EVENTS
12 Nov 2022
St.Augustine Church, Cambridge, UK
Nothing but dust
Nothing but dust is a new composition for choir, soloists, piano and metronomes commissioned by the St Augustine's Singers and conductor Paul Jackson.
This piece is interwoven by several, apparently unrelated elements that combine in a rather theatrical assemblage, in a sort of non-linear narrative; a narrative that probably appears paradoxical and bizarre, at first sight, but that ultimately wishes to reveal a profound reflection. The main elements that contribute to such an assemblage include a grotesque dust expert, who seems wanting to convince the audience about the importance and beauty of dust; a murderer’s confession, that lucidly and imperturbably exposes his overall vicissitudes, from the planning to the execution of the final poisoning; a mysterious melancholic voice in the distance searching for someone called Riru, perhaps a key figure in the assassination.
The premier will be held in Cambridge, on the 12th of November, at St Augustine's Church.
27 Aug 2022
Duomo di Salerno, Italy
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28 Aug 2022
Domus Arts Napoli, Italy
Innuendo // Sheer Piano Attack
Gabriele Baldocci's acclaimed album Sheer Piano Attack is a pianistic tribute to Queen's music, featuring arrangements of pieces such as White Queen, The Prophet and Love of My Life.
As part of it, Simone Spagnolo has been commissioned a virtuoso piano transcription of the celebrated song Innuendo, which opens the album as its first track.
Sheer Piano Attack will be performed in Salerno and Napoli, as part of a wider summer tour.
Sheer Piano Attack can be found on iTnues, Amazon MP3, Spotify, CDBaby, and all other music distributors.
20-22 May 2022
Piano City Milano, Milan, Italy
Allemanda
Wonderful pianist Francesco Buffa brings Simone Spagnolo's piano music to Piano City Milano, the forerunner for the diffuse festivals taking place in the heart of Milan, Italy.
Presenting a programme of only Italian composers, including Scarlatti, Scontrino and Malipiero, Francesco Buffa will also perform Simone Spagnolo's Allemanda, originally written in 2008, and performed across various locations in London and the UK.
16 Apr 2022
Birmingham Symphony Hall, UK
Orchestrations for Stand by for Action!
Gerry Anderson in Concert
Anderson Entertainment presents a unique celebration of the life and TV productions of Gerry Anderson MBE in this world premiere. This sensational show will transport fans through over 60 years of the Gerry Anderson back catalogue, paying homage to his special partnership with composers including Barry Gray, Richard Harvey and Crispin Merrell.
For this event, Simone Spagnolo has prepared four brand new orchestrations of iconic soundtracks by Barry Gray, namely Supercar, Doppelganger, Space 1999, and Secret Service.
>Find info and tickets on Birmingham Symphony Hall's website.
9 Apr 2022
Sala Filarmonica, Rovereto, Italy
Silenzio
Harpoboard presents Tra Futurismo e Avanguarie, a unique spectacle featuring ten harps and either guests. The event will see the performance of iconic pieces such as John Cage's Postcard from Heaven and In a Landscape. Alongside these there ewill also by Silenzio, for prepared harp by Simone Spagnolo,
Many thanks to harpist Francesca Tirale for this concert
17 Nov 2021, 1pm
Vestry Hall, University of West London
Silenzio
Harpist Gabriella Dall'Olio performs Silenzio, for prepared harp. Originally composed in 2012, and then extensively performed in Europe, US and Hong Kong, Silenzio draws from Cageian aesthetics. The harp is prepared with both little Chinese bells and foil paper, while the music articulates melodic patters of an etherial intensity.
Gabriella Dall'Olio will present this composition as part of a LCM Lunchtime Concert held in Vestry Hall, at the University of West London.
> Buy Silenzio on iTunes
15 Sep 2021
Chiostro San Francesco, Este, Padua
Gimnopedia Rapsodica
Commissioned by harpist Giulia Azzurra Rettore, Gimnopedia Rapsodica is Simone Spagnolo's latest composition, scored for a wonderful and peculiar ensemble of piccolo, flute, two harps, celesta, and speaking voice.
