Over three days, musicians, students, young people and members of the public will work with Compagnia L’Albero and the European network RESEO to develop the first dramaturgical and musical ideas for Parthenope, a Community Opera centred on the siren, a figure that connects the Mediterranean and the Atlantic.

Parthenope Lab will provide a space for exchange, training and co-creation, bringing together artists, performing arts professionals, schools and local communities. The starting point is the musical myth of the siren Parthenope. From there, the workshop will explore people’s cultural, ecological and emotional relationships with the oceans, addressing themes of identity, memory, migration and community.

The co-creation process will begin with each participant’s personal heritage, bringing it into dialogue with the heritage of the Canary Islands, Europe and music. The workshop draws on Compagnia L’Albero’s experience in Community Opera, including its work in Matera, European Capital of Culture 2019, and on RESEO’s European network, which brings together the education and outreach departments of major European opera houses, as well as orchestras, festivals and performing arts companies.

Inspired by the myth of the Mediterranean sirens and their transformation over the centuries, from winged creatures into beings of the sea, Parthenope is an artistic and participatory project that begins in the Canary Islands—a meeting point between Europe, Africa and the Americas—to develop a Community Opera with a European outlook. It reinterprets the myth of Parthenope as a metaphor for connections between territories, cultures and seas.

The project combines musicological research, contemporary creation and public participation, building a network of musical and academic institutions in Matera, Naples, London, Vienna, Madrid and the Canary Islands. Co-creation workshops across the individual islands will generate original dramatic and musical material, giving rise to different local versions of Parthenope.

The sirens, transformed into messengers between the islands, will act as symbolic ambassadors for citizens’ voices and as mediators of dialogue between territories. The project aims to develop a sustainable production model and leave a lasting legacy for the Canary Islands, strengthening cultural and scientific cooperation between Europe and its outermost regions.

Partners and collaborators include scientific networks, leading European universities, the Mediterranean group of the International Musicological Society and RESEO, the European network for cultural and arts education. Compagnia L’Albero is also involved, with Dinko Fabris providing scientific direction, alongside local partners and Canarian artists contributing to the production and community workshops.

Parthenope is part of Section 4 of Futuros compartidos (Shared Futures), the strand of Rebelión de la Geografía that seeks to imagine and test a model of the archipelago-city that places life at its centre and views insularity as a source of connection and resilience. The strand supports projects that bring culture, science and ecological awareness together in response to climate change. It aims to leave a lasting legacy of networks, methods, skilled professionals and infrastructure that will extend beyond 2031.

The trainers involved are Vania Cauzillo, artist and researcher, co-founder and co-artistic director of Compagnia L’Albero, and RESEO president from 2023 to 2026; Alessandra Maltempo, artistic director and trainer, co-founder and co-artistic director of Compagnia L’Albero; Graziana Palazzo, opera singer specialising in early music and professional educator; Matteo Manzitti, composer and cultural project designer; and Dinko Fabris, musicologist, Professor of Music History and Musicology at the University of Basilicata, and artistic director of Universa Musica.

Parthenope Lab will open on the morning of Tuesday 10 November with a meeting with the Canarian music community and an introduction to Community Opera, participatory arts and the European perspective of the European Capitals of Culture, led by Compagnia L’Albero and the RESEO network.

In the afternoon, the first session of a masterclass in musical co-creation will take place. Led by composer Matteo Manzitti, it is intended exclusively for participants with musical skills, including musicians, composers and music students.

On Wednesday 11 November, a full-day Community Opera workshop will be open to the public. Drawing on the Community Opera methodology, Compagnia L’Albero and RESEO will guide participants through a process of thematic, dramaturgical and musical co-creation. Participants will bring their own stories and experiences of their relationship with the sea, working together to create the first scenes and musical passages of Parthenope. Musicians attending the masterclass will be able to join the workshop and observe the methodology they learned the previous day in practice.

On the morning of Thursday 12 November, the masterclass will continue with a second session. In the afternoon, Professor Dinko Fabris will deliver a public lecture in the form of a lectio magistralis on the musical myth of the sirens, bringing the three-day programme to a close.