Strip Poker – by and starring Sara Bosi

Strip Poker is a performance that questions one of the most used—and most misunderstood—words. It explores that ambiguous space where feeling blurs into possession, compromise becomes habit, and violence disguises itself as a bond.

Two irreconcilable visions of love meet and collide, bringing to light what often remains hidden: how much we are willing to give up, how much we accept without noticing, and how much of ourselves we lose just to stay.

The show shines a spotlight on what we might call “emotional abuse,” too often normalized, and leaves us with an open question: is it really love, or just something we have learned to call by that name?

A contemporary, direct piece of writing that places the audience face to face with themselves.

100 Years of Turandot

One hundred years after the birth of Turandot, a special event pays tribute to the final opera by Giacomo Puccini, left unfinished and still enveloped today in a unique aura of fascination.

“100 Years of Turandot – The Never-Ending Fairytale” is a musical and narrative journey through the history of the opera, from its origins in Carlo Gozzi’s fairy tale to the famous ending suspended between interpretations and mystery.

On stage, a cast of performers bringing together voice, storytelling, and movement:
Katerina Kotsou and Bei Bei Li, sopranos
Davide Piaggio, tenor
Francesco Barbagelata, conductor
Marco Lombardi, narrator
Qing Li, choreography
Jean Paul Carradori, lighting, video, and direction

An evening that is not just a concert, but an experience: a journey through music and storytelling that restores all the evocative power of Turandot, making it accessible even to those encountering opera for the first time.

Franc D’Ambrosio: Between Broadway and Hollywood

On May 17 at 8:30 PM, Franc D’Ambrosio arrives at the Teatro Niccolini in Florence with a show that blends music and storytelling into a single, compelling theatrical experience.

Internationally celebrated as one of the world’s longest-running Phantoms, Franc performed the title role in The Phantom of the Opera more than 2,100 times, earning him the title The Iron Man of the Mask. He also starred as Anthony Corleone, the opera-singing son of Al Pacino and Diane Keaton’s characters in The Godfather, Part III, performing the Academy Award-winning theme song in both the film and on the motion picture soundtrack.  Franc studied in Italy under Luciano Pavarotti and holds the title Cavaliere, O.S.I., after being knighted by the President of the Republic of Italy in 2020.  A celebrated international crossover artist who has shared the stage with Andrea Bocelli, Franc brings a rare blend of operatic power and Broadway storytelling to audiences worldwide.

Accompanied at the piano, Franc alternates songs with storytelling, creating an experience that moves between autobiographical narrative, beloved American standards, and an iconic Broadway repertoire, sharing a direct and powerful connection with the audience.

Please join Franc on a journey between Broadway and Hollywood that retraces an extraordinary international career and celebrates the enduring imagination of musical theatre and film

BILLY STRITCH LIVE!

The musical partner of Liza Minelli, Tony Bennett, 

And composer for Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton

Acclaimed pianist and vocalist Billy Stritch is delighted to be performing in Italy as part of FIRENZE ONSTAGE. A legendary figure in show business, Billy brings more than four decades of experience as a celebrated solo performer, a longtime accompanist to icons including Liza Minnelli, Tony Bennett, and Linda Eder, and a hit songwriter—most notably for “Does He Love You,” recorded by Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton.
 

His remarkable career has taken him to many of the world’s most prestigious stages, including New York’s Carnegie Hall, London’s Royal Albert Hall, Tokyo’s NHK Hall, and countless others. In his new show, Let’s Fall In Love, Billy celebrates the great romantic songs of the golden age of Broadway and popular music, while also sharing some of his personal favorites from Tony Bennett’s repertoire, in tribute to the iconic singer’s centenary year.


“Billy Stritch’s talent at the piano and microphone is a seamless blend of virtuosity and velvet, turning every performance into a masterclass in musical elegance.” – London Style 

SCREENING OF ‘LA VITA È BELLA’ FILM (1997)

TICKET PRICE 18 euros – all seats

(“special” students price: 10 euros)

 

Italian screening – English subtitled

 

Following the screening, GIORGIO CANTARINI, an accomplished actor and film star, will join us to talk about his memories of making this historic film, how it impacted him as a little boy, and how it fits in the current state of the world.

