Tunis: With its blend of Baroque aesthetics, flamboyant stage design, and contemporary sounds, the 60th Carthage International Festival hosted on Tuesday the official farewell performance of Maestro Gian Piero Reverberi, founder of the legendary Italian group Rond² Veneziano. Founded in the late 1970s, the Italian ensemble made its mark on the international scene thanks to an original concept blending Venetian musical heritage with contemporary rhythms, conveyed through a visual setting inspired by the 18th century. This two-hour concert remained true to this unique style, blending visual poetry with the atmosphere characteristic of chamber music concerts.
According to Agence Tunis Afrique Presse, although the Roman Amphitheatre was not sold out for this instrumental performance - with a moderate turnout and the upper tiers sparsely filled - the quality of listening displayed by attendees was remarkable. The overall atmosphere remained subdued, with the majority of the audience preferring to savor the pieces in attentive silence. On several occasions, a few members of the audience attempted to break into rhythmic applause to accompany the beat of the music, but these attempts were not taken up by the rest of the audience, who were clearly focused on the musicians' technical performance.
On stage, Maestro Gian Piero Reverberi remained true to the strict conventions of classical conducting. Sparing with his words throughout the performance, he neither introduced the pieces nor spoke directly to the audience, limiting himself to warm bows towards the stands at the end of each piece. It was only as the finale approached that a genuine sense of communion with the audience swept through the Amphitheatre. During the performance of one of his most rhythmic pieces, the Maestro turned fully towards the crowd in an unprecedentedly animated gesture, finally inviting the audience to break with the solemnity and join in a festive and carefree atmosphere.
The stage of the Carthage Amphitheatre was transformed into a visual spectacle where two worlds interacted. To the Maestro's left, the female musicians, dressed in long, 18th-century-inspired period gowns and wearing powdered white wigs, took their places alongside instrumentalists in dark, contemporary attire. One of the evening's visual highlights was the appearance of a huge blue moon in chiaroscuro on the giant screen overlooking the amphitheatre's stone walls. The silhouettes of the Baroque musicians were cast as shadow puppets against it, enhancing the theatrical atmosphere of the performance.
It was after the concert, during the traditional press conference, that the Maestro fully revealed his infectious good humour, flashing a beaming smile with every answer. With a touch of humility, he first made his handover official. "I'm a bit too old for this job now," he joked, pointing to the ensemble's pianist as his successor. Speaking of his artistic philosophy and his relationship with the present day, the conductor strongly emphasized his distance from the virtual world. "I don't use social media. I've remained true to the idea that music is something deeply personal, which doesn't bow to the mad principle of 'likes' on the internet. I don't like that. What I do is simply music, concerts, reality."
Recalling the project's origins, the Maestro explained that his band had been formed as a direct reaction to the soundscape of his early days, in the late 1970s. At a time completely dominated by disco and dance music, when everything was becoming electronic and standardized, he had the idea of founding this unique style to restore a place for acoustic instruments and a more natural musicality, whilst retaining a contemporary rhythm capable of appealing to young people.
When asked by TAP about the symbolic meeting between Venice and Carthage on the same stage, the Maestro said enthusiastically that "all cultural encounters are important. But performing here in Carthage for the first time takes on an even greater significance for me." "I'm really happy to represent my country. even though I'm not originally from Venice! But I love Venice all the same," he added with a touch of humour. The conductor also revealed that he had initially stepped back from performing with the group, which had become independent, but that the opportunity in Carthage had changed everything. "When they told me about a concert in Carthage at this exceptional theatre, I accepted without hesitation. I am deeply honoured to find myself in this marvellous monument steeped in history."
In Carthage, Gian Piero Reverberi brought to a close a chapter spanning nearly half a century of his career, remaining true to the vision that shaped Rond² Veneziano: that of creating a dialogue between Baroque tradition and contemporary sounds in music resolutely focused on emotion and optimism.