Brussels and the Italian Embassy in Belgium remembered Giacomo Puccini on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his death. On Friday, at Place Blyckaert in Brussels, a neighbourhood choir sang a la Madame Batterfly to pay homage, in the presence of the Italian Ambassador, Federica Favi, to the great composer, who died on 29 November 1924 in a clinic adjacent to the square.
In the presence of a group of compatriots and residents of the neighbourhood, Favi first delivered a speech of commemoration and then laid a wreath at the site where Puccini died, together with the Associazione Lucchesi nel mondo. "An extraordinary Ambassador of Italian Culture, immortal in time and space," Favi stressed.
The homage continued with a concert in the Église Royale de Sainte-Marie, where Puccini's first funeral took place. Soprano Greta Doveri, tenor Alan Sciberras and baritone Giuseppe De Luca, accompanied by the Sammartini Choir and the Grand Orchestre Symphonique Jean-Noël Hamal, consisting of over 50 instruments and conducted by Klaudia Zajac, performed some of the artist's works.
The church also hosts an exhibition of liturgical vestments, the catafalque and other memorabilia related to Giacomo Puccini's Belgian funeral, as well as an exhibition of paintings by Corrado Veneziano inspired by the composer's works. The Manneken Pis, the symbol of the city, was also dressed today for the occasion in the typical costume of 'Gianni Schicchi', from Puccini's comic opera, donated by the Association of Lucchesi nel Mondo to the Ville de Bruxelles on 14 December 1994.
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