Twelve songs which are part of the history of this music group become a collection, taken from their world tour “Life”, a tour that will continue in the coming months. Among their plans for the future Gen Rosso will also be involved with delivering courses, educational projects, co-productions and the third edition of “Gen Rosso Music and Arts Village”. After more than fifty years of life theirs is an artistic proposition capable of continuous renewal. At the same time, they keep the compass fixed on some key points: a life lived under the banner of fraternity, a collaborative production between artists of various nationalities that speaks of unity between peoples and nations, a message that proposes a culture of giving and sharing – attentive to the challenges of our planet. This is Gen Rosso an international music group, made up of musicians and technicians of different vocations from Europe, Asia and Latin America. Recently their “Life” tour became an album with eighteen tracks chosen from the songs recorded by Gen Rosso over the years. We talk about it with one of the group, Michele Sole. – On July 1st your live album from the “LIFE” Tour was released. How was this new album conceived and what are its characteristics? From the autumn of 2018 until today we have had some beautiful concerts all over Italy with our production “LIFE” and since the audiences were enthusiastic, like we were ourselves, from there we had the desire to create a cd ‘Life – live’. Once the recordings made on stage were re-created, we mixed them trying to keep all the energy and emotion that we breathe in our concerts. You can hear the audience singing with us, their applause and their voices, giving the listener the feeling of being right there with us on stage. In short, a real live recording! – Recently you have created, in the international little town of Loppiano where you are based the “Gen Rosso Music and Arts Village”. What is this and what are the objectives? The “Gen Rosso Music and Arts Village” will be held this year from December 27th 2019 until January 5th 2020, this will be the third edition. It is an artistic experience, the sharing of values from the perspective of the charism of unity. It involves young professionals and students, aged 18 and above, from different disciplines such as music, dance, singing, theatre. The teaching methodology is designed by Gen Rosso tutors together with teachers who have recognized artistic skills and experience. The program includes an in-depth study of specific themes from the art world, the exchange of experiences, creative spaces and practical workshops that will converge in a final performance. You can register at village@genrosso.com. The programme will start on December 27th 2019 and will end on January 5th 2020. – In your travels, you participate in events that promote peace and friendship between peoples and universal fraternity. Is there a recent one that you remember in particular and why? Yes, in the spring we had the joy of being in Jordan, thanks to “Caritas Jordan”, to carry out the project “Be the change” . We worked with hundreds of students from different social classes, different religions and different nationalities, It is a project to foster dialogue and promote a culture of peace and friendship, with the participants themselves being the promoters of a change in their lives and in their cities for a better future. – What are your plans and future appointments? First of all, we will resume the world tour with the concert “Life” along with educational projects and the inclusion on stage of young people prepared during various workshops. The tour will begin in Italy (September 28th in Venosa; October 12th in Piacenza; October 23rd and 24th in Acerra; October 26th in Prato, November 1st in Teano). Then an Asian tour in Indonesia for almost the entire month of November 2019. Meanwhile, we will continue with courses in the little town of Loppiano, sharing experiences, training and art. From October 15th to 17th we will examine in depth light design, a course intended for people interested in expanding their knowledge of the use of light and colour. In addition, to support young emerging artists, we have started co-productions. The first is Stabat in Silentium, the staging of a play by the young writer Francesco Bertolini. This play is the result of a profound experience of solidarity that emerged after the earthquake in Amatrice (Italy). “How can one still believe in God after an earthquake?” is the “uncomfortable” question which is the starting point of this work. The protagonists are the young victims, but also the volunteers who leave their quiet life to go where tragedy has occurred.

Anna Lisa Innocenti