3rd Annual DIVINAMENTE NYC FESTIVAL Held May 18-22

We are delighted to welcome American audiences to the 3rd Annual Divinamente NYC Festival, which will take place in New York from May 18th and 22nd.

First launched in Rome in 2008 during Easter week, the Festival celebrates the spiritual dimension of the arts and their ability - through theater, music and dance - to bridge national boundaries.

This year, marking the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy, artists from different backgrounds were invited to consider the theme ofFratelli di Terra (brothers and sisters of the earth), and the idea of "home": the home of their birthplace, the home they chose later in life, the home they imagined or the home
of exile.

"The country that we celebrate is not only the one steeped in the past, but also the country we dream of for the future, a work in progress inspired by the ideas of diversity, solidarity and community," says artistic director Pamela Villoresi.

Villoresi, a renowned Italian actress and cultural personality, conceived and founded the Festival in the interest of creating a platform where the public can discover the common and universal language of the arts through that that which is spiritual and sacred in each of them.

In 2009 and 2010, the first and second Divinamente NYC Festivals presented successful performances at the Asia Society, La Mama Theater, the Rubin Museum of Art, St. Mark's Church, Symphony Space, the Primo Levi Center and other cultural venues.

This year, cultural events ranging from musical and theatrical performances as well as a roundtable on "Sacred Home," with representatives of four major religions, will take place at the Italian Cultural Institute, Saint Cecilia's Parish, the Asia Society, and the Museum of Cultural Heritage.

The festival is sponsored by: Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri, Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Italian Cultural Institute, Fondazione Roma Arte - Musei, Direzione Generale per le Biblioteche, gli Istituti Culturali e il Diritto d'Autore, Camera di Commercio di Prato, Lagazzaladra, A.R.Mu.S.e R, Alitalia, Delta.

www.divinamente.info

PROGRAM

Wednesday, May 18th, 6:00 PM
SACRED HOME, Round Table
Debate on the theme of a "promised land", exile, acceptance, or rejection in another society. Speakers will include representatives of 4 major religions. Reading of selected poems from "Fratelli di terra"
Italian Cultural Institute
686 Park Avenue
RSVP 212-879-4242, ext. 365
www.iicnewyork.esteri.it/IIC_Newyork

Thursday, May 19th, 6:00 PM
IL LEONE MAREMMANO
A tribute to the poet Giosue Carducci
directed and performed by Pamela Villoresi
live music by Luciano Vavolo
Italian Cultural Institute
686 Park Avenue
RSVP 212-879-4242, ext. 365
www.iicnewyork.esteri.it/IIC_Newyork

Friday, May 20th, 8:00 PM
PASSIO CAECILIAE
(US premiere)
Sacred cantata in 9 movements for orchestra, chorus, soprano and narrator
composed by Monsignor Marco Frisina
Saint Cecilia's Parish
120 East 106th Street
212-534-1350
www.saint-cecilia-parish.org
Suggested donation $20

Saturday, May 21st, 8:00 PM
AN ANGEL IN THE SLUMS
(US premiere)
A theatrical production directed by Gianluca Barbadori with performers from
the Italian and Chinese communities of Prato
Asia Society
The Lila Acheson Wallace Auditorium
725 Park Avenue (at 70th Street)
212-288-6400
www.asiasociety.org/centers/new-york
$15 for Asia Society and ICI members, $18 for students, $20 for general public