This piece wishes to evoke the ancient Greek dance of the gymnopedie, permeated of rhapsodic gestures, melodic echos, and a narrated passage drawn from Paul Valery's Dance and the Soul.
Gimnopedia Rapsodica will be performed by Les Muses de la Musique, featuring flutists Alessandra Nocera and Maria Grazia Seren, harpits Giulia Rettore and Francesca Tirale, keyboardist Manuela Giotto, and actress Eleonora Marchiori.
Info on Incontri d'Estate Este 2021
30 Aug 2021
Santa Maria delle Spirito, Palermo, Sicilia
Innuendo // Sheer Piano Attack
Gabriele Baldocci's acclaimed album Sheer Piano Attack is a pianistic tribute to Queen's music, featuring arrangements of pieces such as White Queen, The Prophet and Love of My Life. As part of it, Simone Spagnolo has been commissioned a virtuoso piano transcription of the celebrated song Innuendo, which opens the album as its first track.
Sheer Piano Attack will be performed in Palermo, as part of Amici della Musica Palermo 2021 programme.
Info on Amici della Musica Palermo.
Sheer Piano Attack can be found on iTnues, Amazon MP3, Spotify, CDBaby, and all other music distributors.
5 Apr 2020
Dante Society London
Dystopian World
Simone Spagnolo presents Dystopian World, a new composition written in honour of all those empty streets, spaces and cities following the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic. A piece for solo piano, Dystopian World also is a donation to Dante Society London's initiative Su La Maschera, aimed at the divulgation of cultural themes combined with the need to feel more united at a particular moment.
Simone's presentation can be found on Dante Society London's YouTube Channel, where you can also listen to the piece and read its score.
15 Feb 2020
Ealing Music and Film Festival, London
Enron Talk
Alongside director Paul Harvard and London College of Music composers, Simone Spagnolo will give a talk on music for theatre. This event will accompany the performance of Enron, a play by Lucy Prebble, performed as part of the Ealing Music and Film Festival.
11 Feb 2020
Borough New Music
Ellittico, di Beffe e Elegie
As part of Borough New Music series (London), Giulia Semerano Trio will perform Ellittico, di Beffe e Elegie, a six-movement compositions for violin, clarinet and piano, composed in 2012. Alongside this work, pianists Giulia Semerano and Filippo Di Bari will also premier a new composition by Simone Spagnolo for piano four-hands.
13 Oct 2019
The Stables, Milton Keynes
Innuendo // Sheer Piano Attack
Gabriele Baldocci's acclaimed album Sheer Piano Attack is a pianistic tribute to Queen's music, featuring arrangements of pieces such as White Queen, The Prophet and Love of My Life. As part of it, Simone Spagnolo has been commissioned a virtuoso piano transcription of the celebrated song Innuendo, which opens the album as its first track.
Sheer Piano Attack will finally be launched on the 13th of October at Milton Keynes' The Stables, featuring Gabriele Baldocci, Freddie Mercury’s best friend Peter Straker, and opera star Barbara Luccini.
Tickets can be booked on The Stables Website.
Sheer Piano Attack can be found on iTnues, Amazon MP3, Spotify, CDBaby, and all other music distributors.
3 Sep 2019, 1.45pm
East Parry Room, Royal College of Music
Arias from 'Even you, lights, cannot hear me'
Baritone James Schouten will perform selected arias from Simone's music theatre work 'Even you, lights, cannot hear me', an experimental piece based on a monologue by Chekov, which received raging reviews for its 2017 performances at Opera in the City Festival.
3, 5, 7, 8 Sep 2018, 7.30pm
Opera in the City Festival
Bridewell Theatre, UK
★★★★★ Plays To See
★★★★ The Stage
★★★★ London Theatre 1
Faust, Alberta
Following Opera in the City Festival's 2017 success, Time Zone Theatre has commissioned Simone Spagnolo a new operatic spectacle based on the myth of Faust.
Faust, Alberta explores the tragic story of Doctor Faustus and his fatal deal with Mephistopheles from a new, contemporary angle. The radical reworking of the classic portrays Faust as a man who has lost his identity and the sense of his journey along the way, and is desperately trying to solve the jigsaw of his existence. It is a philosophical piece about how to find one's true self.
