Zubin Mehta conducts Tosca to celebrate his 85th birthday

The extraordinary performance goes on stage May 19 at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino

He is one of the greatest conductors of our time and he chose Florence a long time ago. Maestro Zubin Mehta, honorary director for life of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, will conduct Puccini's opera Tosca in concert form on Wednesday 19 May at the Teatro del Maggio to celebrate his 85th birthday. Alongside him for this special evening will be Saioa Hernàndez, Francesco Meli and Luca Salsi.

Tosca, which marked his operatic debut in 1963 in Montreal, will see the maestro on the podium of the Teatro del Maggio for the thirtieth time. An opera that maestro Zubin Mehta has tackled countless times in the course of his extraordinary career, on stages all over the world. At the Maggio Fiorentino, he has conducted it six times, the first time in 1965, collecting a total of 29 performances so far.

The maestro's birthday was also a celebration of the special relationship between him and the city of Florence. It began with his debut at the Teatro Comunale in 1962 and culminated in 1985 with his appointment as music director and in 2017 as honorary director for life of the Maggio Musicale. For decades the maestro, together with the Maggio, has brought Florence to the world.

In an interview given to our magazine in 2020, the maestro compared his beloved Florence to "an orchestra of course, a great and beautiful symphony orchestra".
On Wednesday 19 May, starting at 7 p.m., on stage at the Maggio Musicale theatre, alongside maestro Mehta there will also be the performers Saioa Hernàndez Tosca, Francesco Meli Cavaradossi, Luca Salsi Scarpia, Francesco Milanese Angelotti, Alfonso Antoniozzi the sacristan, Francesco Pittari Spoletta, Giulio Mastrototaro Sciarrone, Adolfo Corrado a jailer and Costanza Mottola, a shepherd boy. But also the Choir, Children's Choir and Orchestra of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. The choir will be conducted by Lorenzo Fratini.

Thanks to a collaboration with Nasus Pharma, the audience will be given a free nasal spray with a barrier effect against airborne viruses, which, in combination with the use of a mask, ensures greater protection of the nasal cavities for five hours after administration. This initiative will be extended to employees as well as the general public.