only finalist awarded the V° Wiener International Musik Wettbewerb in Conducting. He has recorded CDs featuring contemporary composers’ works, including Ballabeni and Donadoni. In the summer of 2019, he was appointed principal conductor of the European Orchestra Foundation Discanto.

His most recent concert appearances included conducting Puccini’s Messa di Gloria on the anniversary of the composer’s centenary death.