Orcolat ’76: Solidarity Through Spontaneity
TORONTO – The lessons of life put to music and poetry. Thanks to the Italian Cultural Institute (Alberta Lai) and the Consul General Luca Zelioli, the Italian Diaspora of the Greater Toronto Area was treated to a masterful, world class event – a theatrical and musical production, for purists in the audience.
Read about the performers here and about the internationally acclaimed headliner superstars leading them: Simone Cristicchi (winner of Festival di San Remo, 2007) and Valter Sivilotti (is there an Orchestra in Europe for which he has not composed or performed?), supported by the voce femminile of Franca Drioli. Why here and why now?
Next week, May 7 to be exact, on the fiftieth anniversary of the earthquake in Friuli, Italy and Canada will celebrate the resilient, indomitable character of its communities abroad and at home as the Diaspora rallied to aid those peoples in their darkest hour. Led by the Furlans in the GTA at the time involved in a fundraising effort to finance the construction of the Villa Colombo, the Board of Villa Charities donated $5 million – valued at $27.3 million in the 2026 marketplace – towards relief and reconstruction.
That spontaneous act from the heart, the true compass of empathy, compassion and altruism, said Pierpaolo Roberti, regional assessore (minister) from Friuli. We have never forgotten, adding that we still want to express our thanks on behalf of the families of the 990 who lost their life, of the 3,000+ injured and the reconstruction of an entire city – brick by brick, as they were before Nature visited her reminder of our mortality that night.
Each of the speakers of the political component of the delegation spoke with brief, deferential selection of diction that would enhance the performance to come by those trained in evocative poetry and emotive musical compositions. Each concentrated on the Furlan (Italian) and Canadian (Greater Greater Toronto Area) cooperation in that feat of rebirthing.
Every one of them was an excellent speaker, from Franco Iacop (president Ente Friuli Nel Mondo who spoke with a smattering of Furlan), to Roberto Relevant (Mayor of Gemona, “epicentre” of the earthquake) to Barbara Zilli the assessore of Finance in the Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia they bore witness to a “world community” who appreciates those who “sanno darsi da fare”.
For Master poet, wordsmith, composer, singer Simone Christicchi, the “artful” presentation was an update of an earlier performance to mark the 40th anniversary. As in 2016, language and metaphors were chosen to illustrate the challenges of Life and to convey a persuasive rendition of triumph over Life’s mysteries.
Here below is a photogalley from the event (photos: Corriere Canadese and Istituto Italiano di Cultura – Toronto)
