L'Italo-Americano

16 www.italoamericano.com L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2013 Pasquale Esposito Canta Napoli benefit concert for Teatro San Carlo ROBERTO NATALINI Among the events in preparation for the memorable Verdi's Requiem coming up on October 25th at the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco, Italian Tenor Pasquale Esposito, sponsored by the Consulate General of Italy, the Italian Cultural Institute, and Com.It.Es., will perform Opera Arias and Neapolitan Songs to benefit Teatro San Carlo in Naples. In fact, the proceeds from the Esposito's concert will enable the artists of Teatro San Carlo to join the San Francisco Opera, and perform the Requiem, marking the 200 th anniversary of Giuseppe Verdi's birth. Esposito moved to the Bay Area fifteen years ago, and obtained his degree in "Lyric Sing" at San Jose State University. He started touring to perform the bel canto all around the U.S. He told us how special this upcoming event is for him: "This benefit concert is the result of a team effort between the Consulate of Italy, the Italian Cultural Institute, and my Artistic Director Antonio Massa, with the purpose of collecting funds to help musicians from Naples to come here in San Francisco. "Thanks to the presence of Nicola Luisotti, music director of both the Teatro San Carlo and San Francisco Opera, it was possible to establish this partnership which makes me very happy, because it exports the good side of Naples, in conjunction with a city like San Francisco. "I immediately gave my availability for this fundraiser concert, that I will do absolutely for free, which can be an inspiration to promote the beauties we have in Italy." The "Pasquale Canta Napoli" performance will take place next In 2012 Pasquale Esposito founded the " Notable Arts and Culture Organization" Sunday, October 20 th at the First Unitarian Universalist Church in San Francisco, featuring favorite popular music songs, known both by opera experts and amateurs alike. "For this concert I invited a pianist from Italy, because if we want to celebrates our beautiful Naples and the nearly two hundred musicians who will come from the Teatro San Carlo for Verdi's Requiem, we need a real Neapolitan touch. "We will perform the most beautiful classical songs from Canzone Napoletana, such as O sole mio, Torna a Sorrento, Marechiaro, and we will, of course, cover opera pieces by Puccini, Verdi, Rossini. It will be a beautiful recital with the celebrated pieces; we are not going to present pieces less known, but only the most loved by the public. It will be nice to listen to all fifteen songs in a simple, acoustically appropriate church. The aim is to give funds to the Com.It.Es and the Italian Cultural institute, which will help the Teatro San Carlo come to San Francisco." To read more about Pasquale Esposito's promotion of Neapolitan music, and his project on legendary tenor Enrico Caruso, check out the San Francisco Italian section. The 145th Annual Italian Heritage Parade The Nation's Oldest Italian Heritage Parade will celebrate Columbus Day on the streets of San Francisco next Sunday, October 13, 2013. The anniversary of Christopher Columbus' arrival in the new world, organized by San Francisco Columbus Day Celebration, Inc., will feature two full days of entertaining events. The festivities will kick off with the Gala Dinner on Saturday night. The theme of the Italian Heritage Grand Ball and Banquet will be Riviera! Fun in the Italian Sun, and will once again be held in the elegant Venetian Room at the Fairmont Hotel. It s there that the newlyelected Queen Isabella and Her Court will have their first public audience, and Queen Isabella Oct. 3, Thurs. - Two Contemporary Italian Pocket Operas Pianists Sarah Cahill and Anthony Porter, Soprano Amy Foote, and Bass Richard Mix present an evening of Italian contemporary pocket operas suspended in between the humorous and the apocalyptic. Center for New Music, 55 Taylor St, San Francisco http://centerfornewmusic.com/ Oct. 5-7, Sat.-Mon. - Festa del Libro: A Children's Italian Book Fair Extravaganza. This event provides a rare opportunity to find and collect literature that will inspire and enrich children's linguistic education. Info at http://museoitaloamericano.org Oct. 6, Sun.-Film Documentary "The Magnificent Voyage of Christopher Columbus" at The Italian Center (6821 Fair Oaks Blvd., Carmichael, CA) at 2pm. . Admission is $10. For information call (916) 482-5900. Oct. 8, Tues. - A tribute to Vincenzo Cerami - The screenwriter for over 40 Italian films, including several starring Roberto Benigni. La Tigre e la Neve (2005, 110 minutes). 6:30 pm Register at www.iicsanfrancisco.esteri.it/ Oct. 11, Fri.- "Hands Across the Bay Columbus Day Celebration" by The Associazione Liguri Nel Mondo of San Francisco and Ligure Club of Oakland. Festivities to take place at the Fratellanza Club (1140 66th St., Oakland). Cocktails and hors d'oeuvres 6pm, followed by Dinner 7pm. Cost: $30/members, $35/non-members. For reservations and information contact: Joe Gardella (415) 7767663, Joseph Brignole (510) 653-0685, Joe Scodella (510) 653-8279 or Arlene Callegari (650) 345-5229. Event is open to members and friends of the Italian American Community. Oct. 13, Sun.-Columbus Day Olive Oil Celebration at The Italian Center (6821 Fair Oaks Blvd., Carmichael, CA). 2:00-5:00pm. Admission is $20. Doors open at 1:30pm. For information call (916) 482-5900. will bestow a knighthood upon Christopher Columbus, in a ceremony that has been a San Francisco tradition for over a century. The following morning, a and the nation's oldest ItalianAmerican parade and community celebration will wind its way from Fisherman's Wharf, up Columbus Avenue, and culminate in North Beach. Queen Isabella 2012 bestows a knighthood on Christopher Columbus at the Gala Dinner held at the Fairmont Hotel. Photo credit: Nickolas Marinelli Solemn Mass at Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral will take place, followed by the most important event to take place in the afternoon: the Columbus Day Parade. The City's oldest civic event The Parade begins at 12:30 pm at the foot of Jefferson and Stockton Streets, proceeds south through North Beach on Columbus Avenue, and ends in Washington Square in front of Saints Peter and Paul Church; parade viewing is available throughout the route. Highlights include dozens of handcrafted parade floats featuring Bay Area businesses, community groups, and Italian organizations, local high school Italian clubs and marching bands, special appearances by "Christopher Columbus" and "Queen Isabella," festive openair dining, and Italian food and wine North Beach restaurants lining the Parade route. There will also be performances by a variety of traditional Italian musicians and performance artists, as well as special appearances by Bay Area and ItalianAmerican celebrities. To conclude the day with delicious Italian food, the Columbus Day Dinner at the San Francisco Italian Athletic Club, an institution which is also celebrating the 95th anniversary. A San Francisco institution since it was established in 1868, the 2013 Parade is promising to be bigger, better and more colorful than ever. Opening Night at the Italian Film Festival The thirty-seventh annual Italian Festival opened Saturday night at the Showcase Theatre in San Rafael. Founding Director Lido Cantarutti introduced the full line-up of films for the seven-week festival, and thanked the festival's sponsors, including L'Italo-Americano. A number of the showings in the series are already sold out. Additional information and seating availability may be seen at www.ItalianFilm.com

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