"Addio Mia California" - The Italian Consul General Says Goodbye

Ciao a tutti,

On the occasion of the Italian National Day The Consul General of Italy Diego Brasioli and his wife Mrs. Diego Brasioli said goodbye to California.

I want to say, that in major metropolises throughout the US there are Consul Generals from many Countries that come and go as the years do.

Los Angeles has certainly seen it's share from around the world and of course, from Italy, to be specific. Arguably, few have made the impact that il Signor Diego Brasioli has on this community in his short time with us.

And now with his farewell "performance," he made his impact again and secured that his memory shall be indelibly inscribed in the Italian Communities History, by leaving us with a BANG!

Instead of a party, like so many other beautiful parties, held at his official residence in Beverly Hills, Diego invited us all to a theater at UCLA to experience "My West," with a reception to follow.

Being that Diego is a cultured man and a lover of music and art many of us assumed that "My West" would be a performance of highlights or a parody on Giacomo Puccini's opera "La Fanciulla del West, (Girl of the Golden West)."

Instead, I myself was pleased to see a performance like none I had seen before by an "official," making himself vulnerable and revealing himself through the work that he had actually written.

The official story, I learned from him afterwards, was that he was not able to find someone to play the part of Giacomo Puccini, so he had to play it himself.

But I have to say that no one could have played it better than the man who wrote it and felt it in his heart like it was obvious Diego did.

In a joint production with Opera Santa Barbara and the Istituto Italiano di Cultura under the direction of Alessio della Valle, Diego treated us to this intimate journey that he tied in with his own feelings about leaving California.

The Consul General realistically portrayed a fictional visit and public address by Giacomo Puccini to Californians after having written the opera and received accolades for his historical premier of "Girl of the Gold West" at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York.

Throughout the presentation Diego related some true stories that inspired il Maestro Puccini to write the opera, from the joyous to the challenging.

Together with Soprano Suzan Hanson, Tenor Garbriel Reoyo Pazos, Bariton Paul Sahuc, and Pianist Valery Rivkin, Diego told the stories and shared the plot before allowing the singers to carry the message through the words and music of the grande maestro Puccini himself.


In the end, Diego bade farewell to California before an emotional crowd who gave him a standing ovation as the singers sang the farewell, appropriately, from the end of the opera itself, "Addio mia California," farewell my California.

While applauding I heard a lady behind me say, "I love that man," to which her female companion responded "Me too."

You could see the impact Diego had had on the people gathered there, not just the ladies. The fact that they were there to begin with in such large numbers, on a weeknight, was a testimony to the success and popularity he earned while here in Los Angeles.

He brought together people from the varied businesses and cultural communities of Los Angeles. From the Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca to the Vice Chairman of NIAF Joe Cerrell, from actors like Robert Davi and Daniel McVicar to heads of businesses and owners, people came out to bid Diego a fond farewell.

Pictured above is Diego Brasioli himself dressed in the style of Giacomo Puccini during the performance. Below that are pictures of Chef Richard and I with Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, just before Sheriff Baca had his deputy sheriff remove his deputy sheriff pin from his lapel so he could give it to Chef Richard. They obviously had shared a moment and had mutual acquaintances. Chef Richard wore his pin proudly the rest of the night.

Above Chef Richard and I took turns taking pictures with actor Robert Davi and below that, together with the Bold and the Beautiful Actor Daniel McVicar.
Finally, we both were happy to be photogrpahed with this years Queen of St. Peters Church, the lovely Margequx DiMasi Rodriguez.

Frankly, I know I am not the only one who hopes and trusts that this story doesn't end like the opera in which the people say "mai piu," lamenting that they will never see each other again.

So instead of "Addio," we bid you "Arrivederci," keeping the hope alive that California will see you, Diego, again soon.

A presto,

Filippo

P.S. Here is a video of the final scene of a RAI 1956 film of "La Fanciulla del West," in which the protagonists sing the final words of the opera "Addio mia California." (In Italian)