APULIAN MUSICIANS AND DANCERS TO ENRICH TARANTA ORCHESTRA AND DANCE TROUPE
The great protagonist of the Melpignano Concert is the Popular Orchestra of La Notte della Taranta, which every year performs traditional Salento songs during the long night in Melpignano, also accompanying the guest artists called upon to reinterpret them. For the 2023 edition, the guest artists of the Resident Orchestra are Tananai, Brunori sas and Arisa, concert master Fiorella Mannoia.
The Popular Orchestra La Notte della Taranta is once again entrusted with the Artistic Direction of the 2023 edition of the Concert. The Orchestra consists of 21 elements: voices:
Consuelo Alfieri, Alessandra Caiulo, Stefania Morciano, Enza Pagliara, Antonio Amato, Salvatore Cavallo Galeanda, Giancarlo Paglialunga, and musicians Gianluca Longo (mandola) Peppo Grassi (mandolin) Attilio Turrisi (chitarra battente) Giuseppe Astore (violin) Roberto Chiga Alessandro Chiga, Carlo Canaglia De Pascali (tambourine from Salento) Roberto Gemma (bellows) Nico Berardi (wind instruments) Leonardo Cordella (accordion) Alessandro Monteduro (percussion) Antonio Marra (drums) Mario Esposito (bass) Gioele Nuzzo (tambourine and didgeridoo)
At the Melpignano Concertone, the Popular Orchestra will be joined by other musicians, all from Salento and Apulia: a wind section composed of Mihaela Coluccia, Cristina Frassanito, Serena Pellegrino, Lucia Scarabino, Giorgia Carbone, Stefano Campagna, Andrea Caracuta, , Fabrizio Nigro, Mattia Politi and Alessandro Tagliente. Four professional dancers will join the corps de ballet on the concert stage: Veronika Maritati, Alessia Losavio, Maria Pia Taggio and Filippo Grande. The choreographies are entrusted to Francesca Romana Di Maio. Assistant choreographer Alessandra Cito from Salento.
The dancers joining the dance troupe of La Notte della Taranta are all Apulian, as is the choreographer's assistant. A choice aimed at enhancing the professionalism of artists who have their roots in this land.
'This year we wanted to valorise artists and musicians from our land, choosing professionals who were trained in our conservatories and schools. The musicians, woodwind and string players and professional dancers will enrich our Popular Orchestra and our Corps de Ballet, giving together a pentagram of emotions and designing choreographies that we are sure will be unforgettable,' emphasises the president of the La Notte della Taranta Foundation, Massimo Manera.
