"This is my first visit to Lampedusa, and I am ashamed of it. I thank the people of this island for taking on the burden of hosting migrants with such generosity, unlike other European countries that have turned their backs". Maestro Riccardo Muti did not mince words when he conducted the Luigi Cherubini Orchestra and the Choir of the Cathedral of Siena for the Stabat Mater, set to music by Giovanni Sollima, on the verses of Filippo Arriva in ancient Sicilian, at the natural theater of the quarry, which was formed from the sandstone rock of the island, the other evening. A concert featuring the drama of migrants. In fact, many violins, violas, cellos, and double basses were made from the wood of boats that brought migrants to Sicily's coasts or were shipwrecked. "What strikes me", Muti says, "is that the sticks of death have transformed into the sticks of poetry: they have a sweet, almost baroque sound. They represent a series of dramatic, often tragic human events through which we attempt to transition from horror to love. This concert is not a show on the podium, but rather a prayer and, at the same time, a political gesture, not a party one, even though we are aware that the oppressors are and will always be present".
|