Sept. 11 – China has always had a passion for Italy, and the bicentennial of Giuseppe Verdi’s birth (born in Roncole di Busseto , October 10, 1813 and died in Milan, January 27, 1901 ) could only be a good opportunity to learn more about the great Italian composer. On September 15, , the National Museum of Tiananmen Square will inaugurate the exhibition “Verdi, the invention of the real, or the alphabet of human feeling.” The exhibition, on a space of 800 square meters, consists of 21 tunes, symphonies and choirs, framed as if they were paintings, to transmit Verdi’s music as an Andy Warhol picture or video. A special area is dedicated to ” Va pensiero,” with the original manuscript on display. The other peculiarity of this exhibition is that each painting / aria is associated with a letter of the alphabet, so the A can represent both Love (Amore in Italian) and the Aida. The idea came to the curators via activist Aung San Suu Kyi, a great admirer of the composer, who, in an interview, said to love Verdi because of his ability to represent all “the alphabet of the human soul.” The exhibition also counts on RAI’s contribution, from whose headquarters in Viale Mazzini in Rome, a press conference was held this morning. “We simply had to collaborate with an initiative such as this one, which represents our public service commitment and gives us reason for great satisfaction – said the president of RAI, Anna Maria Tarantola, stressing that RAI participates actively in all initiatives related to Verdi’s bicentenary – RAI has participated in the preparation of the exhibition, has opened its archives, and made available the pieces of our programming that told Verdi story and that piece of Italy’s history. We also offered support to our employees so that the exhibition could truly be a showcase of our cultural identity.” “It would be desirable that this exhibition, after the landmark of Beijing, could continue its tour in other cities in China and the Far East – said Minister of Culture, Massimo Bray – with the noble intent to act as ambassador to Italy, thus conveying its typical characters and that wonderful ‘ease of feeling’ embodied in Giuseppe Verdi’s music.” The Minister’s wish is destined to come true, as the exhibition, thanks to the efforts from the Italian Embassy in Beijing, will be hosted during 2014 in ten other Chinese cities, not to mention that the Indonesian government has requested it in Jakarta.
“Verdi, the invention of the real” in China with RAI
