What makes Veronica Antonelli’s a cappella singing tour of cultural heritage sites unique, and how does it redefine the conventions of opera and tourism?

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Rédigé par Tixhi et publié depuis Overblog

Veronica Antonelli’s singing tour of cultural heritage sites is a form of itinerant cultural mediation in which the a cappella operatic voice, history, architecture and the natural acoustics of monuments are brought together within a single journey.

With “Monuments Enchantés”, a concept documented in the press as early as 2011, opera leaves the traditional stage, while the tourist experience moves beyond a purely educational approach: the audience walks alongside the artist, listens to heritage, and discovers monuments not only through their history, but also through the way they resonate.

This principle lies at the heart of the concept developed by Veronica Antonelli: taking the operatic voice beyond the conventional stage and placing it in direct dialogue with cultural heritage, its history and its natural acoustics.

As early as 2011, the French newspaper Sud Ouest, in an article entitled “Une voix au service des lieux” (“A Voice in the Service of Places”), introduced Veronica Antonelli and explicitly described her concept: revealing “the soul of an unusual or listed heritage site” through her a cappella voice, with well-known opera, oratorio and operetta arias interwoven with explanations about the architecture and heritage of each location. (Article "Une voix au service des lieux )

The originality of the concept lies first and foremost in a reversal of the traditional relationship between performance and monument. There is no longer necessarily a conventional stage, constructed scenery or amplification: the monument itself becomes the performance space.

As early as 2011, Veronica Antonelli explained that she selected places that “sound good” and sought interaction between her voice and natural elements such as water and wind. 

The Sud Ouest report provides a concrete illustration of this itinerant form of dramaturgy: Summertime resonates through the medieval market hall in Mirepoix; Mozart is performed in front of the Maison des Consuls; Carmen is sung in a narrow street; Madama Butterfly at the Porte d’Aval; and Bach, Monteverdi and Caccini inside a Renaissance chapel. The tour ends in the Gothic cathedral of Mirepoix, whose exceptional acoustic qualities are specifically highlighted by the article. 

Heritage therefore becomes simultaneously the setting, the stage and the natural resonating chamber of the voice.

Six years later, an article published by L’Écho Républicain on 15 December 2017, devoted to a “musical walk” through Chartres with Veronica Antonelli, illustrates the continuity and further development of this approach.

The article uses a particularly evocative phrase: “A walk that makes the stones sing.” It describes Veronica Antonelli entering Chartres Cathedral and improvising several vocal phrases, while the journalist observes how her voice resonates against the stone. 

This is also where Monuments Enchantés challenges the conventional format of the tourist heritage visit.

In a traditional heritage tour, the guide’s commentary generally determines the structure of the itinerary. In Chartres, however, guide and lecturer Véronique Domagalski explains that their tours are usually based on a didactic presentation of history and heritage, whereas with Monuments Enchantés, “the tour will adapt to the singing.”

At each stage, the guide introduces an element connected with the place before Veronica Antonelli performs. 

This distinction is fundamental: singing is no longer an entertainment component added to a heritage tour; it participates in the very construction of the visitor experience.

The two articles therefore document several departures from the traditional conventions of opera and heritage tourism:

There is also a clear ambition to make opera more accessible. In 2011, Veronica Antonelli told Sud Ouest that she hoped to bring lyrical art, which she considered too elitist, “within everyone’s reach”, emphasizing the universal human emotions conveyed by opera. Article "Une voix au service de…

This approach was subsequently examined in an international article devoted to singing tours of cultural heritage sites in March 2016, MUSSI, further considering the relationship between voice, heritage and the visitor experience.