A concert to rememeber

The introduction by President Lorenzo Fontana, a concert featuring the Orchestra and the White Voices Choir of the Accademia Teatro alla Scala, testimonials, a tribute to the decorated members of the armed forces and law enforcement awarded the “Righteous Among the Nations” medal. This, in summary, is the program of Monday, January 22, titled “Listening to History, to Never Forget,” promoted by the Presidency of the Chamber of Deputies.

The event, which is part of the commemorations of Holocaust Memorial Day, is hosted in the Queen’s Hall of Montecitorio by journalist Emma D’Aquino and will be broadcasted on Rai 3, by Rai Parlamento, at 4 p.m.

Performing will be the young musicians of the Orchestra and the Children’s Choir of the Accademia Teatro alla Scala, one of the most prestigious national institutions for training professionals in live performance. Conducting is Maestro Pietro Mianiti, choir director Marco De Gaspari.

The concert opens with the theme from the cinematic masterpiece “Schindler’s List,” with Leonardo Moretti as the violin soloist. Among the pieces in the program: the Adagietto and a choir from Giacomo Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” (this year marks the centenary of his passing), Schoenberg’s “Notturno,” Mahler’s Fifth Symphony Adagietto, the aria “Vieni, o levita!” from “Nabucco” and, from the same work, the “Va’, pensiero,” followed by Giacomo Puccini’s elegy “Crisantemi” and Elie Botbol’s “Gam Gam.” Testimonies on the Holocaust will alternate with the performance of the pieces.

During the event, the Righteous Among the Nations will be remembered: Giovanni Palatucci, the penultimate Acting Police Chief of Fiume; Major Raffaello Tani and his wife Jolanda Salvi of the Finance Guard; and five military members of the Carabinieri: Giacomo Avenia, Osman Carugno, Carlo Ravera, Enrico Sibona, and Giuseppe Ippoliti, along with Maurizio Lazzaro de’ Castiglioni, a general officer of the Army, and other Army personnel remembered in the Garden of the Righteous. The concert is organized in collaboration with the National Committee for Puccini Celebrations, established at the Prime Minister’s Office and chaired by Maestro Alberto Veronesi. Moreover, the event is part of the initiatives promoted in the centenary of Giacomo Puccini’s passing.