VIRGINIA GUIDI

Virginia Guidi, mezzosoprano and writer

Virginia Guidi is a versatile and multifaceted artist/performer, described by journalist Mario Gamba as an "explorer" for her ability to push the boundaries of classical vocalization through experimentation and research. She exploits her elastic vocal range in both classical and 20th-century contemporary repertoires. However, her work is not limited to performance alone: she is also engaged in research. She began her studies as an actress, focusing on Jacques Lecoq’s Parisian method. Then, she pursued her musical studies with Stefania Magnifico, graduating in Singing and Chamber Vocal Music at the S. Cecilia Conservatory in Rome with R. Berg and T. Scandaletti. After that, she continued her studies under the guidance of Silvia Schiavoni, getting her Master cum laude with an experimental thesis on the relationship between composer and performer in electroacoustic music. She also deepenedher studies in contemporary vocal techniques at the Conservatory of Montbéliard with Nicholas Isherwood and in electroacoustic music for performers at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia with Michelangelo Lupone. In 2019, she won the 4th edition of the Michiko Hirayama Scholarship for contemporary singers. She has collaborated with prestigious institutions such as ETI, Accademia Nazionale d'Arte Drammatica Silvio D'Amico, Accademia Nazionale di Danza, S. Cecilia Conservatory, A. Casella Conservatory, Deutsche Akademie Rom Villa Massimo, Real Academia de España, Accademia Filarmonica Romana, Fondazione Scelsi and Laboratorio Piero Gabrielli - Fondazione Teatro di Roma. She has also participated in important festivals including EMUfest, Venice Biennale, Milano Pianocity, ArteScienza, San Leo Festival, MA/IN, ElettroAQustica, Roma Sinfonietta, and Le Forme del Suono. She has performed in Italy and internationally in cities such as Paris, Marseille, Montbéliard, Washington DC, Beijing, Berlin and San Marino. Her work focuses on collaborating with composers, often performing in world premieres and works dedicated to her, while also delving into repertoire 20th-century. She has extensively explored and interpreted many pieces from the Roman school of music alongside her research and rediscovery efforts. Since 2015, she has been a mezzo-soprano in the vocal group Voxnova Italia, led by Nicholas Isherwood, with whom she has performed at the Venice Biennale and MAXXI in Rome. Since 2022, she has also been singing with the vocal group Fragmente Ensemble in Stockhausen's "Stimmung", performing at the Basilica of San Carlo al Corso in Milan and at the Palazzo Altemps in Rome. She has collaborated with various contemporary music groups such as AlterEgo Ensemble (for the world premiere of a work by composer Antonio Blanco Tejero in 2019), InDivenire Ensemble (from 2014 to 2015), BLOW UP Percussion (for the Italian premiere of a piece by composer Giulia Lorusso in 2019), and the Interpretation Group "MetaDiapason" (on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the death of composer Domenico Guaccero). She has participated in numerous interdisciplinary performances, collaborating with international artists such as Allora & Calzadilla (at the Venice Arsenale in 2015 and MAXXI Museum in Rome in 2018), Thomas De Falco (Rome's Ara Pacis in 2016 and the Church of S. Ignazio di Loyola in 2020), and Carlo Caloro (Hungarian Academy in Rome in 2019). She has also performed for several film soundtracks, including "KOI" (distributed by Journeyman Pictures and winner of the 2019 Mosaic World Film Festival), "Un soffio di vita soltanto" (distributed by Rai Cinema and Sky and selected at the Turin Film Festival 2021), and "Ritrarsi" (selected at the Parma Music Film Festival 2022). Since 2020, she has been delving into improvisational music. She participated in an improvisation residency at the Ex Mattatoio in Testaccio, Rome, for Palaexpo as part of Prender-si cura 2021, and a conduction workshop for the Nuova Consonanza Festival in 2022. In the context of improvisation, she collaborates with G. Schiaffini, A. Sbordoni, I. Giuffré, C. Riggio, F. Placidi, P. Bronzi, S. Pappalardo, S. G. Graves, and A. Granieri, and is a member of various improvisation groups. Her work in musical theater spans from Mozart to Cage. As a soloist, she has performed in operas and operettas (W. A. Mozart, G. Verdi, G. Bizet, F. Lehar, R. Benatzky), while also delving into sacred repertoire (A. Vivaldi, W. A. Mozart, A. Dvořák, Z. Kodály). She is highly active in the field of vocal chamber music: since 2012, she has been performing as part of the Lied-Duo Ferrandino-Guidi, exploring Lieder and French repertoire from the Romantic era to the early 20th century, while also researching and promoting works by female composers. Since 2020, she has collaborated with pianist Arianna Granieri, delving into the repertoire for voice and piano from the second half of the 20th century to the present. In 2017, she founded EVO Ensemble, which she currently directs. EVO Ensemble is a vocal ensemble of young singers from diverse backgrounds (early music, opera, jazz, beatbox) and focuses primarily on contemporary music. The ensemble won the Biennale College 2021 competition and has performed in prestigious venues such as the Teatro Piccolo Arsenale in Venice and the Petrassi Hall at the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome. Since 2012, she has been the Artistic Director of the Note tra i Calanchi festival in Bagnoregio (VT), and since 2019, she has been conducting courses and workshops on vocal techniques, with a particular focus on contemporary repertoire and improvisation (Conservatorio A. Casella, Conservatorio L. Refice, Pontificio Istituto di Musica Sacra, Saint Louis College of Music and the University of Rome Tor Vergata). As a writer, she has published the poetry collection "Una storia senza nome" (Ensemble 2013) and the short story collection "Frammenti" (Empirìa 2018) in collaboration with painter Spin3. Some of her poems are included in the anthology "Riflessi" (Pagine 2015). She has also written two librettos: "Utopie per un Re in Ascolto" set to music by P. Gatti and "Dimensioni Parallele" set to music by M. Giannoni. Together with Carlo Caloro, she is the curator of "SYNCHRONICITIES" (Maretti 2023), a catalog on contemporary music in relation to technology and multidisciplinary art. As a singer and multi-instrumentalist (saxophonist, guitarist, and pianist), she has also performed jazz, fusion, hard rock, post-rock and progressive repertoire, collaborating with artists such as Pietro Nicosia, Castle Fusion, Moon Indigo, Clastomatic, and Lou Bugg. She has recorded for EmaVinci (2021) and ACEL (2022) and serves as a council member of the Scelsi Foundation in Rome.