The Venetian Carnival traditionally opens with the spectacular Volo dell’Angelo: a chosen young woman, dressed as an angel and masked, descends on a zip-wire from the top of St Mark’s Campanile into the Piazza below, marking the official start of the festivities. The piece begins by evoking that moment of flight – light, aerial, and touched with the elegance of French harp writing. It then moves into three variations entitled “Behind the Mask”, exploring the contrasting emotions the mask made possible: Variation 1, Formality – a stately Renaissance-style dance Variation 2, Desire – the hidden passion of anonymous encounters Variation 3, Liberation – the freedom to cast aside social restraint. A final section, “Flying with Joy”, brings the work to an exuberant close, as if the angel soars once more above the Piazza. Written for Alexander Rider, who gave the première at the Three Palaces Festival, Malta, in November 2024.
