The interview of the month

We meet Paolo De Franchi, front office manager of the Rossini Opera Festival.

  1. Could you tell us about your professional experience before joining the ROF?

My experiences before joining the ROF were the classic summer seasons as a waiter and bartender in hotels or clubs. The first at the age of 14 in Aprica, a tourist resort in the province of Sondrio. After graduating in business studies, I took various courses: theatre workshops, juggling, Raku pottery, and enjoyed creating unique pieces to sell at stalls using recycled materials.

  1. What was your first contact with the festival?

Actually I knew about it because my mother, who worked for the ROF in the Secretariat of the Superintendence and was in close contact with the founders of the Festival, Dr Mariotti, Maestro Zedda and Dr Zini, told me that they were looking for someone to help at the gate as an usher for the period July-August. The previous year I had worked as an usher for the Skenè Theatre during the ROF period in the old sports hall in Viale dei Partigiani, where the opera Semiramide was performed. I had been there in previous years to see all the operas on the bill, complete with theatrical programme, and it was fascinating and amazing to see, above all, the atmosphere created by the lights and the changes of scenery… The magic of theatre! So I applied and after an interview I was hired, it was 1995 and I was a beginner! I had just finished high school and had enrolled at the University of Urbino, where I took several exams in the following years, but it wasn’t for me: “I wouldn’t be able to defend someone who I know is wrong! I am more human! I liked and needed the job because I could look behind the scenes, get to know artists of all categories, the workers, hundreds and hundreds of people, see an idea sketched out and then masterfully realised, and then, at the end of the festival, take a trip around the world!

  1. Could you explain what your work at the ROF consists of?

Obviously, over the years, the contact with the Festival has continued with different periods and mutual trust, and the tasks have also evolved and expanded, but always on a temporary basis. In 2003, I took the ROF’s Theatre Lighting course, and in this role I have seen the work grow minute by minute, and for 10 years I have alternated between the two roles. Since January 2020, I have been working in the front office, where I manage information, relations with some suppliers, shipping, room organisation and much more. I call myself ‘Figaro’ as I trot here and there. I must say that I have always felt free to do my job.

  1. What is your favourite memory of your experience at ROF?

I have now been working for 30 years with this gigantic opera machine of international standing, so the occasions for encounters, memories and experiences are many and varied, from meetings to exhilarating parties. The memory that has always accompanied me is that of the year of my first contract, when I had my own ticket to attend the general performance of the Guillaume Tell opera, which lasted six hours between the acts and the dinner breaks, but which seemed to fly by thanks to the beauty of the sets, which were constantly changing, turning and surprising under the direction, scenes and costumes of Pier Luigi Pizzi. On the human side, I automatically remember the 3 founders for the respect and kindness they always showed me. In conclusion, even though I do not do anything artistic, I fit into this world because I am whimsical and colourful.

Published in : 17 October 2024