L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JUNE 11, 2015 www.italoamericano.org 11 L'Italo-Americano The cruelty of war as well as the loss of innocence; the love of a mother for her daughter and the vain attempt to find safety: these elements take life in one of the most important Alberto Moravia's novel, La Ciociara, as well in one of the m o s t i c o n i c I t a l i a n m o v i e s thanks to the role played by Sophia Loren as Cesira. Now, t h e 1 9 5 8 n o v e l t a k e s a n e w form by becoming a piece for theatre at the San Francisco Opera, with the performance c a l l e d T w o W o m e n ( L a C i o c i a r a ) . A s e x p l a i n e d b y composer Marco Tutino during t h e p r e s s c o n f e r e n c e , w h i l e Moravia's book represents the Neorealism style where passion is sometimes hard to be found, changes to the story were need- ed in order to make it feasible f o r t h e o p e r a . T h i s h a s a l s o b e e n o n e o f t h e c h a l l e n g e s taken by Francesca Zambello, Director of the Glimmerglass O p e r a a n d t h e W a s h i n g t o n National Opera. Coming from Italian descendants, daughter of Jean and Charles C. Zambello, F r a n c e s c a t o o k s o m e t i m e before the debut happening in mid-June to tell more about her- self and the role as director for this unique performance. How much of your love for the opera came from belong- ing to an Italian family? It surely came from my fam- ily: my mom was an actress, so was my dad before he became a businessman. They both used to l i k e t h e a t r e , a s w e l l a s m y grand-mom. Music was around during all my life, especially w h e n I g o t o l d e r a n d w a s a t t e n d i n g h i g h s c h o o l . M y dream at that time was to work in a theatre and eventually to be a director. I wanted not only to work but also to "make the- atre". Although I did not go to college, I worked as intern and a p p r e n t i c e , f o l l o w i n g o t h e r directors and learned as much as I could from their work. Your debut in Europe hap- pened to be in Venice, at La Fenice. What's your memory of that moment? V e n i c e i s i n e v e r y o n e ' s dream, everything there is part of a fantastic experience. But I became more involved in Italian culture while I was working in P a r m a , R o m e , a n d P e s a r o . There, I developed a deep love for the opera. The small cities really helped me understand the Italian opera through the local culture and people. In the pre- internet age, everything was part of a smaller universe, I did not know what I'd have found until I got there. I loved my time in Parma, Bari, Naples, the classic old Italian cities. La Scala is - of course - great but it's in those other towns that I f e l l d e e p l y i n l o v e w i t h t h e Italian opera. About La Ciociara: what was your feeling about it at the beginning? I knew the film and I loved that period of Italian cinema. The Neorealism is key to lots of what comes after, just thinking of Fellini and Visconti. It was not only about trying to be real- istic, but also about showing r e a l p e o p l e , s i t u a t i o n s , a n d problems. I did not know the book but, as soon as I read it, it f e l t s " o p e r a t i c " t o m e : t h e amazing protagonist, the rela- tionship with her daughter, the connection with the land, and the war. I listened to Marco's m u s i c a n d I t o l d m y s e l f w e could surely do something with it and out of it. What was the challenge of taking a movie on the opera stage? A l o t o f i n s p i r a t i o n c a m e f r o m b o t h t h e b o o k a n d t h e movie, those are amazing pieces of art and literature. However, we needed to find a way to take i t t o t h e a t r e . W h e n e v e r y o u change the medium, you need to re-interpret the story and con- sider the different historical times. The main challenge was to create the drama of the two women in a piece for the opera: working on the relationship of the two characters, the primary relationship between mother and daughter, was not easy. C e s i r a , t h e r o l e S o p h i a L o r e n h a d i n t h e m o v i e : which features were you look- ing for in order for the actress to perform at her best? Sophia Loren's character is an icon especially for Italians, not necessarily for Americans. Most Americans never watched the movie or read the novel. That's why I could work on the character from scratch: I wanted to show what people had to go through during the war. Anna Caterina Antonacci in this sense is a stage animal, she is a great singer and actress. I knew she would have created a character on her own. W h i c h r e a c t i o n d o y o u expect from the audience? I t h i n k t h e a u d i e n c e i s always craving for something new: in this sense, we decided to use the great combination of history, style of music, and lan- g u a g e t h a t p e o p l e l o v e a n d make this opera piece happen. I hope that, when people walk out from the theatre, they will think more about the consequences of war and why we keep doing it. History repeats itself and we can only learn from it. You can watch Two Women ( L a C i o c i a r a ) a t t h e S a n Francisco Opera from June 13 through June 30. More info at http://sfopera.com/ L to R: Company Music Director Nicola Luisotti, composer Marco Tutino, Director Francesca Zambello, and Company General Director David Gockley Director Francesca Zambello: «This is how we transformed La Ciociara in a piece for the opera» SERENA PERFETTO Ju n e 2 th ru Ju n e 30- Betw een Peop le an d A rch itectu re Exhibition at CoorItalia Showroom - Inspired by small details of everyday life, Vittoria Zupicich's exhibition shows how architec- tural space is where people move and interact with architectural design. CoorItalia Showroom (151 Vermont Street, San Francisco) - Mon-Fri. 8am-5pm. For information (415) 339-5810. June 15, Mon.-North Bay Italian Cultural Foundation Father's Day Dinner at St. Rose Parish Hall, 5:00 pm – Monthly Dinner at St. Rose Parish Hall Dining Roomm (398 10th Street, Santa Rosa). June's dinner is a Father's Day celebration with a menu highlighting the Region of Le Marche located in the central area of Italy. For information call the NBICF Office at 707-591-9696. June 17, Wed. - BAIA Aperitivo Silicon Valley. 6-8pm. Join the community of professionals from the Bay Area with an informal Happy Hour. Location: Tootsies at the Stanford Barn (700 Welch Rd Suite #150 Palo Alto). For information: http://link.baia- network.org/events/baia-aperitivo-silicon-valley-june-2015 Ju n e 18 th ru Ju ly 18- Hap p en ch an ce: World War I I Photographs, Italian Campaign, 1942-1945 - Carrara, an Italian- American architect-artist-poet-photographer, documented the exhausted, disoriented populations and war-ravaged architecture of Italy's small towns and villages during the Allied northward advance through the countryside in 1944-45. Location: Istituto Italiano di Cultura (814 Montgomery Street, San Francisco). For information (415) 788-7142. June 23, Tues.- Italian Heritage Night with the San Francisco Giants. Presented by Ghilotti Construction in Community Partnership with: Italian Community Services, Columbus Day Celebration, Order Sons of Italy in America, National Italian Americano Foundation, and San Francisco-Assisi Sister City P rogram. F or information on the s pecial package, vis it h t t p : / / w w w . i t a l i a n c s . c o m / I t a l i a n - H e r i t a g e - N i g h t , www.sfgiants.com/special events or call (415) 972-2298.

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