Rome

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What's new in arts and culture?

Rome‘s performing arts scenehas bounced back after many semi-comatose decades but its rebirth, for the time being, is a bit lop-sided. In one buzzing corner of a northern suburb, the Auditorium – Parco della Musica sells more tickets each year than London‘s South Bank or Sydney‘s Opera House complex. Now the rest of Rome eagerly awaits the trickle-down effect.

The current city administration is channelling unprecedented funds into arts initiatives, though it remains to be seen whether, as time goes on, these will emerge from their somewhat institutional shells. Inside the Villa Pamphili park in the western suburb of Monteverde, the Casa dei Teatri (06 4543 0968, www.comune.roma.it/cultura) is a centre for drama and drama-making, with a stage, spaces for workshops and study, and a library.

 

In a villa confiscated from a local mobster, the Casa del Jazz (viale di Porta Ardeatina 55, 06 704 731, www.casadeljazz.it) is making a name for itself as a venue for jazz performers from all over the world. While the Casa del Cinema (06 423 6019, www.casadelcinema.it) inside Villa Borghese is slowly improving its programme of screenings and other film-related activities.

 

Where to go
Delightfully, democratically eclectic, the Renzo Piano-designed Auditorium has overcome the problem of filling seats with a programme that ranges from symphonies to soul, from jazz to jugglers, encouraging citizens who had never set foot in a classical music venue in their lives to think again about their relationship with the performing arts.

 

Opera fares less well, and despite two glorious locations, continues to languish. The drab exterior of the 19th-century Teatro dell’Opera gives way to a beautiful and harmonious interior with a good-sized stage and perfect acoustics. And in summer the breathtaking majesty of the Baths of Caracalla makes for a unique backdrop and setting for lyrical productions. It’s the productions themselves that often lack any lustre.

Theatre and dance, too, are still badly in need of a kick-start. The Teatro Olimpico (06 326 5991, wwwteatroolimpico.it) tries bravely to entice contemporary dance acts to the city; the Teatro India (06 5530 0894, www.teatrodiroma.net) is more experimental than most; while the Teatro Palladium has an adventurous music and prose programme.

Theatre and dance listings can be found in the local press.

See also the useful (Italian-only) website www.tuttoteatro.com.

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