Sicilian Culture: News: Visions of Italy, Southern Style & A Musical Christmas From The Vatican

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Sicilian Culture

The People, The History, The Culture

The News & Views
Visions of Italy, Southern Style
and
A Musical Christmas From The Vatican
This December, PBS celebrates Italian Culture and community with TWO new programs.
"VISIONS OF ITALY: SOUTHERN STYLE", and "A MUSICAL CHRISTMAS FROM THE VATICAN"
airing on PBS Stations nationally. (on different dates and hours)
These programs showcase the beauty of Italian Americans' ancestral home, provide a 'virtual vacation' and offer exclusive access to the Pope's annual commissioned concert.
In this message I will describe "VISIONS OF ITALY: SOUTHERN STYLE".
A following message will describe A MUSICAL CHRISTMAS FROM THE VATICAN.
"VISIONS OF ITALY: SOUTHERN STYLE" brings PBS viewers stunning high definition aerial footage of popular destinations in southern Italy including the Almalfi Coast, Naples, Vesuvius, the ruins of Pompeii, Rome Spanish Steps and Colosseum, along with beautiful sights that don't make most itineraries. Even if you've been to Italy, you've never seen it like this! This program is a follow up to WLIW'S "VISIONS OF ITALY: NORTHERN STYLE" from 1998.
For the FIRST Time, the esteemed "NATALE IN VATICANO" (Christmas at the Vatican) annual Christmas Eve concert broadcast will be seen by audiences outside Italy thanks to WLIW's" A MUSICAL CHRISTMAS FROM THE VATICAN". Sarah Brightman, Tom Jones, and Dionne Warwick lead a stellar lineup for the ultimate Christmas concert.
Both programs will air nationally on PBS this December, with air dates and times varied in different cities. Please check local listings or call your local PBS station and ask for their schedule. If your local station does not air the program in December, you may obtain a VHS of the specials through WLIW at 1-800-767-2121 or at: WLIW21: Public Television at its best www.wliw.org
Shot in high-definition video from a helicopter-mounted camera, VISIONS OF ITALY: Southern Style takes viewers on a seamless sojourn following along the rugged western coastline to the toe of the "boot" at Reggio di Calabria, and then inland over the countryside to Rome. This one-hour program features stunning aerial footage, an informative and poetic narrative celebrating southern Italy's considerable charms and a soundtrack that underscores the emotional connections America's Italians have for their motherland. Images of Italy no tourist's camera could capture are set to Neapolitan classics, choral selections, Italian folk songs, and the works of Italian composers such as Rossini, Puccini, and Vivaldi, with Italian-American performers including Connie Francis and Michael Amante.
There has never been a show like this because it is nearly impossible to find a helicopter company in Italy willing to go through the difficulty of acquiring the specific permits needed to shoot over Rome! Precision planning on the ground with compasses determined the best time of day to avoid shadows on the major sites from the many buildings in this densely packed city. And the results are definitely worth it. Even if you have been to southern Italy, you have never seen it like this.
A majority of Italian-Americans can trace their roots to southern Italy, and for many this program will be a first look at the small villages of Il Mezzogiorno "the midday" - (Puglia, Abruzzi, Basilicata, Campania, Calabria) their ancestors left generations ago, in many ways unchanged by time. Our helicopter flies over the most popular destinations in southern Italy - the romance of the Amalfi Coast (and the hairpin turns of the Amalfi Drive!); the bustling international seaport of Naples and the jewels among its islands, Ischia and Capri; the majesty of Vesuvius; the ruins of Pompei; Rome's Scalinata di Piazza di Spagna (Spanish Steps) and Colosseum but "VISIONS OF ITALY: SOUTHERN STYLE's" flight also reveals extraordinary sights that don't make most itineraries.
"VISIONS OF ITALY: SOUTHERN STYLE" also takes viewers over the charming cliffsides of Sorrento and the picturesque fishing ports of Positano, San Marco, Nicotera, Diamante and other stops along the "Calabrian Riviera;" up the "Valley of the Dragon" to towering Ravello; past the pristine Greek temples at Paestum; into the heart of the action at the bustling seaport of Salerno and swordfishing crews at Bagnara Calabra; over the crossroads of Cosenza; around the palace and formal gardens of old Caserta, the abbey at MonteCassino, the Pope's summer residence at Lake CastelGondolfo, the breathtaking fountains at Tivoli Gardens (Villa D'Este) and, with a bird's eye view, the striking juxtaposition of ancient and modern Rome. We see the most well known sites of these cities - but from an unprecedented perspective.
VISIONS OF ITALY: Southern Style is the companion program to WLIW New York's VISIONS OF ITALY: Northern Style. VISIONS OF ITALY: Sicily is in production for 2002.
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[ RAA Comment: I have contradictory information about a Preview of VISIONS OF ITALY. One report says a Premiere: Saturday, November 17 at 8pm Another report says Thursday, November 8, 2001 7-10 PM
(Note: Please excuse if you recieved double copies of a couple of messages. My computer is objecting to the long mailing list. Incidently if any of you are merely POLITELY recieving these ANNOTICO Reports, and would prefer to be unsubscribed, please advise,as I am reaching my capacity, and I assure you my feelings would not be hurt.)
"Visions of Italy: Southern Style" features spectacular aerial footage of the rugged western coastline of Italy, from Calabria, along the Amalfi Coast, across to Capri, up to Rome, set to Italian folk songs and works by Italian composers.
This program takes viewers on a seamless journey that follows along the rugged western coastline to the toe of the boot at Reggio di Calabria and then back inland over the countryside to Rome.
The special features stunning aerial footage, a narrative celebrating southern Italy's charms and a soundtrack that underscores the emotional connections America's Italian community has to the motherland.
Images of Italy that no tourist's camera could capture are set to Neapolitan classics, choral selections, Italian folk songs and the works of Italian composers such as Rossini, Puccini and Vivaldi, and Italian American performers including Dean Martin and Michael Amante.
E' meraviglioso!
December 1 at 2:15 am
December 3 at 7:30 pm
December 7 at 7:30 pm
December 9 at 9:00 pm
December 10 at 2:15 pm
December 14 at 7:30 pm
For a current listing of more Italian events, visit the Calandra Institute's "Community Calendar: The Most Comprehensive Listing of Italian and ItalianAmerican Events for New York" at: www.qc.edu/calandra/community

