The Eternal Presence

On Friday 27 September at 18:30, the Russian House in Rome will host the literary and musical salon ‘The Eternal Presence’. This time it will be dedicated to Anna Akhmatova, on the occasion of the 135th anniversary of the birth of the great Russian poetess of the Silver Age. She witnessed the change of epochs, survived two world wars, the revolution and the siege of Leningrad. She wrote her first poems at the age of 11, from then until the end of her life she never stopped devoting herself to poetry. Anna Akhmatova had studied Italian in order to read Dante. She had an inexplicable bond with the poet Aleksandr Pushkin, whom she considered her teacher. All her work is permeated with the spirit of Pushkin’s time.

Experts from Russia and Italy – Svetlana Prasolova, deputy director of the Anna Akhmatova Museum in St Petersburg and Maria Federico, president of the cultural association ‘Peace of Damarete’. Anna Akhmatova’s favourite music and romances based on her poems will also be performed: winners of the international competitions soprano Maria Smirnova and Elizaveta Smirnova, pianist Maxim Skogorev will perform. The poet’s most famous verses will be read by theatre and film actress, writer and director Natalya Simonova.

Admission is free, reservation is required: https://forms.gle/PJmruRDDypQdRnQA6