Fostering Italian culture in Sri Lanka

By Sapumali GALAGODA

Dr. Gianluca, Dr. Ranjith Bandara and Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi.

Songs, operas and movies link countries. The Italian Embassy organised a series of events at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute (SLFI) to celeb rate the 10th week of the Italian Language in the world.

The main purpose of these events is to promote the knowledge of Italian culture in Sri Lanka and strengthen the bonds between the two countries, said the Charge `d`Affaires Embassy of Italy in Colombo Dr. Gianluca Rubagotti.

The first event was a concert of songs from Italian operas composed by great artistes such as Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi and Alfredo Catalani. The concert had beautiful colour pieces from La Boheme, La Forza del Destino, Othello, Madama Butterfly, Gianni Schicchi, Tosca and La Wally, all world-famous Italian operas.

Giacomo Puccini, an Italian composer was born on December 22, 1858 in Lucca, Tuscany, the son of an organist and choir master.

He started his career at the age of 14 as an organist in local churches including San Martino, San Michele and Lucca. He studied composition with Bazzini and Ponchielli. His operas combine exotic plots with elements of realism. He passed away on November 29, 1924 at the age of 66.

Romantic composer

Giuseppe Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer mainly for opera and was born in the Duchy of Parma in Le Roncole. His works are frequently performed in opera houses throughout the world. Verdi's masterworks dominate the standard repertoire a century and a half after their composition.

A section of the audience.

Sudarshani Fernandopulle MP, Wasantha Senanayake MP and Dr. Ranjith Bandara.

Afredo Catalani was born in Lucca on June 19, 1854. He was an Italian operatic composer and passed away in 1893.

Concert

The concert with Preshanthi Navaratnam, the Soprano and Soundarie David at the piano was held on October 17. The basic idea was to have Sri Lankan artistes to perform pieces of the immense Italian tradition as a token of closeness between the two people.

The booklet for the concert was designed and printed in the colours of the Italian flag and provided the audience with the lyrics in Italian as well as the translation in English, to facilitate the comprehension of the songs.

The decorations were inspired by the three colours of the Italian flag: some hundreds of paper flowers, in green, white and red, were made by Sri Lankan children, as one more sign of the friendship between the two populations.

Other events

Cultural Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi, parliamentarians, ambassadors, and the business community were present, at the SLFI auditorium.

Other events have been organised by the Embassy of Italy to celebrate the Italian language.

A documentary on recent trends in child education named Sotto il Celio Azzurro showed how differences in cultures and nationalities can become an enriching factor in the learning process of children.

The audience comprised Sri Lankan operators and experts in the field of child education, which found it interesting to compare innovative teaching methods.

A Swiss movie, Marcello Marcello was also screened, in collaboration with the Embassy of Switzerland, a country in which Italian is spoken as an official language.

The success of these events, in terms of the number of people attending and the extremely positive feedback, demonstrates that in Sri Lanka there is a demand for Italian Culture, in all its variety: music, art, cinema and language.