A MUSICAL CHRISTMAS FROM THE VATICAN
Sarah Brightman, Tom Jones, Dionne Warwick and Manhattan Transfer lead a stellar lineup for the ultimate Christmas concert -- A MUSICAL CHRISTMAS FROM THE VATICAN, airing on PBS December 2001 (check local listings). This diverse program of traditional Christmas and spiritual songs, filmed at the papal seat of the Roman Catholic Church, brings the esteemed Natale in Vaticano (Christmas at the Vatican) concert tradition to television audiences outside Italy for the first time since the annual Christmas Eve broadcast began, nearly a decade ago. With the backdrop of the Vatican at the height of Christmas festivities, exquisite lighting and a cast that had to meet the strict standards of approval of the Foreign Minister of the Vatican, A MUSICAL CHRISTMAS FROM THE VATICAN is a concert special like no other.
The program features the 120-piece Turin Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Renato Serio. The program opens with Stockholm Musikgymnasium performing "Sankta Lucia." Songs include "Silent Night;" "Mary¹s Boy Child" (Tom Jones); "The Voice of Maria" (Dionne Warwick and Piero Marras); "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" (Manhattan Transfer); "He¹s Got the Whole World in His Hands" (Joan Orleans and the Harlem Ten); "Christmas Time" (Bryan Adams); "Ave Maria;" "Mater Jubilaei;" "The Christmas Song;" "O Holy Night" (Sarah Brightman); "White Christmas;" "Away in a Manger" (Dee Dee Bridgewater); "O Come, O Come Emmanuel;" "Amazing Grace;" and John Lennon and Yoko Ono¹s "Happy Xmas (War is Over)."
The annual Natale in Vaticano concerts are performed at the Aula Paolo VI theater at the Vatican. These concerts, attended by an exclusive audience that includes cardinals, Italian nobles and members of Italian society, as well as selected American dignitaries, were started by the Vatican in 1992 to raise money to build 50 new churches in the Vatican area. The artists are not paid for their performances -- it is a great honor to be included in the concert. The tradition includes an audience with the pope for all participants.
SONG LIST:
"Silent Night" - Tom Jones and Ensemble
"Mary¹s Boy Child" - Tom Jones
"The Voice Of Maria" - Dionne Warwick & Piero Marras
"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" - Manhattan Transfer
"He¹s Got the Whole World in His Hands" - Joan Orleans & The Harlem Ten
"Christmas Time" - Bryan Adams
"Ave Maria" - Al Bano
"Mater Jubilaei" - Tosca
"The Christmas Song" - Randy Crawford
"O Holy Night" - Sarah Brightman
"White Christmas" Sasha
"Away in a Manger" - Dee Dee Bridgewater
"O Come O Come Emmanuel" - Jennifer Page & Jences Hogins
"Amazing Grace" - Joan Orleans
John Lennon and Yoko Ono's "Happy Xmas (War is Over)" - Tom Jones and Ensemble
A Musical Christmas from the Vatican www.wliw.org/productions/vatican.html
Underwriters: Public Television Viewers and PBS. Producer: WLIW New York in association with Sandra Carter Productions and Sherman Records, L.L.C. Executive producer: Roy Hammond. Director/editor: Roman Brygider. Format: CC STEREO.
Premiere: Sunday, November 27 at 8pm ???

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