Roma Jazz Quintet in Oppido Mamertina: swing between America and Italy, 31 October 2026

Teatro Comunale di Oppido Mamertina · Oppido Mamertina, Costa Viola, Calabria

31 October 2026

On Saturday 31 October 2026 at 6:30 pm the Teatro Comunale of Oppido Mamertina, on Via Cavour, hosts the Roma Jazz Quintet with «Lo swing tra America e Italia» (swing between America and Italy), the second show of the Synergia 51 season. With Sara Schettini on vocals, Christian Antinozzi on double bass and Alfredo Romeo on drums, plus piano and sax, the quintet sets American standards linked to Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Benny Goodman and Ella Fitzgerald against the Italian swing of the Trio Lescano, Natalino Otto, Alberto Rabagliati and Fred Buscaglione, with stories and anecdotes between the songs. Tickets cost €5, or €15 including a return transfer from Palmi, and are sold online on diyticket.it or on 060406; you can also book via WhatsApp on +39 379 154 4782. The season is run by the Amici della Musica «Nicola Antonio Manfroce» association of Palmi with AMA Calabria.

The concert: swing between America and Italy

«Lo swing tra America e Italia» is the second show of Synergia 51: Saturday 31 October 2026 at 6:30 pm, at the Teatro Comunale of Oppido Mamertina. The Roma Jazz Quintet follows swing through the twentieth century along two parallel tracks. On one side, the great American standards made famous by Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Benny Goodman and Ella Fitzgerald; on the other, Italy's own take on that language, filtered through melody, irony and local taste, in the style of the Trio Lescano, Fred Buscaglione, Natalino Otto and Alberto Rabagliati.

Between songs the musicians share stories, curiosities and anecdotes that put the music back in its time: a concert that is also a story, offering a wide-angle view of American and Italian swing culture. The set list and the end time have not been published.

The performers: the Roma Jazz Quintet

The Roma Jazz Quintet is a jazz-oriented quintet from Rome with Sara Schettini as its singer. For the Oppido concert all official sources agree on three names: Sara Schettini on vocals, Christian Antinozzi on double bass (spelt «Cristian» in the regional feed) and Alfredo Romeo on drums. Piano and saxophone complete the line-up.

This is not the group's first themed programme. In December 2018, for example, Schettini and Romeo appeared with the quintet at the University of Insubria in Varese with «Luigi Tenco e la Francia», a jazz tribute to the Genoese songwriter and to the songs of Dalida. According to the university's press release, that project had already played theatres in cities including Milan, Turin, Genoa, Bologna, Rome, Naples, Messina and Syracuse, and abroad in Barcelona, Madrid, Manchester, Athens and Tallinn. In Oppido the quintet switches repertoire to swing.

Swing reaches Italy: Natalino Otto and Alberto Rabagliati

Swing was the jazz of the big American dance orchestras of the 1930s, the music of Benny Goodman's clarinet. It reached Italy partly through musicians who had heard it first-hand, at a time when state radio viewed it with suspicion. Natalino Otto, born Natale Codognotto in Cogoleto in 1912, played drums on the transatlantic liner Conte di Savoia and crossed the ocean dozens of times. Back home, the state broadcaster EIAR refused to air his songs, dismissing them as «anti-music», and some titles were Italianised: «Mister Paganini» became «Maestro Paganini». His records sold anyway, and he became known as «the king of rhythm».

Alberto Rabagliati, born in Milan in 1906, discovered jazz, swing and scat singing in Hollywood, where he had landed after winning a Fox contest to find a Rudolph Valentino lookalike. Back in Italy he sang with Pippo Barzizza's Cetra orchestra, and in 1941 EIAR gave him a radio show of his own.

From the Trio Lescano to Fred Buscaglione

The Trio Lescano was formed in Turin in the mid-1930s: the Leschan sisters, born in The Hague and known in Italy as Alessandra, Giuditta and Caterina Lescano, whom maestro Carlo Prato, a music programmer at EIAR's Turin station, trained in close harmony on the model of America's Boswell Sisters. Their first record dates from 1936; their hits include «Ma le gambe» (1938), «Maramao perché sei morto?» (1939) and «Pippo non lo sa» (1940). They are a clear example of what this concert is about: an American model translated into Italian melody and irony.

