The interview of the month

Let’s meet Martina Serfilippi, Marketing and Development trainee.

1. Can you tell us about your experiences before you started your internship at ROF?
I have been fascinated by the world of theatre since I was a child, the first time I stepped on a stage I was three years old, and from that moment on I never stopped wanting to be part of the world of performance; in the seventh grade I enrolled in an English language theatre course, I became even more passionate about it, and after the high school years I spent at the Academy of Performing Arts I decided to continue cultivating this passion of mine through university studies. I completed a three-year degree at the DAMS in Bologna, where I had my first contact with opera, and then a Master’s degree in Theatre and Music, also at the University of Bologna, where I also began to study the management side of live performance. In order to complete my studies and enter the working world, I decided to enrol in a first level Masters in Performance Entrepreneurship, which is how I came to the ROF.

2. What was your first contact with the festival?
As I live in Fano, a town a few minutes from Pesaro, I had always heard about the ROF from friends and acquaintances, but I had never attended the performances, at least not until I began to study the world of opera at university and became interested in it. When I started the Masters course and was asked to find an institution that could host the internship, the ROF immediately came to mind. I explained my preference to the tutor, who was also very enthusiastic about my choice, and after the interview I began my training at the Festival.

3. Can you tell us about your experience at ROF?
My experience at ROF in the Marketing and Development Department began in June 2024, at first I was very apprehensive, I had just finished my Master’s degree, I knew the theory but I had never worked on the organisation of such a prestigious event; after the first few days I began to feel more and more at ease, I became familiar with the tasks to be carried out, I began to put theory into practice and to adapt to the dynamics of the office. At ROF I found a very stimulating environment, active and full of situations that enriched my personal and professional experience. Now, months after I started, I can say that I was very lucky to have had such a good and dedicated training; it was not the classic internship where you sit and watch others work hoping to learn something, and for this I have to thank my tutors Stefano Murciano and Giacomo Mariotti, who had faith in my abilities, always involved me in practical tasks and stimulated, helped and accompanied me throughout the internship.

4. What is your favourite memory of your traineeship?
It is really difficult to answer this question, as my experience has been filled with unforgettable memories that I will always carry with me; From the emotion of the premiere night in the dark of the auditorium while the orchestra sang the notes of the overture from ‘The Barber of Seville’, to the beauty of the Teatro Rossini filled with applause, to the melancholy of the closing night of the festival, but if I had to choose one that stands out in my mind, I would perhaps say the moment when I received the news that someone had made the first donation to the ROF; It was a project that I had been working on since the first few weeks of my internship and continued to do so throughout the summer. When I received the news, it was a Saturday morning, I wasn’t in the office, I was in the car with my mother, and a message arrived from my tutor, Stefano Murciano, Head of Marketing and Development, who said verbatim: ‘The campaign has started and after 15 minutes your first donor has arrived! The satisfaction at that moment was priceless.

5. What are your plans for the future?
The first step is definitely to finish my Master’s degree and get my diploma, after which I will definitely apply to work at the next edition of the festival. This experience has made me realise two things: firstly, that I want to continue working in the field of opera, and secondly, that I really want to continue doing this at the Rossini Opera Festival. After seven months of internship, I find it difficult to go back to life before the ROF, I have settled in very well both in the working environment and with my colleagues. I am already feeling a little melancholy at the thought of having to leave my desk in a few weeks’ time, but at the same time I am very grateful for the opportunity I have had and remain hopeful that I will be able to return in the future. In the meantime, I will cherish this valuable experience at the ROF and the skills I have acquired and take them with me as personal baggage, no matter where the future takes me.

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