by Nina Vaclavikova
Interviews: Giorgio Micheli, author of the theatrical and literary texts; Pierpaolo Roberti, FVG councilor for Local Autonomies
A new regional concert project, La musica è luce (“Music Is Light”), will tour Friuli Venezia Giulia from Jan. 11 to April 18, 2026, bringing eight synesthetic performances to seven cities, including Udine, Trieste, Muggia, Gorizia, Pordenone, Duino and Tolmezzo.
Presented this week at the Region’s headquarters in Trieste, the project combines orchestral and popular music with theatrical narration to create what its creators describe as a “multisensory” experience. Most performances will be free; only the Feb. 8 concerts at Teatro Miela in Trieste will be ticketed.
The production is built around the idea of synesthesia — the crossover of senses — and will move symbolically from darkness to light. The narrative frame is that of Italian emigrants leaving Europe by ship for the United States, a journey used as a metaphor for the uncertainty faced by people with visual disabilities.
Two ensembles will alternate on stage: the Orchestra a Fiati Città di Muggia and the Piccola Orchestra Ritmica, a group of young musicians and singers. The musical program ranges from Mussorgsky, Ravel, Wagner and Respighi to Bernstein, Morricone, Fabrizio De André, Ray Charles and Renato Carosone.
Short theatrical texts written and curated by Giorgio Micheli will accompany the music, drawing on authors including Edmondo De Amicis, Mario Soldati, John Fante, Charles Baudelaire, Helen Keller and Jorge Luis Borges. The readings focus on three phases of the journey: departure, the ocean crossing and arrival.
The series opens on Jan. 11 in Udine at the Palamostre Theater and continues Jan. 16 in Muggia (Teatro Verdi), Feb. 8 in Trieste (Teatro Miela), March 20 in Gorizia (Kulturni Dom), March 22 in Pordenone (Auditorium Concordia), April 16 in Duino (UWC Auditorium) and April 18 in Tolmezzo (Teatro Candoni).
The project is produced by the Orchestra a Fiati Città di Muggia and supported by the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, Fondazioni Casali and Samer & Co. Shipping.
By merging music, literature and sensory design, La musica è luce positions itself as both a cultural tour and a reflection on migration, disability and the search for orientation — themes that resonate strongly in a region shaped by movement and borders.
