The Orchestra of Piazza Vittorio's American Holiday
Many, if not all, roads lead to Rome for immigrants from Asia, Africa, and Eastern Europe. But as with immigrants everywhere, a new life guarantees neither acceptance nor happiness. In late 2001, a trio of intrepid local activists in Rome's immigrant-intense Piazza Vittorio community decided to create an ambitious all-immigrant orchestra from among the local residents. Their somewhat comical recruitment process and the often chaotic rehearsals leading up to the orchestra's 2002 debut performance in a rescued theater are captured in The Orchestra of Piazza Vittorio, which had its American premiere Thursday night in Manhattan's IFC Film Center. The movie was followed by a live OPV performance; and there are few things more strangely rewarding than the real-life sound of larger-than-life characters one has just met onscreen. (The orchestra's multimedia tour continues tomorrow in San Francisco and Thursday in Los Angeles.)
Directed by Mario Tronco, an Italian of seemingly unlimited energy and patience, the orchestra's 10-member touring combo is half the size of the full Roman version. One of the evening's big surprises was how joyously professional the group has become compared to the ragtag gathering of nervous, tired, and frequently exasperated collaborators portrayed in the movie. Today's OPV is a joyous rhythmic fusion of musicians from Tunisia, Cuba, Senegal, Ecuador, Hungary, and Italy who seamlessly integrate each player's regional prowess into a buoyant whole greater than the sum of its parts. And it turns out that the evening's contagious optimism also translates excellently onto the orchestra's two albums, Suite Ninderli and last year's Sona.