From Diodato to Russel Crowe, the Venere in Musica concerts return to the Colosseum

Five events with free entry, from 19 to 28 June, in a unique setting in the world: the Temple of Venus

ROME – Now in its third edition, Venere in Musica returns from 19 to 28 June, the musical festival created by the Colosseum Archaeological Park directed by Alfonsina Russo, curated by Fabrizio Arcuri who signs the direction artistic. Five free entry events in a unique setting in the world: the Temple of Venus and Rome, the largest sacred building built by the Romans (and one of the largest of antiquity), commissioned by Hadrian, built starting from 121 AD. and dedicated to the goddess Roma Aeterna and the goddess Venus Felix. A program in the name of sound contamination in a place that is a symbol of the meeting between cultures and of that multi-ethnic reality that characterized the City. “Venere in musica increasingly promotes music at 360 degrees and is aimed at different audiences, intercepting artists who have the concept of contamination in their DNA”, states Arcuri.

“The launch of the third edition of Venere in Musica constitutes an important result for the Colosseum archaeological park which strongly wanted to offer the city a stage for events in a historical, architectural and archaeological setting unique in the world – declares Alfonsina Russo , director of the Colosseum Archaeological Park – The large participation of the public, made up of tourists/visitors but above all of Roman citizens, has established in recent summers the success of the format which recorded a full house in each of the evenings proposed with over 5,000 attendees. For the 2024 edition the offer is even renewed and further articulated with a composite and refined artistic proposal, enriched by the eagerly awaited presence of Russell Crowe and his band“, concludes the director. This year’s program mixes sounds that come from different musical environments, from the smooth jazz of Moorcheba to the songwriting of Diodato, in a new site-specific stage of his tour; then the Malian atmospheres of one of the most significant voices of world music, Rokia Traoré, and the project that crosses the Babelnova Orchestra, the Arab and Mediterranean women’s orchestra Almar’à and an icon of Italian alternative music, Ginevra Di Marco, historic voice of the CSI and the PGR; up to the overwhelming rock-blues energy of the gladiator par excellence, Russell Crowe together with his The Gentlemen Barbers.

The event opens on Wednesday 19 June with Diodato’s concert. The artist from Taranto inaugurates Venere in Musica after a series of dates in the main cities of Brazil and with a series of sold outs already recorded for his next autumn tour in theaters. In Rome he will present the songs from his new album ‘I lit a fire’ in which he reinterprets some fundamental songs from his repertoire in a new key, closer to the live dimension. Morcheeba, the London band that shaped trip-hop, will also retrace their musical universe and almost thirty years of career and will perform live with songs from their latest album, the tenth of their discography, Blackest Blue.

The following evening, June 21st, the Malian singer and guitarist Rokia Traoré will take to the stage. Composer, multi-instrumentalist, all-round artist with interdisciplinary interests and collaborations – her live performance is centered on the song Djamako – Allégresse, the true heart of a journey through her repertoire, between unreleased compositions and reinterpretations of classics and standards. On June 22nd, an appointment with Ginevra Di Marco, one of the most refined interpreters of the Italian musical panorama, former voice of the Csi first and of the Pgr afterwards, the all-female ensemble Almar’à, the Orchestra of Arab and Mediterranean women, the BabelNova Orchestra, born from the experience of the Orchestra of Piazza Vittorio and which has just released its debut album Magma.

Venere in Musica ends on Sunday 23 June with a live performance by a world cinema star that the Italian public has recently met in the version of a musical artist, Russell Crowe, band leader of The Gentlemen Barbers. After the success at the 2024 Sanremo Festival, where he was a guest on the third evening, Russell Crowe returns to Italy for a series of concerts in places of particular beauty, including the Temple of Venus and Rome. “I have always had an attraction towards Italy. It is fascinating to think that this country has given the world a huge contribution, in terms of culture and from a social point of view”, says Crowe who adds on the nature of an extraordinary rock-blues live show: “We revisit numerous successes in the history of music, giving new life to iconic songs, through new arrangements, to give the public a truly extraordinary experience”.

AFTER VENUS IN MUSICA

After the third edition of Venere in Musica, the programming of the Colosseum archaeological park continues immediately with two other precious events. On June 25th Caro Mecenate will be staged, a reading-concert in the form of a dialogue between Sergio Rubini and Pino Quartullo, respectively in the roles of two characters who have left their mark on the cultural scene of the age of Augustus: the poet Quintus Horace Flaccus and the diplomat closest to the Princeps, the very powerful Gaius Clinius Maecenas. On June 26, the actress, writer and stand up comedian Paola Minaccioni presents ‘Paola narrates Anna‘, a journey, to live music, into the life of Anna Magnani through her personal stories and her films but also through the words of Pierpaolo Pasolini, Giuseppe Gioachino Belli, Mauro Marè, Sara Kane, Achille Campanile, Rodrigo Garcia and Gabriella Ferri.

Finally, on June 28th, Maestro Pasquale Menchise will bring to the stage Puccini 100 and its surroundings, a tribute to Giacomo Puccini on the centenary of the death of the composer from Lucca. The public will be able to enter the area of the Temple of Venus and Rome for free, from the Colosseum square, starting from 8.00 pm. The shows will start at 9.00 pm and end at 11.00 pm. Reservations are mandatory while places last, starting from June 12th, on eventbrite.it. Booking link: https://parcocolosseo.eventbrite.com.