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fortyfivedownstairs to Present CANZONE as Part of Melbourne Festival

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A stunning combination of art and music inspired by the revolutionary Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi, CANZONE - Music as Storytelling is a visual and musical dream presented by fortyfivedownstairs as part of the Melbourne Festival from 29 September to 24 October 2015.

Multi-award winning artist Angela Cavalieri returns to Australia from a residency at Venice's La Scuola Grafica Internationale with monumental linocut prints including work based on Monteverdi's final opera - The Return of Ulysses.

The exhibition is a culmination of Cavalieri's four-year exploration of Monteverdi's madrigals, developed during a State Library Victoria Creative Fellowship and a recent commission from Arts Centre Melbourne.

During the Melbourne Festival Cavalieri's spectacular installation in the fortyfivedownstairs gallery is illuminated through sound by two music programs:Variations and Cantations.

Variations performed by virtuoso contemporary ensemble Press, Play takes the sensuous splendour of Monteverdi's music as a departure point to weave a musical tapestry spanning four centuries, where past and present merge into seamless continuity; while Cantations is an exquisite historically accurate performance of music by Monteverdi and his contemporaries featuring renowned harpsichordist John O'Donnell and singers from Accademia Arcadia.

Variations featuring Press, Play: Sonya Lifschitz (piano), Lina Andonovska (flute), Callum Moncrief (percussion), Alexandra Sherman (mezzo soprano) and Tabatha McFadyen (soprano).

Cantations featuring John O'Donnell (harpsichordist) and singers from Accademia Arcadia: Michelle Clark (soprano),

Christopher Roache (alto and tenor), Dan Walker (tenor) and Jerzy Kozlowski (bass).

ST. ALi pops up at fortyfivedownstairs for four weeks only where baristas will be serving coffee every day during gallery hours and prior to each music program performance.

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