NEW YORK, OCTOBER 22 – Roberto Bolle and Teatro alla Scala in Milan, two Italian excellencies in the world of music and dance, shared their exquisite artistry to mark UN Day 2020 with a message of hope, solidarity and commitment for a more sustainable, inclusive and resilient future.
“It is a great honor for Italy to sponsor this event on the 75th anniversary of the organization”, the Italian Foreign Minister, Luigi Di Maio, said at the opening of the video-concert organized by the Italian Permanent Mission to the UN with the support on Intesa San Paolo and broadcasted from Milan to the United Nations General Assembly Hall, this year in semi-lockdown because of the Coronavirus sanitary crisis.
“Since its foundations the United Nations have been a beacon of hope for the international community aspiring to peace, safeguard of human rights and development. It continue to do so in spite of the current pandemic,” added Di Maio in his message from Rome during which he renewed his support for a global ceasefire as endorsed by the Secretary General and for the international alliance to combat the spread of Covid, making sure that every single person will have equal and universal access to vaccines and therapies: “Today more than ever, no one should be left behind “.
UN Day marks the anniversary of the entry into force in 1945 of the UN Charter. With the ratification of this founding document by the majority of its signatories, including the five permanent members of the Security Council, the United Nations officially came into being. A special concert on UN Day has been a yearly tradition for the United Nations since 1954, when the construction of the General Assembly Hall was completed. “Music unites people: it is the only form of communication in the world for which translators are not needed. We must invest in culture and protect the right to culture like any other human right”, said Secretary General Antonio Guterres opening the program with an appeal “to draw inspiration from this performance, while we reflect on the challenges we face ”.
Last spring Milan, where the Teatro alla Scala is located, was at the center of the pandemic: “Today it becomes the symbol of our resilience”, said the Italian Permanent Representative to the UN, Mariangela Zappia: “Symbols are important in all of our lives as individuals and as part of a community. This event wants to be a symbol of unity, courage and collective renaissance. In a year like no others, this celebration wants to pay tribute to all of the victims of the pandemic, to express our deep solidarity with their families, and our support for all those who are on the frontline in the fight against the virus”, added the Italian Ambassador before passing the virtual podium to the Artistic Director of Teatro alla Scala, Dominique Meyer, and to Bolle himself: “Dance, like all forms of art, is vital for humanity”, remarked the étoile, “especially in the frightening period we are all going through”.
Then the video-performance began, broadcasted live on the webtv.un.org portal, on the United Nations YouTube, Twitter and Facebook channels, and then taken up by the UN offices in Vienna, Geneva and Nairobi. A number of classical, modern and reimagined dances, curated specifically for the UN Day Concert, were performed alternating solos and duets from Petipa to Nureyev, from Holmes to Bigonzetti to Schiavoni and Volpini, from Čajkovskij to Mozart, from Vivaldi to Satie and Dileo.
Tradition and modernity, important names for choreography and music were included in this tour de force that included the pas a deux from Swan Lake, played by Bolle and Nicoletta Manni, and a poignant variation of Sleeping Beauty by Rudolf Nureyev, played by Claudio Coviello, up to a piece that combines poetry and technology, such as Waves, created by Massimiliano Volpini for Roberto Bolle, in an interaction between the étoile and moving laser lights on music by Davide “Boosta” Dileo, founder of Subsonica, and Erik Satie.
The theme of the event, “Reimagine, rebalance, restart: recovering together for a shared humanity”, aimed to highlight the symbolic value of the 75th anniversary of the United Nations, inviting people to reflect on the shared experience of the pandemic and its impact on every sphere of life, both individual and collective. “Italy is proud to have been an active and reliable partner of the United Nations in this long journey”, Di Maio recalled: “Our commitment is for multilateralism and for an international order based on rules with the UN at its center “. (@OnuItalia)
