L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 2014 www.italoamericano.com L'Italo-Americano 3 Italian-born opera star, Licia Albanese, dies at the age of 105 Butterfly. Since then, she per- formed the tragic role of the geisha Cio-Cio San over 300 times throughout her career, and it became her most loved even if she also interpreted other famed female leads, including Violetta from Verdi's La Traviata, Manon Lescaut, and Mimì from Puccini's La Bohème. In just a few years she achieved great success in Italy and Europe, singing at La Scala in Milan and Covent Garden in London among other prestigious opera houses. In 1940, she moved to the United States, where she remained a beloved star of the Metropolitan Opera in New York until 1966, appearing in more than 400 performances and 16 operas – mainly by Italian com- posers the likes of Giuseppe Verdi and Giacomo Puccini – alongside great artists such as Franco Corelli, Beniamino Gigli, Tito Schipa, and Giacinto Prandelli. She was also a favourite of renowned conductor Arturo Toscanini. In addition, Licia Albanese sang in over 20 seasons of the San Francisco Opera, directed by Gaetano Merola, as well as in several recitals, concerts, and to enter- tain the U.S. troops. According to some critics, her voice range wasn't unusually large nor beautiful, but it had a distinctive and incisive character capable of an intense emotional impact on the audience. Therefore, she was mainly known and appreciated for her acting talent – especially when playing the role of Puccini's pas- sionate and ill-fated heroines - and for her singing technical skills. In 1974, together with her husband, Wall Street broker Joseph A. Gimma, she founded the Licia Albanese Puccini Foundation with the aim of assisting young and promising opera singers in pursuing an international career through Continued from page 1 To the naked eye, the Festa dei Candelieri is just strong men dressed in medieval tunics and leggings prancing through the streets with lavishly embellished 15 foot tall candlesticks on their shoulders. In actuality, these men are embodying the spirit and traditions of Sassari, Sardinia. Every 14th of August, the gorgeous island of Sardinia hosts the Festa dei Candalieri, also called the Faradda di li Candareri (the descent of the Candleholders in sassarese). This festival occurs in Sassari, Sardinia's second largest city that overlooks the Sardinian coast. The lead actors of the Faradda are the gremi (medieval guilds). They dress in traditional Sardinian attire and dance through the Sassarian streets holding gigantic decorative can- dlesticks. They are accompanied by a steady drumbeat and mys- tic fife music while numerous spectators chant and clap enthu- siastically. Each Candelieri or "candle holder" represents an ancient profession: shoemaker, black- smith, farmer, tailor, and many others. The candlesticks are adorned with colorful silk rib- bons, flowers, and veils. The Farrada has been a tradi- tion in Sardinia for over 700 years. While its origins are widely disputed, many believe that this ritual originated in the Middle Ages when settlers from Pisa arrived on the island with their candle-making heritage. Similar candle-centric celebra- tions occur throughout Tuscany, especially in Pisa, around the 15th of August. During the late sixteenth cen- tury, candlesticks in Sardinia became symbols of devotion and gratitude to the Virgin Mary for her intercession in helping the island survive the Plague, which claimed the majority of their population. Ten candlesticks with eight men per candle parade along the Corso Vittorio Emanuele, pass- ing historic sites along the way. Each Candeliere receives a mid- night blessing from the Church of St. Mary of Bethlehem, the last stop. Many restaurants offer typi- cal Sardinian dishes, usually grilled meat and fish, for the famished spectators and partici- pants. In addition to the Sassari cel- ebration, the Candelieri appear in the communes of Ploaghe and Iglesias. The candles shed light on the rich history and traditions of Sardinia while entertaining thousands of foreign and Italian visitors. JANe HusoN The Candelieri of Sardinia awards, study grants, scholar- ships, and master classes. "I have been fortunate to have had a long and wonderful career as an international opera singer since I made my debut at the Teatro Lirico in Milan in 1934," she wrote in 2009. "However, I could not have achieved such success over the past 35 years without the generosity and sup- port of my loyal fans, former students and opera lovers. I am extremely grateful for your con- tinued support and devoted loy- alty in assuring that the unwa- vering commitment of the Licia Albanese Puccini Foundation will continue to assure the glori- ous music of opera for future generations." Born in 1909 in the small town of Torre a Mare, near Bari, in southern Italy, Licia Albanese became a naturalized U.S. citi- zen in the 1940s. In recognition of her cultural contribution, she received two very important U.S. honors: the National Medal of Honor for the Arts, bestowed on her by President Bill Clinton in 1995, and the Handel Medallion by New York Mayor, Rudolph Giuliani, in the year 2000. On October 5, 1995, President Clinton presented to Licia Albanese the National Medal of Honor for the Arts Licia Albanese revered worldwide for her interpretations of the title roles in Puccini's Madame Butterfly and Tosca Among the devotees' numerous rituals and Sardinian festivals, Nulvi's Candelieri is considered of great importance

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