Milan's La Scala theatre is due to host the debut performance of Orchestra del Mare (Orchestra of the Sea), which uses musical instruments made with the wood of shipwrecked migrant boats by detainees of the prisons Opera in Milan and Secondigliano in Naples.

The event on Febuary 12 will see the participation of leading artists, including cellists Mario Brunello and Giovanni Sollima, French violinist Gilles Apap, and painter and sculptor Mimmo Paladino, who offered his installation 'I dormienti' (the sleepers) for the set. Paolo Rumiz wrote a script for the show.

The event will fund violin-making workshops for detainees in the two prisons of Milan and Naples as well as workshops at Rome's Rebibbia prison and in Monza to make sacred objects with the wood of vessels.

Unique instruments

The president of the foundation Casa dello spirito e delle arti, Arnoldo Mosca Mondadori, told Rome daily La Repubblica that two violas, two cellos, eight violins and a double bass will be used by musicians.

As well as Brunello, Sollima and Apap, performers will include musicians from the Accademia dell'Annunciata, directed by Riccardo Doni.

The concert's program ranges from Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 to Violoncello vibrez, a piece composed by Sollima for two cellos.