Carla Magnan and Carla Rebora

BIOGRAPHY

Carla Magnan and Carla Rebora met at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia (Rome) in the class of Azio Corghi, completing the studies in Composition; later they studied together at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena. Carla Magnan is graduated in piano, composition and harpsichord; Carla Rebora in piano, composition and Second Level Degree in Composition. Both are winners of national and international composition contests and are often mentioned for artistic merit for their compositions; they had together several commissions and performances by soloists, ensembles and orchestras. 

Their cooperation is absolutely original and together they wrote music and texts for Hymnen (2004), six musical images with texts taken and processed by Hymnen an die Nacht by Novalis and the short opera L’aurea d’Amore (2009) with a libretto based on the novel “Il copista” by Marco Santagata. In 2010 they transcribed A nouveau Petit train de plaisir, suite for piano duet from the ballet of Azio Corghi for and commissioned by the Universal Music Publishing Ricordi and the multimedia opera Demo-crac(z)y (2012) with fellow Roberta Vacca, commissioned and produced by Sconfinarte Music publishing in collaboration with the Center for Contemporary Music in Milan (Italy).

The opera buffa Il salto degli Orlandi (2014), for soprano, tenor, baritone and ensemble received a special honourable mention at the International Competition for Composers “Gabriella Gentili Mian” organized by the Fondazione Teatro Verdi in Pisa (Italy) and reserved for a chamber opera original.

For voices and orchestra, they wrote Standomi un giorno (Third Prize at the Busan Maru International Music Festival Composer Competition 2016, South Korea) and A song for Laura. For chamber music Squarci, studio for an opera (2014), a commission of the Simc Ensemble for Temp’óra International Meeting Cenon, 3rd Edition in Bordeaux. In 2015 they wrote Judith, for female voice and string orchestra (from a reading of Virginia Woolf’s entire story) on Libellula’s orchestra commissioned in collaboration with Associazione Suono e immagine (Rome) and  L’immoto guardo for vocal quintet. This work reflects on the theme of the Tempus fugit, among the madrigals of Gesualdo and the third book by the Georgians of Virgil, re-propounding in a new “key” the ancient technique of the tropath.

Their collaboration continues in 2016 with … a board of a petit train de plaisir, a review of the famous suite in the four-handed piano transcription, string quartet and reciting voice for Universal Music Publishing Ricordi. Here the pyrotechnic ballet music interacts with the funny and ironic lyrics of Quirino Principe and with Mediterranea, onde sonore a new theatre project, a harmonious journey written by women to tell the spirit of a female who through the Mediterranean has been able to break the boundaries of mistrust between cultures. The work is for actress and string orchestra, commissioned by I mercoledì del Macerata Opera Festival, also written with Roberta Vacca, Cinzia Pennesi and Maria Letizia Gorga.

In the same year, they presented in Genoa (Italy) a conference on teamwork in contemporary music: composing with four hands, where they outline their way of approaching and designing, demonstrating the centrality of the Collective Creation theme in contemporary art.

In 2017 they wrote Una stanza per Judith, winner of the North / South Consonance’s Chamber Orchestra Call for Scores 2017 in New York City (USA) and in 2020 Gli uncini del Diavolo for voice and ensemble, a work commissioned by the “Sergio Gaggia” Musical Association of Cividale del Friuli, by the Municipality of Cividale del Friuli and by the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region on the occasion of the 600th anniversary of the fall of the Patriarchate of Aquileia (1420-2020).

In December 2021 there was the premiere of their latest work: Il ricordo che se ne ha, a musical opera in a one-act for actress, singer, and soprano, reciting male voice and ensemble, produced by the Ente Luglio Musicale Trapanese based on the dramaturgy of Mariza D’Anna and Guido Barbieri.

Their last work is Le sorellastre for actress and piano, composed for “Le cattivissime”, six pieces inspired by fairy tales.

Info: www.carlamagnan.com e www.carlarebora.it