The Season’s & Writer’s Season Inaugural 2018 Events at NYU

THE SEASON. New York University Florence, Villa La Pietra, Via Bolognese 120. Free admission. All events in English unless otherwise specified.

Villa La Pietra will be transformed into a stage for musicians, writers, poets, and actors at the 14th edition of New York University’s The Season. The event juxtaposes global cultures with a diverse blend of creatives and art forms, allowing them to intersect under the foliage of a scenic 15th century garden.

Tuesday, June 5 will be dedicated to an evening of classical music by acclaimed Royal Opera tenor Toby Spence who will be accompanied by award-winning pianist Marco Rapetti. The duo will perform compositions by Schubert, Britten, and Poulenc (Limonaia, 9 pm), as a tribute to Sir Harold Acton, born near Florence of British parents.  Acton who willed his home La Pietra and other buildings on the property to New York University.

Those who appreciate the art of writing will enjoy The Writer’s Season, a series of six exclusive discussions and readings organized by NYU professor Elisa Biagini. The series kicks off on June 4 (6:30 pm) with Nicole Sealey, who will be reading her poetry.  Sealey is the author of The Animals After Whom Other Animals Are Named, a book of formal and free verse poems that explore themes of life and death. Fellow NYU alumnus John Murillo will join her to share his poems on family history and personal identity.

Learn about the struggles of Ethiopians in the 1930s, when the country was occupied by Fascist Italy, with award-winning American writer and producer Yemane Demissie and novelist Maaza Mengiste, who writes about war, exile, and migration, at the “Modernity, Transformation, and the Italo-Ethiopian War” artist talk on June 4 at 7:30 pm.

Both events will be held in the Pergola delle Rose (rose garden).

RSVP is required at lapietra.reply@nyu.com or 055-5007-210. For the complete schedule and more information visit: www.lapietra.nyu.edu/project/the-season-2018/