THE NEW GENERATION FOUNDATION

Based at the Palazzo Corsini al Prato in Florence, the New Generation Foundation is a non-profit foundation with two principal branches - the New Generation Festival and the Mascarade Opera programme, which provides exceptional training and professional opportunities for emerging opera artists.

THE NEW GENERATION festival

Our story begins with The New Generation Festival (NGF), founded in 2017 by Frankie Parham, Roger Granville and Maximilian Fane, in order to promote emerging young artists from around the world. The NGF presents the finest talents in opera and across the arts in spectacular locations that have ranged from the Swiss mountains of Andermatt to its flagship summer festival in Florence. 

In August 2020, the first summer of the Covid-19 pandemic, the NGF created The ReGeneration Festival in partnership with The Uffizi Galleries at the landmark Boboli Gardens to demonstrate the importance of sustaining the performing arts in times of crisis. 

Following the success of The ReGeneration Festival, the NGF founders decided to establish a year-round programme called Mascarade Opera, with the leadership of Dr Ralph Strehle and Maestra Julia Lynch, in order to consolidate their goal of creating exceptional training and professional opportunities for outstanding young artists under the aegis of their foundation in Florence. 

More recently, the foundation is also proud to have established the Sacred Music Programme (SMP) together with Maestro Mark Spyropoulos. The SMP is dedicated to the research and rediscovery of Florentine choral music from the time of the Medici rulers. Examining the vast archival collections of Florence and further afield, the programme aims to rediscover the choral music of Renaissance Florence and revive it, transcribing forgotten manuscripts of sacred polyphony and bringing them to live professional performance.

The NGF is inspired by the manifold achievements of the Italian Renaissance, and aims to celebrate creativity through the connection of art forms, cultures and generations. The three founders are recipients of the city’s ‘Silver Florin’ decoration and have been appointed Honorary Ambassadors of Florence.

MASCARADE OPERA

MAGNIS SCAENIS RADIENT

The Mascarade Opera programme is designed specifically for the career development of outstanding young singers and répétiteurs. Mascarade aims to support the very greatest international talent from diverse backgrounds, which is why places on the programme are entirely funded for up to twelve Mascarade Artists per year. The programme not only covers full tuition and accommodation costs but also provides young artists with an annual stipend equivalent to entry-level salaried positions in the industry. 

As well as receiving intensive year-round training in a range of disciplines required of elite performers, Mascarade Artists can expect to benefit from an annual showcase production, prestigious orchestral galas and a number of roles at partnering opera houses to help launch their professional careers from the very city where the art form was born.

Mascarade Opera additionally presents an annual concert series and large-scale co-productions together with the New Generation Festival which form part of the foundation’s broader mission to champion great musical traditions and sustain their future.