1001 Nights Cast

‘Piano, piano’ is a whispering motto for all great performers. I’ve been told it could sometimes be heard under breath, in the rising fear of voiceless moments, of the finest opera singers in Milan, just before that all-encompassing note.

Loosely translated into a northern Italian dialect, ‘piano, piano’ means ‘steady, steady’ and sounds like an Italian reading the name of the instrument in English. Of course it’s not mentioned in any great history book but ‘piano, piano’ were also the words mumbled by Italian soldiers in the battlefields across Europe.

It is true to say that during the Second World War every Italian battalion had a designated professional opera singer who’s primary role was to maintain the morale of the troupes by singing these words to them. On long marches, in the trenches late at night, and before battle, this single, unaccompanied voice would carry the survival hopes of hundreds of young Italians.

One night in Russia, after weeks of marching across Siberia, a battalion of under-dressed soldiers, arrived at the their place of battle. Almost in unison like a dehydrated choir they mumbled ‘piano, piano,’ and collapsed, exhausted, only to fall upon barrels and barrels of alcohol. This was a very lucky moment for these soldiers who looked more like bitten guinea pigs than men. They summoned up all the remaining strength they had to open the first barrel. They intended to drink themselves warm and hopefully into a stupor that would allow them to forget their fate as soldiers in the horrors of war.

Out of respect the first drink was handed to Francesco, the opera singer of this particular battalion. Francesco held his mug up to his fellow men, who shouted ‘piano, piano’. But Francesco was tired and sick of these words. So without them, without hesitation he guzzled at his cup and dropped dead from the cleverly disguised poison he had just drunk.