Decked with fairy lights, the garden lawns of Kenilworth Hotel embodied the Christmas spirit on December 12 at the Christmas Concert and High Tea hosted by The Consulate General of Italy in Calcutta. The merrymaking started with performances by the students of Calcutta Blind School and The Ramakrishna Mission Blind Boys Academy. Both groups of students enlivened the ambience with their rendition of Christmas carols in English, Italian and Latin. They were especially trained by The Italian Consulate to sing in the foreign languages. Guests were spotted in smart casuals with a dash of red — the dress code for the evening. The warmth of bonhomie was palpable as the guests enjoyed high tea post the evening performance.
Kanishka from Calcutta who is studying at a conservatory in Italy was at the keyboard accompanying the students in their carol performance.
The students of both schools sang traditional Christmas carols like O Holy Night, Tu Scendi Dalle Stelle, Venite Fedeli, Jingle Bells, So This Is Christmas, Astro del ciel or Silent Night, in different languages.
“The idea behind this concert was to organise something meaningful, which would remind us of the true spirit of Christmas: harmony, fraternity, sharing. I was really impressed by the work of the girls and boys of the two schools, who managed to learn how to sing in Italian (and even in Latin) in a short period of time, to the delight of the audience,” said Gianluca Rubagotti, consul general of Italy in Calcutta.
Pictures: Pabitra Das
