In a religious classical music school for orphaned girls in Venice during the late 18th century, the quiet and lone orphaned servant Teresa (Galatéa Bellugi) composes music in her head from the environment around her. The odious and untalented chapel master Perlina (Paolo Rossi) struggles to compose a score to welcome the new Pope to the school. Soon, Teresa discovers a storeroom that houses a brand new, and therefore untrusted, piano, which attracts the attention of a few music students from upstairs.

Like the lead character in Divertimento (2022), Teresa has a natural and organic talent for composition, finding music in all that surrounds her. With no formal training, Teresa uses the secret piano to explore her talents, touching on any musical genre that takes her fancy, above and beyond the school’s strict adherence to classical music. Teresa at first clashes with the stricter music students who share time with the piano and attempt to compose their own scores for their conductor to use to welcome the Pope with, under the understanding they will not receive any credit for their work.

The movie looks sumptuous, with scenes composed as if from classical artworks. While the story, and its stakes, are quite dramatic, the third act abruptly shifts genres to farcical madcap with a musical number that does not measure up to what has come before.

Verdict: A solid crowd-pleaser. 3 stars

Luke McWilliams, themovieclub.net. Viewed at Palace Cinemas as part of this year’s ST. ALi Italian Film Festival.