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In March 1960 he was the first guest to conduct the Dominican National Symphony Orchestra, when
Manuel Simó was at the helm of this institution. During that season of seven memorable concerts, perhaps the
most significant took place on May 16, 1960, when he directed the Dominican violinist Jacinto Gimbernard,
with works by Ludwig van Beethoven, and on May 20, 1960, the pianist Elila Mena, with Rachmaninoff’s
Con-
certo No. 2
for piano and orchestra.
Pierino Gamba would return to the country in April of the following year to offer four concerts, in one
of which, in addition to conducting, he appeared as a piano soloist in the
Concerto in A minor Op. 16
by Ed-
vard Grieg.
His presence in the country is still remembered for the excellence of his musicianship and his alluring
personality.
In 1956, the most outstanding event of the 16th Anniversary Week of La Voz Dominicana was the televi-
sion broadcast of Pietro Mascagni’s opera
Cavalleria Rusticana
, which included a cast of Dominican perform-
ers, the choir and orchestra of La Voz Dominicana, and conducting by Vito Castorina and José Dolores Cerón,
and which was produced by Pedro René Contín Aybar with technical direction by Freddy Miller.
According to critics, in this first experiment in the country, “[...] the director managed to represent musi-
cal stage work in all its aspects, by means of a magnificent translation of his musical experiences into a visual
plasticity that reached heights beyond what would be conceivable. And this triumph of the ensemble is what
allows us to hope that this first step through the intricate labyrinth of opera will bear fruit in the future.”
In the following year, and in commemoration of the 17th Anniversary Week of La Voz Dominicana (Au-
gust 1, 1957), Giuseppe Verdi’s
La Traviata
was presented from the María Montez studio on Channel 4, in what
was seen as the most brilliant artistic performance in the country, according to local critics.
The cast of Dominican artists was again under the musical direction of Vito Castorina, with a production
by Pedro René Contín Aybar and technical direction by Fredy Miller. The preparation of the singers was head-
ed by the dramatic bass Mario Ferretti, a graduate of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, who
had recently been incorporated into the company lineup.
On November 29, 1958, Vito Castorina conducted opera performances staged by Italian maestro Mario
Ferretti, through La Voz Dominicana, as part of the celebrations for the 160th anniversary of the birth of Gae-
tano Donizetti. Dominican participants included Miley Rodríguez, Violeta Stephen, Tony Curiel, Ana Beatriz
Beato, Armando Recio, Gerónimo Pellerano, Gladis Brens, and Reynaldo Hidalgo, with excerpts from the
operas
Elisir d’Amore
,
La Fille du Régiment
,
Don Pasquale,
and
Lucia di Lammermoor
.
Five years later, Castorina was appointed member of the selection jury of the Musical Contest of the Cen-
The National
Symphony Orchestra
with its director
Roberto Caggiano
in 1951 in the main
hall of the General
Directorate of Fine
Arts, today known
as The Royal Houses
Museum.
© Blanca Delgado
THE ITALIAN LEGACY IN DOMINICAN MUSIC AND CULTURE