Life Is Beautiful (La vita è bella) is a 1997 Italian period comedy-drama film directed by and starring Roberto Benigni, who co-wrote the film with Vincenzo Cerami. Benigni plays Guido Orefice, a Jewish Italian bookshop owner, who employs his imagination to shield his son from the horrors of internment in a Nazi concentration camp. The film was partially inspired by the book In the End, I Beat Hitler by Rubino Romeo Salmonì and by Benigni’s father, who spent two years in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp during World War II.

The movie won the Grand Prix at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival, nine David di Donatello Awards (including Best Film), five Nastro d’Argento Awards in Italy, two European Film Awards, and three Academy Awards, including Best Foreign Language Film and Best Actor for Benigni, the first for a male non-English-language performance.

THE HEART OF NUBA

A DOCUMENTARY DRAMA  

 
“A stunning and moving documentary film: One western Doctor, Tom Catena finds himself in the war-torn mountains os Sudan, where he is the only Doctor attending to one million patients. Bombed relentlessly by indicted war criminal, Omar Al-Bashir, the Nuba people rely on Dr. Tom, the only surgeon within 200 miles, to survive.” 
 
 
 
 

Dr. TOM CATENA – coming to us LIVE from the heart of SUDAN.

TRAILER

We will also have a live performance of the title song BLOOM with Katrina Carlson, the artist who recorded it

THE STORY

 

Dr. Tom Catena’s patients come to him from hundreds of miles away on foot, in carts, or often cradled in their mother’s arms. Welcome to the Nuba Mountains of Sudan, an area of the world so void of humanitarian and media attention that years of war go ignored and cries for help go largely unheard.

Here, this lone American surgeon tends with equal compassion to patients ranging from malnutrition and leprosy, to grave wounds inflicted by the indiscriminate bombings ordered by their own president, Omar al-Bashir. When a government can attack defenseless men, women and children with supersonic bombers and it doesn’t make anyone’s newswire, something is terribly awry.

The only surgeon within 200 miles, “Dr. Tom” does his best to save lives in the midst of carnage and terror, treating as many as 400 patients a day at Mother of Mercy Hospital, nestled in the heart of the Nuba Mountains. The region is the latest target of Omar al-Bashir, a man wanted by the International Criminal Court for committing crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur.

Surrounded by a country at war and living under the constant shadow of aerial bombardment, Dr. Tom and his mostly local staff defy Bashir’s ban on humanitarian aid, and work tirelessly to serve the Nuba people. This population of one million Muslims, Christians, Animists and Africans of traditional belief have lived together harmoniously for centuries. Now, together with Dr. Tom Catena, they struggle to survive.

ABOUT DR. TOM CATENA

Since 2007, Dr. Tom Catena, a Catholic missionary from Amsterdam, NY, has been the only doctor permanently based in Sudan’s Nuba Mountains, which has a population of more than half a million people.

Dr. Catena attended Brown University where he earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering, but felt called to missionary work. Realizing there were limited opportunities given his background, he decided to pursue a medical career and attended Duke University School of Medicine on a U.S. Navy scholarship.

After graduating, he completed his Navy commitment and later began missionary work in Africa. He volunteered at St. Mary’s Hospital in Nairobi for six years before helping establish the Mother of Mercy Hospital, where he currently labors day and night to help heal the sick and the wounded victims of jihadist war.

 

Dr. Catena typically treats up to 400 patients in a day and is on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Patients have been known to walk for 7 days to receive treatment and typically visit the hospital with injuries from bombing attacks and ailments varying from bone fractures to malnourishment and malaria.

Limited by his surroundings, Dr. Catena sometimes uses decades-old treatments and often times doesn’t have electricity or running water. He estimates he performs more than a thousand operations a year.

KENNETH CARLSON, DIRECTOR/PRODUCER

Kenneth A. Carlson directed and produced the award-winning, feature length documentary THE HEART OF NUBA, profiling the courageous and selfless efforts of Dr. Tom Catena.

Dr. Tom is the sole doctor for a million patients in the war-torn Nuba Mountains of Sudan. Dr. Tom won the 2017 $1.1 Million Aurora Prize and was also recognized as Time Magazine’s Top 100 Most Influential People. The film was recently awarded the Catholics in Media Associate’s Inaugural Social Justice Award.

Carlson has recently directed a series of live action short films for Feeln/SpiritClips owned by Hallmark. His latest effort, DINER FORMAL, was their most watched short of 2015.

