After turning Parma into a widespread cultural workshop, Verdi Off now looks at Los Angeles. The project promoted by the Teatro Regio Foundation in Parma, recognized over the years as one of the most innovative models of community involvement through music and arts, will start a three-year course in the United States thanks to the partnership with the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce West.
It is not simply about exporting an Italian cultural format overseas, but creating a dialogue with one of the most complex and multicultural urban realities in the world. Los Angeles, which is preparing to welcome the Olympic and Paralympic Games of 2028, is today at the center of international reflections on inclusion, accessibility, civic participation and community building. Themes that have always been at the heart of Verdi Off’s philosophy.
Born as a parallel project at the Verdi Festival in Parma, Verdi Off has progressively expanded its range of action by bringing music out of theatres, schools, neighborhoods, hospitals and places of social fragility. The idea is that of a culture that does not remain confined to spaces traditionally devoted to artistic enjoyment, but becomes an instrument of encounter, participation and social cohesion.
The first event of this collaboration will be the Italian Excellence Gala & Awards 2026, scheduled in Los Angeles on November 15, during which Verdi Off will be Presenting Partner. It will be the first step of a path intended to develop until 2028, when Los Angeles will host the Olympics.
“Los Angeles is one of the most multicultural and creative cities in the world”, said Marco Giovine, president of the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce West, underlining how the open and inclusive nature of the city makes the Californian metropolis the ideal place for the first international experience of the project.
In a historical phase in which big cities are called to redefine their social fabric, initiatives like Verdi Off suggest a possible answer: to use the universal language of art to build relationships, to break down barriers and strengthen the sense of belonging.
More than a project of internationalization, what takes the path between Parma and Los Angeles seems to be the beginning of a new cultural conversation between Italy and the United States, in the sign of participation and community.
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