Fifteen years after its much-trumpeted opening, Rome’s stunning Auditorium- Parco della Musica continues to take centre stage in the city’s cultural life. For anyone who wishes to establish their cultural credentials, it’s quite the chic-est place to be seen – once you get there. Romans who can, drive to the leafy residential area north of piazza del Popolo where the lead roofs of the three giant scarab-shaped concert halls rise. Students, tourists and impecunious music- lovers strap-hang on the rattly no.2 tram. But everybody goes because... well, there’s something for everybody.
Box office figures, which leap from year to year, show that low ticket prices and eclectic programming are a winning mix. Its programme – which ranges from symphonies to soul, and from jazz to jugglers – has cast its spell over Roman citizens, many of whom have never set foot in a classical-music venue in their lives. All kinds of music – especially jazz – are taken seriously here, as well as poetry and debate, contemporary art, the sciences and cinema.
Most concert halls don’t put Nobel laureates and other top number-crunching boffins on the stage for sell-out annual mathematics festivals. They don’t gather the world’s top philosophers for four days of brainstorming sessions. Or blast Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture out of extremely well-balanced speakers for the delight of Christmas ice skaters.
But then, the Auditorium is unique. It even has its own Roman villa nestling between starchitect Renzo Piano’s trio of cherry-wood halls, besides several museums – two dedicated to archaeological finds and one to musical instruments. The acoustics – and the catering, of course (this is Italy!) – are beyond reproach.
Each day’s programme is packed with events. Sunday is family day and the Auditorium’s genial director Antonio Pappano (when he’s not conducting at Covent Garden) can often be found explaining to rapt youngsters what exactly a bassoon is. On select weekend mornings there’s a farmers’ market.
Luglio Suona Bene (July Sounds Great) is a series of concerts taking place in the open cavea of the auditorium during the summer. Recent artists include legends such as Charles Aznavour, The Pretenders, Philip Glass, Jethro Tull, and The Beach Boys.
The Auditorium draws on its vast treasure trove of historic recordings to stream its own lively radio station, bringing its world- class offerings to an even larger public. If Rome’s Auditorium experiment has proved one thing, it’s that if you provide a constant diet of excellence you will never be short of an audience.