Concert at the Royal Opera for the 100th anniversary of his death
Exactly 100 years after the composer’s death, on November 29th Mumbai celebrated the genius of Giacomo Puccini last night at India’s oldest opera house, the Royal Opera House, with an opera gala organized by the Consulate General of Italy and the ‘Italian Institute of Culture on the occasion of the Indian stage of the Amerigo Vespucci World Tour – Villaggio Italia.
Thanks to the collaboration with the National Committee for Puccini celebrations, world-class performers such as the soprano Maria Pia Piscitelli, the tenor Renzo Zulian and the baritone Pier Luigi Dilengite, accompanied on the piano by Linda Di Carlo, took to the stage to bring to the public Puccini’s beloved arias in an evening of extraordinary bel canto. In a sold-out room with 500 seats, the Italian ambassador to India, Antonio Bartoli, opened the evening by welcoming the public, including the important delegation from the Ministry of Defense and Amerigo Vespucci, with the second in command of the vessel, Frigate Captain Tommaso Faraldo, Admiral Antonio Natale, Colonel Elio Babbo, the CEO of Defense and Services Luca Andreoli, and a large representation of Indian authorities.
Given the great success of the evening, the Consul General of Italy in Mumbai, Walter Ferrara, commented: “On the occasion of the centenary of the death of Giacomo Puccini, it is an honor to be able to present his most famous arias in Mumbai as part of the stage Indian of the Amerigo Vespucci world tour – Villaggio Italia is a true work of art that has represented the excellence of our country for almost a hundred years also to the ability of culture to break down barriers and unite people. My hope is that this concert marks the start of a new season of shared horizons between Italy and India, a journey that, even through the sea routes, will bring us together. lead towards a future of strengthened collaboration and friendship.
“The success and joy of this evening is part of a fertile path of collaborations with Indian cultural institutions and testifies to the great interest and affection with which the local public looks at Italy and our cultural tradition,” – observed the director of the Mumbai Institute of Culture, Francesca Amendola. “On 29 November, the date on which Puccini’s death but also the birth of Gaetano Donizetti occurs, with the entire Italian system we celebrated the great Italian operatic tradition in Mumbai, just under a year after the inscription of bel canto in the list of intangible heritage of UNESCO, to establish the universality of this language capable of communicating with audiences from all over the world and all cultures”.
The initiative was organized by the Consulate General of Italy in Mumbai, the Italian Cultural Institute in Mumbai in collaboration with Mehli Mehta Music Foundation, Furtados, Avid Learning and Royal Opera House Mumbai.
