There Are No Absolute Distances

A message from the International Friends of Festival Verdi President, James E. Miller, with a Special Guest.

Dear Friends,

it’s been a few years since we began this journey with the International Friends of Festival Verdi.

I still remember the first time that I entered Teatro Regio di Parma in 2016 for dress rehearsals and met Anna Maria.

I very fondly remember my attendance at Festival Verdi officially for the first time in 2017 and viewing the beautiful performances of Falstaff and Stiffelio, among many others.

In that time that I’ve been associated with Festival Verdi and International Friends of Festival Verdi here in the United States, I’ve learned to greatly appreciate the beauty and charm of the theater, the people of Parma and everything that makes the theater so wonderful and the Festival so beautiful, especially the passion and commitment of Anna Maria.

In being exposed to Festival Verdi and to Teatro Regio I’ve realized and come to appreciate how much a theater is made up of both history, passion and beautiful combination of determination, artistic endeavor and community of people coming together to accomplish something beautiful and for all of those reasons, based on that exposure, I decided to become a supporter of Festival Verdi and Teatro Regio, by helping to found International Friends of Festival Verdi with Anna Maria.

So, at this time, in these trying times, I want to send my best wishes to the people of Parma, to the people of the theater and to everyone associated with Festival Verdi.

Also, I think that we should at this time, give some thought to what we can do during these trying times, to support institutions that we love so much like Teatro Regio and Festival Verdi.

So, what can we do: first I think we can stand united and stay committed to the institutions that we love so much, and in addition I think that we can all, even in these challenging times, contribute and make significant donations where possible to support institutions, to ensure that they endure and that they prosper.

I look forward to seeing everyone in Parma and at Festival Verdi in the near future.

Ciao Parma, ciao Italia, a presto Teatro Regio.

And now I would like to introduce a special Friend, my son Christopher Miller, who has his own special connection to Parma and would like to say a few words to the people of Parma himself.

Hello everyone, I’m Christopher, Jim’s son. I would like to express my sincere sympathies for all the victims of the virus. I also wanted to tell all the citizens of Parma that I hope to return to the city soon. See you soon and I hope everyone has been well during this crisis.

James E. Miller
International Friends of Festival Verdi President

Christopher Miller
American Head Rocchetto