Theatres, all of them whether large or small, are magic boxes that we often pass by considering them merely as everyday buildings, waiting for them to become animated, infused by the atmosphere that pervades them when the light of the city dims and those of the theatre’s billboards light up. We all know the rituals: the purchase of tickets, the chattering in the foyer, and the engagement we experience during the performances.

The theatre, in fact, is a complex ferment of lives and emotions that do not stop when the curtain drops; indeed, its silent and hardworking magic flows to a large extent along mysterious corridors, invisible to most of us, unless we are able to take a peek inside, but to others almost a “home from home”.

With a view to greater usability, enrichment and exchange of knowledge, the Teatro Comunale Giuseppe Verdi di Pordenone has chosen to open its doors to originality, hosting artists of the highest standard, whose fame is not automatically linked to the clamour of popularity but who are certainly worth getting to know.

Taking advantage of an opportunity, slipping in through the back door as it were, the theatre welcomed me like an old friend, giving me a look at its projects from an unusual point of view. I could thus enter into what was, during, August, the “summer home” of one of the leading young orchestras, the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester. You may well have seen these youths walking through the centre of Pordenone, carrying their instruments on their shoulders: you will certainly have heard them during strolls under the stars, when, separated into small sections, they added cheer to the evening of 22 August. To see them play frisbee during breaks in rehearsals, or as they chatted simply in English to people asking about their activities, one might not imagine they are the highest artistic expression at an international level of people aged under twenty-seven. But one need only listen to their music in the silent atmosphere of the as-yet empty auditorium to remain fascinated by their virtuosity and their profound capacity for communication. The expression of an artistic project set up by  Claudio Abbado now develops an artistic process that seems almost a philosophy of life in which individuals create music together because they have chosen to do so, have wanted to do so and never because they have had to.

In addition to this exciting start, in the coming months the season will offer a packed calendar dedicated to passion and culture, expressed through a rich alternation of prose, symphonic music and collaborations with other musicians, always with a close eye on the less fortunate, women and also training, with performances suitable for an audience of all ages. This is a sign that when art seeks a home, the theatre is always ready to offer itself as a nest from which the flight of emotions can take to the air.