Raffaele Mellace, UniGe lecturer in musicology and music history and dean of the School of Humanities, was awarded the Johann Adolf Hasse Prize at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hamburg by the Hasse-Stiftung with the motivation: "for outstanding contribution in research and teaching on the life and work of the composer Johann Adolf Hasse".

To the German composer, a fundamental figure in 18th-century music and one of the greatest expressions of the Italian galant style, especially in the sphere of vocal music (opera, chamber and church music), Professor Mellace has dedicated two monographs and numerous contributions in journals, miscellaneous volumes, concert hall programmes and CD notes over the last thirty years, beginning with his degree thesis (1993), becoming a reference figure for his studies. His book Johann Adolf Hasse (Palermo, L'Epos, 2004) was translated into German in 2016 and deserved an extensive and enthusiastic review in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

In photo, from left: the president of the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg, Prof. Dr. Jan Philipp Sprick, the celebrated American mezzo-soprano Vivica Genaux and Prof. Raffaele Mellace.