The Choir of Rome's Tempio Maggiore, New York, NY, 22 May 2011
May 22 | The Choir of Rome's Tempio Maggiore for the first time in New York
Centro Primo Levi and the Museum of Jewish Heritage host Divinamente NYC Festival on the 150th Anniversary of the unification of Italy.
Sunday, May 22 at 2:30 pm
Museum of Jewish Heritage
Edmond J. Safra Plaza
36 Battery Place, New York, NY 10280
Admission: $15 and $10 for MJH, CPL, ICI members
Box Office: (646) 437- 4202 - www.mjhnyc.org
Welcome remarks by the Consul General of Italy Francesco M. Talò and the Representative for International Affairs of the Jewish Community of Rome Giacomo Moscati. Introduction by Francesco Spagnolo, Francesco Spagnolo, PhD, University of California, Berkeley
For the first time in the US, the Choir of the "Tempio Maggiore" conducted by the renowned tenor Claudio Disegni and featuring the hazan of Rome, Alberto Funaro, and organist Federico del Sordo, will expose the New York public to the unique flavors and variations of the liturgical tradition of the Jews of Rome.
The concert will open with Giuseppe Verdi's "Và Pensiero," the Hebrew Chorus from Nabucco. This magnificent choral work, which has become a symbol of the unification of Italy, recalls the story of the Babylonian exile after the destruction of the First Temple. The program will celebrate unique examples of late 19th century compositions from the Jewish communities in Florence, Livorno and Rome as well as a 1920 version of Hatikvà by Armando Sorani based on the 17th Century ballade La Mantovana.