While everyone's celebrating the anniversary graph points of Wagner, Britten and Verdi, the Baroque fetishists at the Venetian Centre For Baroque Music's annual happening, the Monteverdi Vivaldi Festival, are venerating Arcangelo Corelli's 300th death anniversary, that revolutionary genius of concerti grossi (above).
It's only fitting that while Riva-slashing through Venice's lagoons to breakfast at Florian and aperitivo at the Bauer, we've got an appropriately-baroque sountrack -- more Albinoni, less Haendel, some Monteverdi, loads of Caldara and D Scarlatti -- like the festival's setlist, curated by its founder and artistic director, Olivier Lexa, now in its third year.
In addition to concerts around Venice's historic churches and palazzi, they've collaborated with the Festival Aix-en-Provence for Cavalli's Elena, Bartoli-approved rep for the Italian diva who sits on the honorary advisory board between a titled philanthropist or two.