Roberto Cresti Links Verdi and Goya at Macerata Opera Festival

On 1 August 2026, the University of Macerata lecturer Roberto Cresti presented a cultural lecture titled “Visioni e profezie: tra dipinti e musica nell’età di Verdi” at the Antichi Forni venue in Macerata. The event was part of the Aperitivi Culturali series organized by Cinzia Maroni within the Macerata Opera Festival.

Cresti explored how Giuseppe Verdi’s operatic music and Francisco Goya’s paintings share a common aesthetic of expressing human passions, tracing connections from neoclassical architecture and Romantic art to the works of William Blake, François‑Hayez, and later painters such as Giorgio de Chirico. The lecture attracted a near‑record audience, filling the historic space to capacity.

The program highlighted Verdi’s shift from abstract to concrete musical expression, linking pieces like “Va, pensiero” from Nabucco to visual themes in 19th‑century art, and underscored the ongoing dialogue between music and visual culture.