Arena di Verona Concert features International Artists
UniCredit, HypoVereinsbank and the Embassy of Italy are proud to host the Arena di Verona Meets Berlin concert this evening at the premises of the Embassy in the German capital.
This fifth reception since 2008 has become an annual tradition and a great example of the excellent partnership between Italy and Germany.
Singers from the Arena di Verona will give the event a special "touch of opera" and take guests on a journey through European music. The artists include Elena Rossi (soprano), Anna Malavasi (mezzosoprano), Cristiano Olivieri (tenor) and Francesco Landolfi (baritone). Approximately 250 guests from the worlds of politics, economics and culture have been invited to this year's concert, which takes place as the Arena celebrates its 100th anniversary.
"The Arena di Verona is undoubtedly a symbol of Italian Opera, yet the enchanting arias that they will perform are also an invitation to a voyage across all of Europe", said Italian Ambassador Elio Menzione of the event. "With pieces from acclaimed classic composers like Mozart, Puccini, Verdi, Massenet, Donizetti, Mascagni, Bernstein, Giordano and Saint-Saëns, we will celebrate the finest operatic tradition of Europe, in which Italy and Germany represent important pillars. Moreover, culture is a fundamental dimension of our common European identity, one that - today more than ever - we have to preserve, cherish and develop, in order to keep the unitary project alive and design together the Europe of the future."
Dr Giuseppe Vita, Chairman of UniCredit, also praised the concert: "The Arena di Verona Meets Berlin concert has become a tradition in Italian and German relationship. By bringing to the capital city of Germany one of the finest examples of Italian art, UniCredit is proud to contribute to the cultural dialogue between the two nations. Moreover, in the year when both Giuseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner celebrate the bicentenary of their birth, the opera is a vivid example of the profound attachment to art in the two countries and how strong are the ties between them. Culture is a common heritage for Italy and Germany, and can be also a source of inspiration for together building a better Europe."
Arena di Verona Meets Berlin is an example of UniCredit's ongoing commitment to culture. UniCredit's partnership with Arena di Verona began in 1994 with an initiative to develop an IT platform for the opera's box office, which has since facilitated sales of more than 10 million tickets.
Milan/Berlin, 28 November 2013