Fred Buscaglione, born in Turin in 1921, belongs to the next generation. With lyricist Leo Chiosso and his band, the Asternovas, formed in 1949, he built a 1950s stage persona modelled on the tough guys of American crime fiction, thin moustache and wide-brimmed hat, played with self-irony in songs such as «Che bambola!» (1955), «Eri piccola così» and «Guarda che luna». He died in a road accident in Rome in 1960.

The concert within Synergia 51

The 31 October jazz night is the second of seven shows in Synergia 51, the season of the Amici della Musica «Nicola Antonio Manfroce» association of Palmi, run with AMA Calabria, the A.I.D.A. project and the town council of Oppido Mamertina. In Palmi the season used to be split between the auditorium of the Casa della Cultura «Leonida Repaci» and the municipal Teatro «N. A. Manfroce»; after part of the Manfroce's false ceiling gave way on 1 February 2026, the association chose to move to Oppido rather than stop.

The full calendar is on the Synergia 51 season page. The Saturday before, 24 October, the season opens with the García Lorca flamenco show De Pasión y de Música; after a Saturday off, the theatre reopens on 14 November for Trio Felix and its programme «Dal Lied alla canzone» (from Lied to song).

Tickets, bookings and the shuttle from Palmi

The official Synergia 51 price list sets a single ticket at €5 and, for audiences coming from Palmi, a €15 ticket including the return transfer. A pass for all seven shows costs €25, or €50 with the transfer.

To buy a ticket, use diyticket.it or call 060406, paying by credit card or through the Money circuit. If you prefer to book, send a WhatsApp message to +39 379 154 4782, attaching a copy of the request they submitted if you pay with the Carta del docente teachers' card, or email prenotazioni@amicimusicapalmi.it. Requests are answered every day by 8 pm; seats are assigned only once payment is received, by bank transfer or in cash at the theatre box office on the evening of the concert, and unpaid bookings lapse. The same number gives the departure point and time of the shuttle from Palmi.

Oppido Mamertina's new town, rebuilt after 1783

The Teatro Comunale, on Via Cavour, sits inside the new town that Oppido Mamertina built after the earthquake of 5 February 1783, which destroyed the medieval settlement. The plan was drawn up by the Neapolitan engineers Antonio Winspeare and Francesco La Vega: a grid of wide, straight streets crossing at right angles, with large squares. Along these streets stand noble palazzi with granite doorways, such as Palazzo Migliorini, in Neapolitan neoclassical style, and the late-baroque Palazzo Zerbi.

The landmark is the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, mother church of the diocese of Oppido Mamertina-Palmi: neoclassical and 33 metres high, it is among the largest churches in Calabria. Its bell tower, begun in 1997 and still unfinished, reaches 50.10 metres and towers over the Gioia Tauro plain. From Palmi you can get here on the season's transfer, included in the €15 ticket: ask +39 379 154 4782 for the departure point and time.

Frequently asked questions

When does the Roma Jazz Quintet play in Oppido Mamertina?

On Saturday 31 October 2026 at 6:30 pm, at the Teatro Comunale. The end time has not been announced.

Where is the concert held?

At the Teatro Comunale of Oppido Mamertina, also known as the municipal Cinema-Teatro, Via Cavour, 89014 Oppido Mamertina (RC).

How much is a ticket for the Roma Jazz Quintet?

A single ticket costs €5, or €15 including the return transfer from Palmi. A pass for all seven shows costs €25, or €50 with the transfer.

How do I book?

Buy online on diyticket.it or on 060406, or book via WhatsApp on +39 379 154 4782 or at prenotazioni@amicimusicapalmi.it. Seats are assigned after payment, by bank transfer or in cash at the box office on the evening of the concert.

Is there a shuttle from Palmi?

Yes, the return transfer from Palmi is included in the €15 ticket and in the €50 season pass. Ask +39 379 154 4782 for the departure point and time.

Who plays in the Roma Jazz Quintet?

Sara Schettini on vocals, Christian Antinozzi on double bass and Alfredo Romeo on drums, with piano and saxophone completing the quintet.

What music will be played?

American standards linked to Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Benny Goodman and Ella Fitzgerald, and the Italian swing of the Trio Lescano, Fred Buscaglione, Natalino Otto and Alberto Rabagliati, with stories and anecdotes between songs. The set list has not been published.

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