[ back ]
Italian heritage featured in pictures
(by Sue Hoffman - September 28, 2011)
Italian heritage featured in pictures
By SUE HOFFMAN
The Solon Italian Club is coordinating several special events with Solon Center for the Arts to celebrate Italian Heritage Month in October.
Besides sponsoring the Oct. 8 performance of Puccini's opera "Madama Butterfly" at Solon Center for the Arts, the club will present a special photo exhibition from the consulate of Italy in Detroit.
The exhibition, "Americhe: Storie di Emigrati Friulani Negli USA," telling stories of Friulian emigrants in the United States, features the work of photographer Francesco Nonino. It will be staged in the Solon Center for the Arts gallery and at Solon City Hall from Sept. 30 through Oct. 31.
Serena Scaiola, honorary vice consul of Italy in Cleveland, arranged for the showing in Solon with Karen Prasser, executive director of the arts center, and Dennis Castiglione, vice president of the Solon Italian Club.
"We were aware that Solon Center for the Arts was staging performances of the opera 'Madama Butterfly' during the month and felt it was a perfect audience for the exhibition," Ms. Scaiola said.
"Madama Butterfly," which is sung in Italian with super-titles in English above the stage, is playing at Solon Center for the Arts Sept. 30 and Oct. 2 and 8.
The Solon Italian Club is financially supporting and enhancing the Oct. 8 performance, calling it "Italian Heritage Night at the Opera, a Multigenerational Experience." The evening will feature a wine and cheese party and preview with stage director Jonathon Field at 6:15 p.m., an hour and 15 minutes before show time at 7:30, as well as an artists reception following the performance. Tickets for the event are $40 and can be obtained by calling 440-781-2763.
The Nonino exhibition is a pictorial gallery of photos of immigrants from the Friuli Venezia area of Italy, telling individual and collective stories of their journey to the United States and the challenges in making a life for themselves in their new country. Mr. Nonino's work is part of a project by Multimedia Archive Memoirs of Regional Emigration to memorialize the emigration from Friuli Venezia Giulia.
Mr. Nonino concentrated his research on the family and objects of sentimental value conserved in the homes of the immigrants. His photographs find the few objects that are intimately tied to his subjects' lives, and his images are interposed with quotations drawn from interviews.
"We are very pleased to have established a new relationship with SCA and at the same time continue our ongoing collaboration with the Solon Italian Club," Ms. Scaiola said. "'Americhe' is certainly a traveling exhibition worth experiencing, both for its content and the simple beauty of the photographs.
"After previous stops in Athens, Ohio, Cleveland and Youngstown, we are glad to bring it to Solon during Italian American Heritage Month, as a tribute to millions of Italians who sacrificed so much to pursue the dream of a better life."
"We're thrilled to have been able to connect the consulate with Solon Center for the Arts," said Mr. Castiglione, who also serves on the city of Cleveland Italian American heritage committee. "This exhibition and the 'Italian Heritage Night at the Opera' are exciting new ventures for the Solon Italian Club that reinforce our commitment to preserving our Italian-American heritage and promoting our culture."
"I can't think of a better partnership," Ms. Prasser said. "With one of the most beloved Italian operas -- add some wine and cheese, stunning artwork and great fellowship with the Solon Italian Club and the consulate of Detroit, life just doesn't get any better. Solon Center for the Arts is honored to be a part of this unique collaboration."
[ back ]