> Info and Bookings
13 Jul 2018, 9.30am
Conservatorio di Brescia, Italy
Silenzio
Harpist Francesca Virgilio performs Silenzio, for prepared harp. Originally composed in 2012, and then extensively performed in Europe, US and Hong Kong, Silenzio draws from Cageian aesthetics. The harp is prepared with both little Chinese bells and foil paper, while the music articulates melodic patters of an etherial intensity.
Francesca Virgilio will present this composition as part of her degree's final performance and written dissertation.
> Buy Silenzio on iTunes
11 & 19 Jun 2018
Anglia Ruskin University
Cambridge and Chelmsford
Our Journey
Commissioned to celebrate Anglia Ruskin University's 25th Anniversary, Our Journey is a musico-theatrical ode inspired by John Ruskin and the values of education. The piece will feature three simultaneously playing ensembles including London's Symphony of Brass, Cambridge Voices, ARU's Performing Arts singers, one actor, and a number of soloists. This composition will take place outdoor, as part of what is expected to be a unique, exciting event.
12 May 2018
Anglia Ruskin University
De-lirious Marks
Simone Spagnolo will present his recently written essay De-lirious Marks as part of Anglia Ruskin University's Assessment Symposium, taking place in Covent Garden Drama Studio, Cambridge. The paper articulates some reflections on the rationality of marking and the irrationality of the arts, exploring the value and notion of grading university assessments within the field of the performing arts.
11 May 2018, 7.30pm
Mumford Theatre, Cambridge
Scold's Bridle
Based on The History of Women in 100 Objects, The Scold's Bridle is a newly written musical by Rebecca Applin, who kindly composed this new, original work for Anglia Ruskin University's Performing Arts students. Simone Spagnolo will music direct the premier performance of this piece at Mumford Theatre, Cambridge. The piece is scored soloist, choir and rock band.
5 Apr 2018
Wales International Harp Festival, London
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11 Apr 2018
St. Alfege, Greenwich, London
Silenzio
Harpist Frances Tang performs Silenzio, for prepared harp. Originally composed in 2012, and then extensively performed in Europe, US and Hong Kong, Silenzio draws from Cageian aesthetics. The harp is prepared with both little Chinese bells and foil paper, while the music articulates melodic patters of an etherial intensity.
> Visit Wales International Harp Festival site
23 Mar 2018, 6pm
Hughes Hall, Pavilion Room, Cambridge
'Non ho dormito in questa notte mai'
Commissioned by Mifune Trio, 'Non ho dormito in questa notte mai' is a musical-action scored for violin, soprano sax, off-stage and on-stage piano. Written in 2016, and previously performed at the Cambridge Festival of Ideas, this trio will now be presented at Hughes Hall, Cambridge.
2 Mar 2018, 1pm
Anglia Ruskin University, UK
Drops of Candle Wax
Wonderful violinist Mifune Tsuji will perform Simone's solo violin piece Drops of Candle Wax, a challenging yet lyrical work exploring thematic development and harmonic, cyclical transpositions. This is a unique chance to experience Simone's instrumental music.
4 Mar 2018
Jade Channel, TVB Hong Kong
Silenzio
Harpist Frances Tang performs Silenzio, for prepared harp. The performance will be broadcasted on TVB Hong Kong, and it'll be available on online streaming too.
Originally composed in 2012, and then extensively performed in Europe and US, Silenzio draws from Cageian aesthetics. The harp is prepared with both little Chinese bells and foil paper, while the music articulates melodic patters of an etherial intensity.
19-20Jan 2018
Mumford Theatre, Cambridge, UK
Mr. Burns
In association with Anglia Ruskin University's Performing Arts Course and Mumford Theatre, Simone Spagnolo will be conducting two performances of Anne Washburn’s imaginative dark comedy Mr. Burns, a post-electric play.
12-13 Jan 2018
Mumford Theatre, Cambridge, UK
Bring It On
In association with Anglia Ruskin University's Performing Arts Course and Mumford Theatre, Simone Spagnolo will be conducting two performances of Jeff Whitty and Lin-Manuel Miranda's musical Bring It On.
