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Author : E. Oganesyan
Journalist
A FAMOUS Italian director's lonely villa hosted an award ceremony
on the volcanic Isle of Ischia - not far from Naples: the director being
none other than Luchino Visconti and the award - "Brodsky on Ischia:
Traveler Without Borders." The award laureates were Irina Gerasi-
mova, CEO of "Radio Orpheus," and Lyubov Kazarnovskaya, an
opera star.
Joseph Brodsky, a Nobel prize laureate, a maestro of laconic expres-
sions, a rebel and a poet - called himself a "man of no bounds." That
is precisely why overcoming formalities and strengthening ties in cul-
ture and the arts is, in fact, the core purpose of the award named after
the poet.
The award ceremony location was deliberately chosen. After all, the director Luchino Visconti
was also a "man of no bounds": while a descendant of an aristocratic family line, he had Freudo-
Marxist sympathies, worked at a musical theater and directed movies, some of which were labeled
"questionable" by the critics. Many people today know Visconti because of his iconic La Traviata
at La Scala, with Maria Callas as the prima donna. It is precisely this villa on Ischia, which was
home to the opera's practice sessions and where the director gave his priceless advice to the
singer.
Not only is Lyubov Kazarnovskaya, one of the laureates, fluent in Italian, but she has been help-
ing to foster a bond between Italian and Russian opera traditions. In her life, the singer takes
turns between performing on stage and engaging in numerous educational and enlightening proj-
ects.
Francesco Del Deo, mayor of Forio, partook in the ceremony. He noted that currently the villa
is not in its best shape. The outer wall, with an elevator once connecting the villa's stories, was
once adorned with Murano glass. The interior design reflected the villa owner's unique yet refined
taste.
Nonetheless, Luchino Visconti's villa creates an unforgettable impression on the visitor. Take a
look from the sea, and you are greeted by white castle turrets with lancet azure windows.
The award is embodied in the statuette of a reading boy. This trophy brings together Ischia's
two traditional crafts: ceramics and metal work. The figurine seems metal on the outside, but in
actuality clay is hiding just beneath a layer of silvery coating. Clay from the isle of Ischia is
endowed with healing properties and hence gives the islanders the gift of health, not to mention
that it inspires admiration in anyone, who chances to see ceramic artwork by local artisans. So,
even the trophy unites several symbols. The event organizers, the laureates and even the Joseph
Brodsky Award itself overcoming formalities and boundaries, finding abounding new ways to
bring our cultures closer together."
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The Joseph Brodsky Award: Erasing Boundaries