Qui dove il mare luccica | Piazza Grande, Modena

Show in Piazza Grande in Modena with Fabio Volo, Nek, Il Volo, Edoardo Bennato, Danilo Rea, Elio and others, with young up-and-comers to remember the Maestro’s commitment to UNHCR.

Once again an exceptional cast paid tribute to Luciano Pavarotti during the show held in Modena’s Piazza Grande, allowing his city to celebrate the beloved Maestro on 6 September, nine years after his passing.

Fabio Volo presented all the participating artists namely trio “Il volo”, Nek, Elio as opera singer, Danilo Rea at the piano with the soprano Silvia Colombini, Edoardo Bennato and the Syrian violinist Alaa Arsheed. All on stage in the historic heart of the city, UNESCO World Heritage Site, accompanied by the Italian Opera Orchestra conducted by Maestro Aldo Sisillo, along with young opera talents Vittoriana De Amicis, Laura Macrì, Ivan Ayon Rivas, Francesca Sartorato and Claudia Sasso.

The show presented famous artists and young opera talents who, interlacing opera and pop repertoires, have paid tribute to the Maestro, while Fabio Volo has presented the various performances, sharing with the guests memories and thoughts about the figure of Luciano Pavarotti, as a man and as an artist.

The tribute to Pavarotti emphasized one of the aspects through which the tenor conjugated love for life and solidarity, pointing out the empathy Pavarotti always had towards people in need, especially children.

His interest for less fortunate brought him to collaborate with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), dedicating several editions of the concert “Pavarotti & Friends” to their projects.

Dr. Carlotta Sami, the spokeswoman for UNHCR for Southern Europe,was present on the stage. She underlined how much Maestro had worked to bring concrete help to all those victims of conflict and those forced to flee their homes. Because of his constant commitment, the High Commissioner had given Pavarotti the most important recognition within the UN agency, namely the “Nansen Medal”. The Maestro, in fact, had been the one who had raised funds for the refugee cause more than any other private citizen in the world.
Pavarotti himself, as a child, had been “displaced”, and had a keen sensitivity to the tragedy of children scarred by wars, especially those forced to leave their homes.

As mentioned above, revenues of four editions of “Pavarotti & Friends” were donated to support UNHCR projects, in particular in 1999, the support to Guatemala, through the Nobel Prize winner Rigoberta Menchu was joined to a project for Kosovo; in 2001, the aid was for Afghan refugees in Pakistan; in 2002 for Angolan refugees in Zambia; in 2003, the goal was to support UNHCR projects to encourage the return of Iraqis who had left the country devastated by the conflict.