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A taste of Italy
The extraordinary performance by Italian pianist, Gianni Della Libera and his troupe was a winner in every respect. The troupe is not only keeping the traditional classical music alive but has also been constantly enthralling audiences with their riveting performances all over the world
Mention Italian music and opera and operatic singers such as Enrico Caruso, Luciano Pavarotti and Andrea Bocelli immediately come to mind as you might have heard of the San Remo Music Festival or sung along to recordings of classic Neapolitan songs, the latter being among the most popular ones.
Traditionally, music has been one of the cultural markers of Italian national and ethnic identity and holds an imperative position in that society. And recently, a select number of Karachiites chanced to attend a true Italian musical evening. The Rotary Club of Karachi Sunset Millennium and Rotary Club Centenarium (Sacile) Italy organised an Italian evening and dinner for a commendable cause. Before the commencement of the the performance, Ahmad Ghulamhussain, the president of the Rotary Club of Karachi Sunset Millennium, thanked the audience and highlighted the number of significant projects that the club has undertaken to help raise funds for different organisations. The money raised from the concert would go to Bait-ul-Sukoon, a cancer hospice.
The extraordinary performance by Italian pianist, Gianni Della Libera and his troupe was a winner in every respect. The troupe is not only keeping the traditional classical music alive but has also been constantly enthralling audiences with their riveting performances all over the world.
Della Libera has performed as a soloist and in concert with symphony orchestras throughout Europe — Vienna, Salzburg, Edinburgh, Prague, Munich, Athens, Rome and other cities. This season, he chose to visit Karachi with another Italian pianist, Daniela Polese, two spellbinding sopranos Cristina Nadal and Laura Bisceglia, and astounding tenor Marco Feltrin.
The pianist is applauded as one of the most gifted musicians of his generation; he has been attending the Mozarteum in Salzburg (Austria) from the age of 15. The school is marked as one of the most important European music institutions which organises courses and concerts every summer for students who come from all over the world. Gianni earned the highest degree, Summa cum Laude, at the Music Conservatory of Trieste (Italy), and during the same year he performed concerts in Europe (Milan, Florence, Wien, Salzburg, Athens, Salle Moliere in Lyon, Fettes College in Edimburgh, in the Conservatories of Munich and Granda) as a soloist and as part of a duo with a cellist. He also played the complete works of piano and cello.
Gianni later joined pianists Aldo Ciccolini and Paola Bordoni and studied works of the classical and romantic repertoire. He has been playing in Florence the complete collection of Chopin Etudes, Prokofiev’ Sonata, the five Beethovan’s Concertos, the Triplo Concerto and the Choral Fantasy and has also played with the Symphonic Orchestras of Zagreb, Ljubliana, RAI, Buenos Aires, Padova, Pescara, Pioiesti with other popular soloists W. Boykens, A. Pay and J. Starker.
Gianni is also a Rotarian and strongly believes in extending his hand in generating funds for noble causes. “I feel I have a service to perform by introducing Italian music and at the same time assisting my country and abroad to make a better world. I love the hospitality of Pakistanis and my wife especially likes to visit this country often,” he said.
The gala candlelit event was tastefully done with a large number of people turning up strictly in black. The organisers must be lauded for starting the show on the dot and concluding on the time promised. Gianni’s music was the central fare of the evening and he was imposing, as usual. In the world of classical music, he is indeed someone special. He is one of those rare artistes who allow you to forget about the instrument and provide the listener with direct access to what is in the composer’s mind. Seldom does one hear such a warm, singing tone backed by such deeply intellectual musical understanding.
The performances of Cristina Nadal (soprano), Laura Bisceglia (soprano) and Marco Feltrin (tenor) were outstanding: they sang the Operetta repertoire, in their clear, well-blended and supple voices and used the reverberation to an awe-inspiring effect. Their breath capacity and vocal agility are impressive. The Italian school of singing has produced singers with a characteristic noble posture which encourages proper breathing to produce the most beautiful sound — so beautiful, in fact, that the Italian school of singing is now the international standard for opera superstars.
The music played on the occasion was traditional European classical music, Italian opera, melodrama, some from Operetta and some typical romantic traditional songs from Naples. Some of the compositions thoroughly enjoyed by the audience were Funiculi Funicala, E’Scabrose Le Donne Studiar, Canta pe’me and O Sole Mio. Although it was a concert performance, there were some staged elements in it, but even without it, this opera would have worked wonderfully well. Even though not many in the audience could understand Italian, they could be seen humming along with the vocalists and generally enjoying the soothing lyrics. In Italy, opera singing portrays love, tragedy, tragi-comedy or pastoral which is not acted in a vulgar manner, but performed by voices in a way that the Italians term ‘recitative’, being likewise adorned with scenes by perspective.
The performances were a roaring success judging by the audience’s request for an encore. Gianni and the group consented by singing one last song, O Sole Mio. Before the evening was brought to a close, Pietro De Santi, the acting Consul-General Italy thanked the participitants, Rotairans and the audience for making the evening truly memorable. The guests were later served what else but fine-tasting Italian cuisine.
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