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La Fiducia was staged yesterday on the stage of the Teatro Antico in Taormina, with the Taobuk Gala, which rewarded the cultural work of personalities who were able to translate the concept of the 16th edition of the literary event into everyday life.
During the evening, hosted by the president and artistic director of the Festival Antonella Ferrara together with Massimiliano Ossini, the writers Abdulrazak Gurnah, Nobel Prize winner for Literature, Haruki Murakami, Dacia Maraini, Jonathan Coe and Donato Carrisi, the artist Anish Kapoor, the orchestra conductor Vitali Alekseenok, the actress and director Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, the saxophonist Stefano Di received the Taobuk Award for Excellence. Battista, the singer Nicky Nicolai, the director and founder of the Compagnia Zappalà Danza Roberto Zappalà and the actress Ester Pantano.
The Awards also go to Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, who spoke in recent days with Caterina Andò, member of the scientific committee of Taobuk and responsible for communications, with the introduction of the rector of the University of Messina Giovanna Spatari, and to the economist Ester Duflo, Nobel Prize winner for Economics.
Prestigious voices took turns on stage. Maraini’s voice resonated powerfully in favor of equality and the affirmation of women’s rights, from voting (“it’s not a duty, it’s a right: let’s exercise it!”), to protection in the family and workplace. «We cannot think of living in a bubble: what happens in Iran concerns us and we should protest more publicly. It is not a battle for women, but for everyone.” She mentioned the trend of the publishing market for women, referring to the fact that in the tracks of maturity there were none involving female authors. “The future – he however stated – must be built with trust”. Maraini was awarded by the commissioner of the Taormina Arte Foundation Bernardo Campo and the packed theater gave her an ovation with the audience standing to applaud not only her career, but her unwavering voice. And equally powerful was Donato Carrisi’s monologue on feminicide, a crescendo concluded with an invective against those who would deny it, punctuated by applause. Also on stage was Kapoor who yesterday during the inauguration of his exhibition had shifted the dialogue to the theme of trust, the underlying theme of this edition of the festival. When asked where it is still possible to store it, the answer came immediately: “In art, in culture”. And immediately after a reflection that broadened the discussion beyond the exhibition: «The value of festivals like Taobuk consists in safeguarding necessary spaces, especially in a historical moment that seems to urgently need them. Our world is sad because it is obsessed with money and possessions.”
Nobel Gurnah (of Tanzanian origin, naturalized British, winner of the prize in 2021 for having told the social contradictions in light of his history as a refugee), received the Awards from the mayor of Taormina Cateno De Luca, the Indian artist Kapoor from Nino Rizzo Nervo, president of the Scientific Committee of Taobuk, the Japanese author Murakami was awarded by Ferrara, Bruni Tedeschi by the regional councilor Elvira Amata, Di Battista and Nicolai by the journalist Roberta Scorranese, curator of the visual arts section of the festival, the Catanese choreographer Zappalà by the journalist Paolo Valentino, curator of the geopolitical section of the festival, Carrisi by Stefania Rimini, director of the Humanities Department of UniCt, the English author Coe by Salvatore Pulignano, general manager of Calabria and Sicily of BPER, the Catanese actress Pantano by the UniMe vice-rector Giuseppe Giordano. The Belarusian maestro Vitali Alekseenok, awarded by Elvira Terranova, head of the Justice and Legality thematic section of the festival, conducted the Symphonic Orchestra of the Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania, an opera body which was musical co-producer of the event, with pieces taken from the repertoire and film soundtracks.
The orchestra accompanied Nicky Nicolai and Stefano Di Battista in two songs together with a jazz trio. Giovanni Caccamo sang Franco Battiato’s The Season of Love in an orchestral arrangement by Valter Sivilotti. The Zappalà Danza Company brought to the stage an excerpt from Brother to Brother – from Etna to Fuji with choreography by Roberto Zappalà and original music by Giovanni Seminerio and Munedaiko.
The evening, hosted by Antonella Ferrara and Massimiliano Ossini, will be broadcast on Rai 1 on 16 July. Taobuk Gala is a format created by Antonella Ferrara with the authorial contribution of Michele De Mieri, Valerio Callieri, Alessandra Ferrari and Paola Miletich directed by Cristiano d’Alisera. The event is promoted by the Sicilian Region, led by President Renato Schifani, by the Regional Department of Tourism, Sport and Entertainment, by the Regional Department of Cultural Heritage and Sicilian Identity and by the Taormina Arte Sicilia Foundation, with the support of the Naxos Taormina Archaeological Park and the Municipality of Taormina, together with other important public and private institutions and entities, in a broad sharing of cultural objectives.