The interview of the month

Meet the ROF Secretary, Marina Carboni.

 Can you tell us about your professional experience before joining ROF?

I graduated in Cultural Heritage Studies at the University of Urbino and then specialised in Economics and Management of Arts and Cultural Activities at Ca' Foscari University in Venice. I then obtained a Master's degree in Communication, Marketing and Fundraising for Arts and Culture at the Sole 24 Ore Business School. During my studies I had professional experience in the world of visual arts. For eight years I worked for a series of cooperatives that managed municipal cultural and museum services, first in Pesaro and then in Fano, where I was mainly involved in digital and social communication for tourism and culture for the Municipality of Fano, as well as working in the organisational secretariat for the administration's events. At the same time I attended training and refresher courses on digital applied to cultural heritage.

What was your first contact with the Festival? I already knew the Rossini Opera Festival as one of the most important and valuable events in my region, but my first contact was in 2016 when, for my birthday, I went to see La donna del lago at the then Adriatic Arena, directed by Damiano Michieletto. The performers, the music, the scenery, the ensemble really moved me. One aria in particular fascinated me, the singer's interpretation was so intense that the scene seemed to come alive.  It was a performance I will always remember... a birthday present I would recommend to anyone!

You work in the festival secretariat. Could you explain what your job involves?

I would like to make a small premise: I have recently started working at the Rossini Opera Festival, I came first in a public competition for a secretary last March, and I am getting to grips with dynamics and situations that are completely new to me and others that I am not familiar with. My office is mainly responsible for managing the commitments and agendas of the Intendant and the General Director, and liaising with the President's Secretariat on matters concerning the ROF. It liaises with the councillors of the Board of Directors and the Assembly of Founding Bodies and organises the various meetings. It prepares and draws up contracts for the artistic staff, the technical staff, the seasonal staff and all those who collaborate with the ROF in various capacities, a task which also requires dialogue with the other departments. Certainly a key element of the secretariat is the constant comparison with other colleagues; many aspects of the work in the other offices come through here: there is important teamwork.

What is your favourite memory of this first edition of the ROF?

Perhaps more than any particular memory, it was the ROF itself: I did not know the world of theatre and being confronted with the 'theatre machine' really impressed me. I was able to understand the complexity of a theatre production, made up of a mixture of knowledge, skills and experience of great professionalism, necessary for the realisation of a cultural product of the highest quality, which finds its maximum expression in the performance in front of an audience. The memory of my first ROF could therefore be the emotion of attending the dress rehearsal, aware of all the work that had gone into it.