On the occasion of Holocaust Remembrance Day 2022, the Italian Cultural Institute of New York presents the première of the new opera ’The Garden of the Finzi-Continis’, with music by Ricky Ian Gordon and lyrics by Michael Korie. It is a production of New York City’s Opera and the National Yiddish Theater Folksbiene which will be staged at the latter from 27 January to 6 February 2022.
The opera is inspired by the 1962 novel ’The garden of the Finzi-Continis’ by Giorgio Bassani. Set on the eve of World War II, it tells the story of an aristocratic Italian-Jewish family, the Finzi-Continis, who believe they are immune to the changes taking place around them. Taking refuge in their pretty garden, the Finzi-Continis pretend not to see that, in the meantime, Italy allies itself with Germany and begins to enforce anti-Semitic racial laws. They will discover too late that no one is immune, no one is untouchable.
The video of the performance, with extracts from the opera featuring Tatev Baroyan (soprano), Jeremy Brauner (tenor), Kathryn Olander (pianist), and Michael Capasso (Conductor), is available on YouTube. Authors Michael Korie and Ricky Ian Gordon also attended the event.
For more information, go to iicnewyork.esteri.it
