Two great Italian interpreters - Luca Zingaretti and Andrea Griminelli ; two fields of art - theatre and music. The second appointment of the series Incontri organized by the Scuola d’Italia Guglielmo Marconi. One aim: to collect funds to finance the social and cultural activities organized by the only bi-lingual Italian-American Institute of North America.

“We have organized this series of ‘encounters’ with the aim of promoting the best of Italian culture in New York and informing our co-citizens about the kind of education we provide to our students. As you know, last May we inaugurated the cycle with a theatre representation by Monica Guerritore [2]. This time we decided to offer a double performance with two completely different artists and since one of them is a musician, American people could also “partecipate” in the event, pointed out the Dean of the Institute Professor Anna Fiore.

On December 11 the theatre of the Industria Superstudio [3], located right in the heart of the Meatpacking District, in downtown Manhattan, was packed with students accompanied by their parents and relatives. But not only - many other people, both Italian and American,  filled the rows of the auditorium fascinated by the program which was offered that evening. All were willing to personally contribute to the initiative.

Flautist Andrea Griminelli was the first to walk onto the stage. The concert he offered his audience lasted more than an hour and featured pieces by Verdi, Nino 
Rota, Morricone, and Rossini. His generosity in satisfying the public’s requests was only comparable to the elegance with which he played his harmonious instrument. The continuous standing ovations of the public were nearly uncountable. The flautist that performed in the greatest theatres of the world, including La Scala of Milan and the Carnegie Hall of New York, did not save himself from playing with no interruption at all, and thrilled an enthusiast public to the very end.

 With his performance, theatre, cinema and TV actor Luca Zingaretti confirmed his deep love for the region of Sicily, the territory in which the series “Il Commissario Montalbano [4]”, the work that gave him much of his popularity, is set. This time the artist performed a monologue entitled “Lighea”, written by the the Sicilian writer G. Tomasi di Lampedusa, very well known for his novel “Il Gattopardo” (the Tiger-cat). He literally held the stage and acted not only with dedication, but with visible passion.
 

There could be nothing better than a tale inspired by classical mythology such as Lighea to make the students feel personally and culturally involved with an initiative like “Incontri”. The school, in fact, requires them to study the history of  mythology as part of their educational curriculum, and this was certainly a precious opportunity for them to broaden their knowledge on the subject. As Dean Fiore explained to us, Mr. Zingaretti was nice enough to accept to have a meeting with the students the day before the performance, and to debate with them about Sicilian and Italian contemporary fiction and mythological literature, focusing in particular on the Lighea tale.
 

The students of the Scuola were actually the real protagonists of the event. Two  of them presented the two artists, while all the others stood out in the first rows of the theatre, excited and elegantly dressed for the important night awaiting them. It was an important growth occasion  for these young adults, both from a cultural and a personal point of view. They got fully involved with the event, and actively participated with their parents in the silent auction that took place between the two performances. They helped their parents, relatives, and the rest of the people participating to choose the item to bid for. They could choose among a wide variety of prices, that went from elegant gift baskets filled with Italian products to precious necklaces and arts & crafts works made by the kids of the Institute’s elementary school. They could become perfect Christmas presents, or little gifts for the loved ones or decorations for the house, but certainly the sale of each one of them would contribute to the cause pursued by the School, and help finance its cultural program.
 

While tasting both light and full-bodied Italian wines and Italian gourmet delicacies offered by the Scuola, we had the opportunity to exchange a few words with Dean Fiore who, visibly satisfied with the outcome of the evening, show  her appreciation to all of those who participated in its organization. “I am talking in particular about Alessandra and Fabrizio Ferri, both very well connected to the Italian cultural world. They were the first who proposed to involve Griminelli and Zingaretti in this initiative, and mostly thanks to them they immediately accepted”.
 

It was the success of the evening that encouraged Dean Fiore to carry on the project of 'Incontri': “The third appointment of the series will most probably take place next Spring, and will involve two artists once again. This time, however, I would like one to be Italian and the other American, to further underline the perfect equivalence of the two cultures in our scholastic program. Of course the aim will not change: as a private institution we need to collect funds to sustain our activities. The help and support of the students’ parents is particularly appreciated and shows us that by offering culture at its highest levels we can go on looking at a bright future for both the Scuola and our students, the professionals of the future  ”.