L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, APRIL 2, 2020 www.italoamericano.org 6 NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS a young couple became a bar run by their all excited kid as the holy expresso in the morning is forbidden at t h e c a f é s f o r n o w . T h e results are hilarious. Italians miss not going to shows. La Scala Theatre in Milan is as inoperative as all the many other enchanti- ng opera houses across the country that were forced to stop their concert season when it was in full swing. "We will return to laugh, to be moved, to get angry. We will go back to being proud of La Scala Opera House, our house of beauty which is our home. #WeAreLaScala b u t # I S t a y H o m e , " w r o t e Alberto Mattioli, opera critic a t t h e n e w s p a p e r L a Stampa. The lack of drama is trag- i c t o u s . I t s a b s e n c e m a y drive us mad as we need to feel the same emotions as those displayed by actors onstage to live the cathartic experience brought by a play to better cleanse, purge or r e g u l a t e o u r e m o t i o n s i n real life. The same release of emotional tension is enabled by a work of art when we visit our top museums and a r t c o l l e c t i o n s h o u s e d throughout the country. Yet we solve the problem a p p l a u d i n g a t s c r e e n s a s several theatres established s t r e a m i n g s e r v i c e s a n d other virtual venues have p o p p e d u p . T h e M i l a n C i n e m a t h e q u e w a s t h e first film archives to have its rich catalog to be available to stream online for free due to the spread of Covid-19. S e v e r a l m u s e u m s h a v e v i r t u a l t o u r s a v a i l a b l e o n l i n e , i n c l u d i n g t h e Vatican Museums that offer 360-degree tours of t h e S i s t i n e C h a p e l s , Raphael's Rooms and more. Whether people can peruse t h e w o r k s o n v i e w a t t h e U f f i z i G a l l e r i e s i n Florence, the treasure of the E g y p t i a n M u s e u m i n T u r i n , o r w a t c h i n g t h e T e a t r o M a s s i m o i n P a l e r m o p e r f o r m o p e r a s that include La Traviata, N a b u c c o , a n d M a d a m e Butterfly, there's plenty to explore online. V a P e n s i e r o i s G i u s e p p e V e r d i ' s m o s t famous aria from his operat- ic triumph Nabucco (1842). Claimed as the anthem for Italian unification and a call to arms for the oppressed e v e r y w h e r e , l a s t w e e k i t r e a c q u i r e d i t s p a t r i o t i c potency through a moving p e r f o r m a n c e b y t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l O p e r a Choir of Rome. Each from their own home, the choris- t e r s i n t o n e d V a P e n s i e r o ( G o t h o u g h t , o n G o l d e n W i n g s ) , t h e l a m e n t f o r a burdened homeland ("Oh my land so beautiful and so lost"), dedicated to all the doctors who fight death on the coronavirus front line. (https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=JTVXEGIS3LE). Renato Sarti, a play- wright, director, and actor at t h e T h e a t r e o f L a Cooperativa in Milan, stays productive under the lock- down. "I take refuge in writ- ing but I also do physical w o r k s u c h a s w a s h i n g b e h i n d t h e s i n k o r s o m e piece of furniture. I am also making wooden marionette puppets. I carve them with chisels and a gouge. I focus on the detail of an eye: It is s o m e t h i n g t h a t d i s t r a c t s your mind, like when you paint." In terms of economy, who knows if we recover from t h e c a t a s t r o p h e , h e s a y s . "But now the priority is human life. We must learn how to be very calm without igniting sterile controversies because we already have a deadly fire to quench." "Singing from balconies is good if it helps the spirit not sink. It also launches a s i g n o f u n i t y , p e a c e , a n d brotherhood. I listen to clas- sical music every day," he says. In these strange hours, I also find myself recalling s o n g s I g r e w u p w i t h , a s e l e c t i o n f r o m A m e r i c a n songwriters. I pick up my mental jukebox made of Bob Dylan's masterpieces and I get loose with a rendition of Desolation Row and Tears o f R a g e . T h e n I c o e r c e myself into changing regis- ter. I'd better turn to Verdi, to his arias from La Forza del Destino (The Force of Destiny), a celebration of human energy, humor and stoicism, the disciplines of greatness. Continued from page 4 Italians sing at their balconies during the 2020 Covid-19 emergency (Photo: Alamy)

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