Although there are many arrangements for wind orchestra of operatic compositions originally written for symphonic orchestra, no opera has ever been composed specifically for this ensemble.
The peculiar sound of this kind of orchestra is used to exaggerate the dramaturgical impact of Thomas Trachsel’s musical writing: the result is an acoustic effect of imposing wonder on the one hand, and of subtle intimacy on the other.
The choice of the wind orchestra is not accidental: unlike the classical orchestra they are very often the most suitable context for the very first musical training in local communities: they have always been musical formations thanks to which the first approach to classical music and learning a musical instrument could and still can take place, they are sharing groups, they perform in concert, they participate in ceremonial and festive events (whether they are liturgical processions or cantonal civic celebrations, in many cases also carnival ones).
The repertoire of these formations consists largely of transcriptions for wind orchestra of the greatest pages of classical music, and it is for this reason that the wind orchestra can be considered as the perfect contact point between opera (understood as the maximum expression of “cultured” musical theatre) and the music enjoyed and listened to in the Ticino area in many contexts of everyday life: it is, therefore, the type of orchestra of choice for an artistic product that is an invitation to the participation of all types of audience.
In Switzerland, there are many wind orchestras, of various levels, ranging from amateur formations to those of the highest professional profile: and this is precisely the case of the Civica Filarmonica di Mendrisio, which is one of the most important in Switzerland.