28 Oct 2017,
Cambridge Festival of Ideas, UK
Covent Garden Studio Theatre
matinee performance 3pm
post-performance talk 4pm
evening performance 7.30pm
The Colour Blue
The Colour Blue is a daring music-theatre challenge that playfully dissects the epistemological issues defining our post-truth era. Scored for four singers, four musicians and two actors, this pieces outlines a surreal comedy with a philosophical twist.
The Colour Blue will be presented as part of the Cambridge Festival of Ideas, at Covent Garden Studio Theatre.
> Bookings open on 25th September on Cambridge Festival of Ideas
8, 11, 12 Aug 2017, 7.30pm
Opera in the City Festival
Bridewell Theatre, UK
★★★★★ Operissima Whispers
★★★★ Live Theatre UK
Even you, lights, cannot hear me
Exploring a futuristic and elegiac vision of the end of time, Even you, lights, cannot hear me is a new operatic spectacle based on a monologue from Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull. Two singers, depicted as two beings embodied into one entity, wonder a surreal, yet exquisite cosmos, in which nothingness and wholeness coexist, timelessly.
Come and see this unique work, performed by the wonderful Kate Symonds-Joy and James Schouten, as part of 2017 Opera in the City Festival.
24 Mar 2017
Baptist University of Hong Kong, HK
Silenzio
Harpist Frances Tang performs Silenzio, for prepared harp. Originally composed in 2012, and then extensively performed in Europe and US, Silenzio draws from Cageian aesthetics. The harp is prepared with both little Chinese bells and foil paper, while the music articulates melodic patters of an etherial intensity.
Spring 2017
TEDx Talk, Pescara
Il Tempo e le Storie Infinite del Teatro Musicale
Join Simone Spagnolo at his first TEDx Talk, to be held in Pescara, Italy. He'll be exploring music-theatre's time and infinite stories.
10 Mar 2017, 1pm
Mumford Theatre, Cambridge
'Non ho dormito in questa notte mai'
Commissioned by Mifune Trio, 'Non ho dormito in questa notte mai' is a brief musical-action scored for violin, soprano sax, off-stage and on-stage piano.
23 Jan 2017
Chinese University of Hong Kong, HK
Silenzio
Harpist Frances Tang performs Silenzio, for prepared harp. Originally composed in 2012, and then extensively performed in Europe and US, Silenzio draws from Cageian aesthetics. The harp is prepared with both little Chinese bells and foil paper, while the music articulates melodic patters of an etherial intensity.
13 & 14 Jan 2017
Mumford Theatre, Cambridge, UK
Bernarda Alba
Based on Federico Garcia Lorca's masterpiece The House of Bernarda Alba, Michael John La Chiusa's Bernarda Alba is a 2006 off-Broadway musical scored for female singers and an orchestra of ten. Simone Spagnolo will conduct this work as part of an Anglia Ruskin University performance in Mumford Theatre, Cambridge.
25 Nov 2016
Sala dei Giganti, Padova, Italy
Silenzio
Wonderful harpist Giulia Rettore performs Silenzio, for prepared harp. Originally composed in 2012, and then extensively performed in Europe, US and Hong Kong, Silenzio draws from Cageian aesthetics. The harp is prepared with both little Chinese bells and foil paper, while the music articulates melodic patters of an etherial intensity.
This performance will take place as part of an event organised by 'Ed allora sarà sempre festa per te' Association.
29 Oct 2016, 5.30pm
Cambridge Festival of Ideas, ARU
'Non ho dormito in questa notte mai'
Commissioned by Mifune Trio, 'Non ho dormito in questa notte mai' is a brief musical-action scored for violin, soprano sax, off-stage and on-stage piano.
7 Jul 2016, 1pm
St. Alfege, Greenwich
Silenzio, for prepare harp
Silenzio, for prepared harp
As part of CrossContemporary Project, harpist Micol Degl'Innocenti plays Silenzio, Simone's internationally performed piece.
FREE Event