RETABLOS
– Giua guitar and vocals, Riccardo Tesi diatonic accordion –
A journey through singer-songwriter music, traditional songs and instrumental music.
The two artists have known each other and been friends for more than twenty years; they have often collaborated, appearing on each other’s albums and writing songs together. Now they finally present their duo concert, Retablos, where they merge their artistic paths, different yet deeply connected: the folk and instrumental music of Riccardo Tesi, one of the most innovative diatonic accordion players internationally recognized, and the singer-songwriter and folk repertoire of Giua, a songwriter and guitarist highly appreciated in the Italian cultural and theatre scene.
The title of the show is inspired by one of the most distinctive expressions of Peruvian art, the Retablos, small portable wooden boxes that once contained figures of saints and that today also depict scenes of everyday life.
Magical boxes, therefore—windows that open and tell stories, that make you travel to distant worlds, just like music.
So sit back, open your ears and your heart: the journey begins!
RICCARDO TESI
– Diatonic accordionist and composer, he is considered one of the most daring and authoritative musicians of the European world music scene –
An instrumentalist with an unmistakable style, he is one of the pioneers of the rediscovery of the diatonic accordion in Italy, a traditional instrument whose language he has revolutionized, expanding its musical vocabulary far beyond its traditional boundaries.
A constant crosser of geographical and stylistic borders, throughout his forty-year career he has collaborated with prestigious names from Italian and international world music (C. Bueno, E. Ledda, D. Sepe, P. Vaillant, J. Kirkpatrick, J. Vali, M. Perrone, K. Junkera), jazz (G. Mirabassi, G. Trovesi, M. P. De Vito, P. Leveratto), rock (Piero Pelù, PGR, Skiantos) and the great Italian singer-songwriter tradition (F. De André, I. Fossati, G. M. Testa, G. Gaber, C. Donà, Tosca…).
Leader of Banditaliana, one of the most internationally acclaimed Italian groups, and member of Samurai, a European all-star accordion quintet, he has performed at the most important European folk and jazz festivals with frequent tours in Australia, Canada and Japan.
In 2014 he curated the new production of Bella Ciao to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the most important show in the history of Italian folk music. He has recorded 29 albums under his own name, including several original productions dedicated to liscio dance music and to Tuscan and Emilian traditional music. He has also composed music for cinema and theatre and has long been involved in teaching as a professor at the “Tchaikovsky” Conservatory of Catanzaro.
GIUA
– Musician, Singer-Songwriter, Performer, Student of the guitarist Armando Corsi and Painter –
Winner of the Lunezia Prize, Castrocaro Festival, Musicultura, Mantova Musica Festival and the Festival de Cançó Barnasants in Barcelona. Finalist in the Sanremo Festival Newcomers category in 2008. She has released six albums (“Giua” 2007, “Giua” 2008, “TrE” 2011, “E improvvisamente” 2015, “Piovesse sempre così” 2019, “Retablos” 2025). She has collaborated extensively in theatre both as a composer and performer, as well as with numerous musicians including Riccardo Tesi, Fausto Mesolella, Adriana Calcanhotto, Jaques Morelenbaum and Armando Corsi.
She worked with Neri Marcorè in the show “Quello che non ho”, and is currently touring with him in the production “La buona novella”, dedicated to the work of Fabrizio De André, directed by Giorgio Gallione. She is among the founders of the Coro Popolare della Maddalena, a multi-ethnic choir, and together with the San Martino Hospital in Genoa she is carrying forward the project “Parkinsong”, a choir dedicated to people living with Parkinson’s disease.
She composed and performed the stage music for “Maria Stuarda”, Friedrich Schiller’s theatrical drama directed by Davide Livermore, for which she created the song “Human Pride”, featured during three seasons of the Teatro Nazionale di Genova.
In 2023 she released two singles, “Quella là” feat. Blue Dolls and “Siamo tutti dello stesso segno” feat. Simon & The Stars. In the same year she released “Mex Moon”, written together with Riccardo Tesi. In 2024, on the occasion of the 160th anniversary of the Italian Red Cross, she released her version of “Non mi dire chi sei” by U. Bindi feat. Gnu Quartet & Armando Corsi for a limited-edition vinyl.
She composed the stage music for the play “The Turn of the Screw”, based on the novel by Henry James, adapted by Carlo Sciaccaluga and directed by Davide Livermore, for the opening of the 2024/25 season of the Teatro Nazionale di Genova and the Carlo Felice Opera House. In 2025 she released, together with Riccardo Tesi, “Retablos” (OrangeHomeRecords), a live album born from their twenty-year collaboration and friendship.
VIDEOS
– Watch the Retablos videos –
Martini on the rocks | Riccardo Tesi & Giua | live al TIQU
Ti chiamo io domani | Riccardo Tesi & Giua | live al TIQU
Citrustango | Riccardo Tesi & Giua | live al Gran Teatro Nacional di Lima (Perù)
Mex Moon | Riccardo Tesi & Giua | live al Gran Teatro Nacional di Lima (Perù)
