The play “Primo” with Jacob Olesen in the central part, directed by Giovanni Calo and inspired by the book “If This Is a Man” by Primo Levi, had its premiere at the National Theater “Mihai Eminescu” on October 31. In the opening, Italy’s Ambassador to Moldova Valeria Biagiotti said the autobiographical work of Primo Levi, who was an Auschwitz witness, comes to contribute to keeping the memory of the Holocaust victims, IPN reports.
“By the work “If This Is a Man”, the author wanted to give us a lucid confession of his experience as a prisoner at Auschwitz. It is a confession we wanted to present also in the context of Italy’s OSCE Chairmanship and as a member of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance and also to highlight the efforts made by Moldova during the past few years to raise awareness of this painful page of history,” stated the ambassador.
Attending the event, Andrei Chistol, secretary of state at the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research, said the event is important for Moldovan society because the Holocaust affected the population here as well. “It is important to realize the consequences of the Holocaust by cultural events. We should remember the burden borne by life through this message. By educative events, we can avoid the repeat of such horrors,” stated the functionary.
The play was presented with subtitles in Romanian, Russian and English. It was produced in cooperation with the Theater of Rome and was already staged in Italy, Poland, Austria, Romania, Albania, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Russia and Germany.
The event is organized by the Embassy of Italy in Chisinau and the Swiss Cooperation Office and is held in connection with the 18th Italian Language Week in the World.