On the non-fiction front, Carlson wrote, produced and directed GO TIGERS!, a feature length documentary which premiered in the Documentary Competition at the Sundance Film Festival where it was picked-up for distribution by IFC Films.

The critically praised GO TIGERS! was released in 125 theaters domestically while enjoying an extensive release internationally. Among others, it was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award and a Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Documentary. It can currently be seen on Netflix and iTunes.

During the press junket for GO TIGERS!, Carlson managed to direct, produce and shoot NBC’s prime time, reality-based show, LOST. Blindfolded and ear-plugged, he was transported some 26 hours around the globe and dropped in Outer Mongolia with a goal of making it back to the Statue of Liberty.

Carlson’s team of contestants completed the adventure in 18 days. LOST generated strong ratings for the network. Shortly thereafter, he produced and directed several segments of the reality-based show, MEET MISTER MOM, for Full Circle Entertainment and Reveille Productions that showcased during prime time on NBC.

In addition, Carlson produced AMARGOSA, an Emmy Award winning and Academy Award Finalist documentary featuring Marta Becket and her opera house located in remote Death Valley Junction, California.

Carlson produced the critically acclaimed and award-winning documentary WILD BILL: HOLLYWOOD MAVERICK, based on the life and times of legendary studio director William A. Wellman.

 

For Carlson’s independent film company, Carlson Films, he produced STEPPIN’ for Dreamworks about the contemporary dance phenomenon widely known as Soul Steppin’. Carlson also directed, produced and wrote the feature film SPECIAL DELIVERY, a romantic comedy.

For more than six years, Carlson directed, produced and wrote over 275 feature segments for AMERICA’S MOST WANTED, which aired for 23 seasons on The Fox Network. His efforts have resulted in the capture and incarceration of more than sixty-five of the country’s most wanted criminals.

Carlson has produced a plethora of award-winning commercials, music videos and short films. His love for photography has taken him to the far reaches of the globe, and his images have been published in the New York Times, Washington Post, and National Geographic travel catalogs. He resides in Santa Monica with his wife, Katrina Carlson, and their three adventurous children.

MICHAEL LEWIN, PIANIST

Concert Program

• Clementi, Chopin, Liszt, Schubert •

 

Muzio Clementi (1752–1832)

Sonata in F-sharp minor, Op. 25, no. 5 

1. Allegro con espressione

2. Lento e patetico

3. Presto

 

Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)

Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 35 (“Funeral March”) 

1. Grave; doppio moviemento

2. Scherzo

3. Marche funèbre: Lento

4. Finale: Presto

 

Franz Liszt (1811-1886)

Sonetto 104 del Petrarca

Hungarian Rhapsody No. 8 in F-sharp Minor

 

Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

“Trout” Quintet

Michael Lewin is one of America’s foremost concert pianists, winning over audiences in 30 countries with playing of “majestic power and searing emotion.” (The London Times). His career was launched with victories in the Liszt Utrecht International Competition, the American Pianists Award and the University of Maryland’s William Kapell International Piano Competition. His numerous recordings have won a Grammy Award and a Roundglass Music Award.

He has appeared as orchestral soloist with the Netherlands Philharmonic, the Cairo Symphony, the China National Radio Orchestra, the Bucharest Philharmonic, the Youth Orchestra of the Americas, the State Symphony of Greece, the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, the Boston Pops, and the Phoenix, Indianapolis, Miami, North Carolina, West Virginia, Nevada, New Orleans, Colorado, Guadalajara, and Puerto Rico Symphonies. Solo appearances include New York’s Lincoln Center, London’s Wigmore Hall, Boston’s Symphony Hall, Taiwan’s National Concert Hall, Hong Kong’s City Hall Theatre, Holland’s Muziekcentrum, Moscow’s Great Hall, the Athens Megaron, the National Gallery of Art, the Newport, Ravinia and Spoleto Festivals and PBS Television. His extensive repertoire includes over 40 piano concertos, and he is particularly praised for his performances of Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Liszt, Debussy and a host of American and Latin American composers.

