The Museum of San Giuseppe dei Nudi is pleased to announce the conference “In Search of Nicolino’s True Face”, a high-level cultural outreach event dedicated to Nicola Grimaldi (1673–1732), the celebrated opera singer known as Nicolino, a leading figure on the European musical scene between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
The event, which will take place on Wednesday, December 3 at 5:30 pm at the Museum of San Giuseppe dei Nudi (Via Giuseppe Mancinelli, 19 – Naples), is organized in collaboration with OBVIA – Out of Boundaries Viral Art and the Fondazione San Giuseppe dei Nudi, as part of a broader effort to promote Naples’ musical and artistic heritage.
Programme of the evening
5:30 pm – Institutional greetings
- Ugo de Flaviis, President of the Fondazione San Giuseppe dei Nudi
Introduction
- Almerinda Di Benedetto, Director of the Museum of San Giuseppe dei Nudi – University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”
- Enrico Lucchese, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”
Speakers
- Giuseppe Gullo – Vice President of Replimune Group Inc. (Boston), former Associate Professor of Oncology at University College Dublin
An integrated medical portrait of a castrato - Gianluca Stefani – University of Florence
The singer Nicola Grimaldi in caricature
6:45 pm – Musical interlude
- Luca Signorini – Cello concert
Johann Sebastian Bach, Suite BMW 1008 in D minor for solo cello
(Prelude, Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, Minuets I and II, Gigue)
7:30 pm – Aperitif
Sacristy of the Church of the Monumental Complex of San Giuseppe dei Nudi
An event between history, music, and scientific research
The conference offers a fascinating journey into the discovery of the historical, artistic, and even physiological identity of one of the most enigmatic and celebrated figures of the Baroque operatic scene. Thanks to a multidisciplinary approach intertwining music history, art, medicine, and iconography, the public will be able to explore new studies and perspectives on the famous castrato, deeply connected to the Neapolitan musical tradition.
The musical interlude, entrusted to Maestro Luca Signorini, will offer a moment of rare expressive intensity, completing the exploration of Nicolino with a sensory and artistic experience of great value.
The event is open to the public while seats last.
