In a country where names like Rossini and Verdi are just a few eponyms of an even greater tradition, the juxtaposition of arches, brasses and woodwinds to floor acrobatics, handstands and aerials might sound a bit odd.  However, a new tendency seems to be opening new perspectives in the performing arts in Italy: the tradition of classical music is blending with the newness of contemporary circus, thus broadening the horizons of Italy’s current artistic panorama.

On the one hand, composers and music institutions are looking for new ways to make classical and contemporary music more approachable to a larger audience, on the other hand are contemporary circus artists becoming aware of the fact that instrumental music can be a great tool to elevate circus as a highbrow form of art. This is even more interesting if we consider that it is happening in a country where the stereotyped idea of lions, tigers and ringmasters still heavily bears on the perception of circus as a theatrical performing art. Let’s analyse three interesting projects that show how this combo is bringing people to the theatre. DALL’ALTO (Milan, 2018) Dramma Musicale Circense DALL’ALTO is a very ambitious project born from the idea of Milano Musica, an association for the promotion of contemporary music in Ita...