Mr. Lewin’s award-winning discography on Sono Luminus, Naxos and Centaur includes a pair of popular Debussy recordings entitled “Beau Soir” and “Starry Night,” the complete piano music of Charles T. Griffes, a collection of Scarlatti Sonatas, his acclaimed all-Liszt debut recording, a Russian album of Scriabin, Balakirev and Glazunov, Bamboula! (a disc of Louis Moreau Gottschalk’s piano music), “If I Were a Bird” (piano bird pieces), “Piano Phantoms” (ghost/phantoms inspired works), and the Violin/Piano Sonatas by William Bolcom with violinist Irina Muresanu.

Michael Lewin is Professor and Head of Piano at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee. He gives master classes worldwide, directs the Boston Conservatory Piano Masters Series and has taught and mentored many prize-winning and successful pianists. He is a Juilliard School graduate and a Steinway Artist. His teachers included Leon Fleisher, Yvonne Lefebure, Adele Marcus and Irwin Freundlich. 

Xenia Next Generation Series, 2° encounter

Xenia Next Generation Series returns to Teatro Niccolini, the cycle of free musical events dedicated to the new generation of chamber music performers.

On stage, an ensemble of young musicians, students of the Xenia Chamber Music Course summer program, trained in the Netherlands at an academy for young talents and now emerging through a growing path among national and international competitions.

The program brings together two late works among the most significant in the chamber music repertoire.
Felix Mendelssohn’s Quartet Op. 80, written in the final months of his life, is an intense and dramatic piece, among the deepest of his output.
Antonín Dvořák’s “American” Quartet Op. 96, composed during his stay in the United States, is bright and vital music that combines classical elegance with spontaneity.

Two complementary masterpieces, showcasing contrasting expressive possibilities that are both central to the history of the string quartet.

The meeting is led by Igor Polesitsky, who guides the audience through listening and dialogue with the musicians. As with the other events in the series, this is not a traditional concert but a close musical encounter, where the works take shape through both performance and reflection.

Free event with mandatory reservation. To reserve, please send an email to teatroniccolini@firenzeonstage.com

Music by
Felix Mendelssohn
Antonín Dvořák

Performers
Pieter Streefkerk, violin
Eline van Dijk, violin
Magali Duindam, viola
Vincent Kalk, cello

Musical guidance and audience dialogue
Igor Polesitsky

Second Class

On March 28 at 7:00 PM, Teatro Niccolini hosts Seconda classe, a performance by the company Controcanto Collettivo, presented as part of Materia Prima Festival 2026, a festival dedicated to contemporary theatre curated by Murmuris.

Seconda classe is a theatrical investigation into the themes of wealth, luxury, and their deeply exclusive nature. We live in a world in which inequality has become an almost natural condition, to the point of seeming inevitable. But what truly makes a privilege desirable? Its usefulness, or the fact that it is reserved for only a few?

Through an essential and refined stage language, the performance explores this paradox: first class exists only because second class exists. Wealth is not only possession, but also the certainty that someone else has less.

Controcanto Collettivo, a Rome-based company active since 2011, has established itself in recent years as one of the most interesting groups in the Italian theatre scene, thanks to a method of collective creation that develops through successive improvisations and a strong attention to social issues. Among the company’s best-known works are Sempre Domenica, winner of the Premio In Box 2017, and Salto di specie, presented at the Kilowatt Festival.

With Seconda classe, the company continues its path of research into profound questions of contemporary experience, offering audiences a performance that is lucid, ironic, and necessary.

Original dramaturgy: Controcanto Collettivo
Concept and direction: Clara Sancricca
With Federico Cianciaruso, Riccardo Finocchio, Martina Giovanetti, Andrea Mammarella, Emanuele Pilonero, Clara Sancricca.

Allacciate le cinture!

A soprano, a violinist, and a pianist: it sounds like the beginning of a traditional concert. But from here on, the rules change.

On May 10, Allacciate le cinture! arrives at the Teatro Niccolini, a performance that brings together great music and theatrical spirit, featuring soprano Maria Luigia Borsi and the Duo Baldo.

Great opera arias and pieces for violin and piano remain at the center of the stage, but they also become storytelling, dialogue, and playful stage interaction. The music guides the performers, suggesting movements, encounters, small unexpected moments, and touches of irony, transforming the concert into a surprising experience.

The elegance and talent of Maria Luigia Borsi, a leading presence on international stages, combine with the energy and creativity of the Duo Baldo, creating a performance that alternates virtuosity and lightness, musical rigor and entertainment.

A different way of approaching classical music: accessible, engaging, and able to speak both to those who have always loved it and to those discovering it for the first time.