Renato Serra

The pieces recorded here have a common characteristic: they are all inspired by lines of poets who were born in Romagna or attracted by this enchanted land. On the one hand Pascoli and Moretti, on the other Panzini, who was practically a citizen of Rimini, and Carducci, who was an enthusiastic visitor in the countryside of Cesena. Romagna is the place where their respective memorial buildings stand, ranging from those in San Mauro Pascoli and Cesenatico to the Casa Rossa in Bellaria and Villa Silvia in Lizzano, above Renato Serra’s Cesena. These four houses actually have been united by a strong project, whose goal was to give rise to a musical competition under the aegis of the four illustrious men of letters. This was the origin of the “Primo Concorso internazionale di composizione lirica da camera su testi di poeti e scrittori di Romagna”, organised by n.o.t.a. Music, a cultural association that is quite zealous and innovative in the sphere of didactic and productive activities.

Agorà came to life in 1974 in the province of Ancona, from the ashes of a band called Oz Master Magnus Ltd. The name of the band refers to a central public space in ancient Greek city-states and the literal meaning of the word is gathering place or assembly. The first line up featured Roberto Bacchiocchi (keyboards, vocals), Ovidio Urbani (sax), Renato Gasparini (guitar, vocals), Paolo Colafrancesco (bass, vocals) and Mauro Mencaroni (drums, vocals), all in love with jazz rock and influenced by bands such as Weather Report and Perigeo. Thanks to a good live activity and to a manager who spotted them, in 1975 they had the chance to play live at the Montreux Jazz Festival and signed a deal with Atlantic Records…

Josep Maria Carreras i Coll born 5 December 1946, better known as José Carreras, is a Spanish tenor who is particularly known for his performances in the operas of Verdi and Puccini.
Born in Barcelona, he made his debut on the operatic stage at 11 as Trujamán in Manuel de Falla's El retablo de Maese Pedro and went on to a career that encompassed over 60 roles, performed in the world's leading opera houses and in numerous recordings. He gained fame with a wider audience as one of the Three Tenors along with Plácido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti in a series of mass concerts that began in 1990 and continued until 2003. Carreras is also known for his humanitarian work as the president of the José Carreras International Leukaemia Foundation (La Fundació Internacional Josep Carreras per a la Lluita contra la Leucèmia), which he established following his own recovery from the disease in 1988.