EGOROV IN A THEATRICAL PRODUCTION BY MICHELETTI

The Brescia-born actor, baritone, and director pays tribute to the Russian musician who died of AIDS, together with Ramin Bahrami

Among his upcoming directing projects is Philoctetes by Sophocles at the Greek Theatre of Syracuse in 2027

The human and artistic story of one of the greatest pianists of the twentieth century, Yuri Egorov, is at the heart of A Piano in Exile (Un pianoforte in esilio) — a recital intertwining words and music created by Luca Micheletti, who appears not only as the author of the text but also as its performer. Scheduled for Sunday, May 17 at 6 p.m. at the Teatro Borsoni in Brescia — produced by Cieli Vibranti in collaboration with the Centro Teatrale Bresciano and under the patronage of the City of Brescia — the performance captures the tensions of an artist who embodied the anxieties of his time, reflected “in the intensity of a brief yet free life, guided by courage and by the search for identity beyond stereotypes,” as the director explains. Joining him on stage will be Iranian pianist Ramin Bahrami, who shares with Egorov the experience of exile, and who will perform works by Robert Schumann.

It was 1976 — exactly fifty years ago — when Yuri Egorov was invited to Italy, to Brescia, to replace Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli in concert. From that moment on, he never returned to the Soviet Union. He first fled to Rome and later to Amsterdam, where he began a second life far from the control of the regime, experiencing a newfound artistic and personal freedom. Dead from AIDS at only thirty-four years old, Egorov remains remembered as a vibrant and blazing talent, whose life Micheletti retraces in this performance by weaving together real and imagined history, placing his own sensitivity as playwright and performer at the service of Egorov’s artistic tension.

An actor, director, and baritone with an international career — recently acclaimed in the title role of Macbeth, conducted by Riccardo Muti at the Teatro Regio in Turin — Micheletti began his artistic path in spoken theatre, directing I Guitti in Brescia and collaborating with Italy’s leading theatres and festivals. He has received some of the field’s most prestigious awards, including the Premio Ubu (2011), the Pirandello Prize (2015), and the Premio Enriquez (2024).

He made his debut as a singer in 2018, quickly establishing himself on the international scene both as a performer and as a director. Among his recent opera and theatre productions are Simon Boccanegra at La Fenice in Venice, L’ultimo viaggio di Sindbad by Silvia Colasanti at the Rome Opera House, and Ajax at the Greek Theatre of Syracuse, where he will return in 2027 for the 62nd Season of Classical Performances to stage another work by Sophocles, Philoctetes.

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