Bucharest National Opera holds Concert Gala in Rome on National Day
The Romania-Italy Cultural Year officially debuted on December 1, at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, with a Gala Concert held by the Bucharest National Opera Orchestra, conducted by maestro Daniel Jinga, who was joined on stage by soprano Anita Hartig, mezzo-soprano Ruxandra Donose and tenor Stefan Pop, informs a press release of the Ministry of Culture sent to AGERPRES on Tuesday.
The event took place in the presence of the Romanian Ambassador to the Italian Republic, Gabriela Dancau, the Minister of Culture, Andras Demeter, and his Italian counterpart, Alessandro Giuli, the head of the committee for culture, science and education of the Chamber of Deputies, Federico Mollicone, as well as numerous representatives of the Italian authorities, cultural figures and journalists.
Ambassador Gabriela Dancau highlighted the special significance of the inauguration of the cultural programme on such an important day for Romania and emphasised the role that this programme will have in the coming months, through exhibitions, concerts, film screenings, heritage projects and performances that will bring to the fore Romanian artistic diversity and creativity.
In his turn, the Romanian Minister of Culture spoke about the significance of the presence of the Bucharest National Opera on the stage of the Opera in Rome and about the respect for the Italian artistic tradition that has influenced the formation of many Romanian artists.
Andras Demeter emphasised that a common Cultural Year is not a simple sequence of events, but an investment in trust, in mutual knowledge, in the Europe we want: more united, more open, more attentive to the voice of culture.
The minister recalled that "art is not an ornament of politics", but a space in which people ask their essential questions, learn to listen and to nuance, discovering the other not as an abstraction, but as persons with their own sensibilities and hopes. He thanked the institutions involved, the Italian public for their openness and the Romanian community in Italy for its essential role in bringing the two countries closer together.
In the same vein, Federico Mollicone, head of the committee for culture, science and education of the Chamber of Deputies, spoke about the common European cultural roots and the undeniable ties that unite the two nations.
Evoking the perspectives of Mircea Eliade, he recalled that Romanians and Italians claim the same founding myth and share the same ideal of a united and free Europe, in which differences do not separate, but create fertile spaces for dialogue.
In his turn, the Minister of Culture of Italy, Alessandro Giuli, referred to the symbolism of the city of Alba Iulia and the millennial ties between the two civilisations. He described the inauguration of the Cultural Year as a clear image of a common destiny, by saying that the meeting between the two cultures is not a protocol exercise, but the expression of a shared historical continuity.
The Gala Concert on December 1st represents the first event of an extensive programme that will take place in key cities in Italy, such as Rome, Milan, Florence, Palermo, Venice, Bologna or Naples.
Exhibitions dedicated to the Romanian avant-garde or the work of Brancusi, heritage projects, theatre and ballet performances, the Romanian Literature Month in Rome, film screenings and anniversary events will offer the Italian public a broad image of the vitality of Romanian culture - from heritage to contemporary creation, from tradition to artistic experiment.
The Romania-Italy Cultural Year benefits from the High Patronage of the President of Romania, Nicusor Dan, and the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella. The programme is coordinated by the Romanian Embassy in the Italian Republic, with the support of the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of National Defence, as well as the numerous cultural partners from Romania and Italy - museums, performing arts institutions, universities and cultural organizations.