Cartolina 29 agosto e 3 settembre

Elisa Ramon and Alessio Olivieri are the Duo that call themselves OPERAPERTA. They have recently offered to perform for a fundraising of the Lions Club of Christchurch Host, with profits going to its Charitable Trust Earthquake Relief Fund. President Bill McDonald explains how the concert came to be. Elisa, soprano, and Alessio, guitar, present their repertoire of Spanish, Venetian and Neapolitan songs, collected in their just released CD, available from www.operapertaduo.com and from the major online music stores. We play Federico Garcia Lorca’s Nana de Sevilla and La Tarara, plus a Venetian Boat song: Sento che ‘l cuor me manca.

Cartolina 15 and 20 August

University of Canterbury Professor Chris Jones describes the publishing treasures that the University owns; among others, a 1502 Aldo Manuzio's edition of Dante's Divine Comedy. We discuss the past and the future of printed books: it seems we are presently witnessing a new (digital) revolution, similar in scope to what the press meant for printing. From Angelo Branduardi's Futuro Antico we play Schiarazula Marazula (an ancient song published in Venice in the late 1500s), and  Suite d'Angleterre.

International film festival

The New Zealand International Film Festival starts in Christchurch on 9th August and includes two Italian films:

Reality.  The first film directed by Matteo Garrone since Gomorra (2008).  Winner: Grand Prix, 2012 Cannes Film Festival.  

Caesar must die.  A stripped-back production of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. The directors  Paolo & Vittoria Taviani filmed key scenes from the play in the high-security wing of Rome’s Rebibbia jail.

Tickets are now on sale from Hoyts. Further information is available at http://nzff.co.nz/christchurch or contact Cinerama@xtra.co.nz

Cartolina 1 and 6 August

We meet Rachel Priestley, Wellington-based wine and food consultant, and importer of Italian fine wine and food. Rachel spent many years in Italy helping establish cafes and restaurants, so she has much to tell about her experience, both personally and professionally. We play Spunta la luna dal monte, by Bartoli e Tazenda, Dolce Italia by Eugenio Finardi, and Pianoforte e voce by Teresa De Sio.

Cartolina 6 June

Italian structural engineer Stefano Pampanin is a professor at the University of Canterbury. He’s been very involved with the Christchurch earthquakes, as well as following the 2009 L’Aquila earthquake very closely. Now Stefano has been made president of the New Zealand Society for EarthQuake Engineering, in contact with the same institutions present in all the earthquake-prone countries of the world. We talk about sharing expertise, and what this means for the recovery of Christchurch.

Cartolina 23 &28 May

Luca Quaglia, on the phone from Wellington, talks about his researches and his work with building materials, his interest in astronomy, and the little village in the Italian Prealpi where he comes from (via Parigi…)