The Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County will present, in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Primo Levi, But When We Started Singing… The performance will take place on Sunday, June 9 at 2 p.m at Welwyn Preserve, 100 Crescent Beach Road in Glen Cove. This one-man performance, conceived and performed by Bob Spiotto, is inspired by the life and poetry of Holocaust survivor and world renowned author and poet and Italian-Jew, Primo Levi (1919-1987).
Robert Spiotto is a creative, artistic and management professional who has worked in arts and entertainment for more than 30 years. He holds a BFA in theater performance from Hofstra University and a MFA in directing from the Catholic University of America. Spiotto is currently the director of programs and special events at New York’s famous Friar’s Club. Previously, he served as the first executive/artistic director of the historic Suffolk Theater.
Prior to this, Spiotto worked at Hofstra University (1990-2012) as executive producer and artistic director for Hofstra Entertainment, artistic director of community arts programs for the Hofstra Cultural Center, and director and producer of special events. He served on the faculty of Hofstra’s School of Continuing Education, taught classes for Hofstra’s summer camps, and was an adjunct professor in their school of communication, as well as Hofstra’s New College. Spiotto has received awards from Hofstra University for his distinguished service and teaching accomplishments.
Spiotto has directed hundreds of theater productions at various regional and professional theaters, schools and universities, as well as for various organizations and companies. He has also created and appeared in numerous one-man shows exploring the lives of P.T Barnum, Giuseppe Garibaldi, Primo Levi Michaelangelo, Sholom Aleichem, and others. A trio of his critically acclaimed one-man musical tributes include “That’s Amore: A Tribute to Mr. Hollywood Musical Harry Warren,” “Shades of Grey: A Musical Tribute to Joel Grey,” and “Courting the Jester: A Salute to Danny Kaye,” which was re-worked and presented at Lincoln Center.
Primo Levi was born in Turin, Italy in 1919 to a family of assimilated and fairly non-religious Jews with Spanish roots. In 1943, he joined a band of partisans devoted to fighting Germans and Italian fascists. Levi spent 10 months at the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz and was liberated in 1945. In 1977, he retired from his position as manager of a chemical factory in Turin, devoting himself exclusively to writing until the time of his controversial death on April 11, 1987 in the apartment building where he was born and eventually took up residence. Levi is known for his novels and poetry collections such as “If This is a Man,” “The Periodic Table,” “If Not Now, When,” and “The Drowned and the Saved.”
There is a $10 suggested donation to attend the event. Light refreshments will be served. Seats are limited; reservations are recommended. RSVP to 516-571-8040 or info@hmtcli.org.
