November 6th, 2015 – The worldwide celebrations for the 750th anniversary since Dante Alighieri’s birth continue on November 18, at the Theatre of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg (7pm) with Massimiliano Finazzer Flory. The Italian artist will give a theatrical reading of the V Canto of Dante's Inferno, dedicated to Paolo & Francesca. The event is organized as part of the Italy-Russia multimedia project "What doves, called onward by desire. Sights and sounds between Russia and Italy: Dante, Tchaikovsky, Martini." The actor will be accompanied by a piano played by Maurizio Baglini. The Italian actor, director and playwright was born in Monfalcone (Gorizia) in 1964. He has lived in Milan since 1999, imposing himself on the local and national scene as a curator of exhibitions, playwright and performer. From 2000 to 2008, Finazzer Flory conducted the famous festival Cultura in Galleria at the Rizzoli Bookstore in Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II (Milan), but was also a promoter of several events such as the White Night of Culture, Città delle Vertigini and White Night of Spring. . He brought to the stage a number of different pkays, including The Mirror by JL Borges (2007-10), The Time by G. Mahler (2010-11) and an adaptation of The Betrothed by Manzoni, which toured different continents. For the show "Pinocchio, storia di un burattino," Finazzer Flory was awarded the Lions Pinocchio di Collodi Award of 2013. The artist was also Councilor for Culture for the City of Milan between 2008 and 2010; and collaborated with Corriere della Sera whilst directing two book series for San Paolo Edizioni and Skira Editore. During the 2013-14 season, he directed and starred in the show "Grand Futurist Evening", staged in Italy and the United States. (Red)

MAURIZIO BAGLINI

Pianist Maurizio Baglini is among the brightest and most popular musicians on the international scene. He has had an extensive career in Europe, America and Asia with more than 1200 concerts as soloist and as many in chamber music. Born in Pisa in 1975 and winner at 24 of the "World Music Piano Master" of Montecarlo, Baglini has since been a guest of the most prestigious global festivals (including La Roque d’Anthéron, Loeckenhaus, Yokohama Piano Festival, Australian Chamber Music Festival, “Benedetti Michelangeli” of Bergamo and Brescia, Rossini Opera Festival) and was invited to perform (solo and in a chamber music ensemble) in the major international institutions, including La Scala in Milan, Salle Gaveau in Paris, the Kennedy Center in Washington, Auditorium du Louvre, Gasteig of Munich, and the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. Baglini collaborated with orchestra directors such as Emanuel Krivine, Maximiano Valdes, Donato Renzetti, Antonello Allemandi, Massimiliano Warm, Daniel Cohen, Howard Griffiths, Karl Martin, Seikyo Kim, Giampaolo Bisanti, and Ola Rudner.