Italian musician, composer, stage
director, playwright and folk-traditions scholar Roberto De
Simone died at the age of 91 at his home in Naples late on
Sunday, sources said on Monday.
A musicologist, composer, director, anthropologist: Naples,
protagonist of the cultural scene, which is celebrating its 2500
years, owes much to the musical genius of De Simone.
Founder of the Nuova Compagnia di Canto Popolare in 1967, author
of the opera Gatta Cenerentola (1976), a profound scholar of the
popular traditions that he brought to the world, De Simone was
the Artistic Director of the Teatro San Carlo opera house, the
world's oldest, from 1981 to 1987, contributing to the
rediscovery of eighteenth-century Naples music and culture.
His production was vast, from the Requiem in memory of Pier
Paolo Pasolini (1985) to Eleonora (1999) for the bicentenary of
the Neapolitan Revolution of 1799, and he directed in major
international theaters.
His funeral will be held in Naples on Wednesday.
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