Winter Olympics opening ceremony was a sleek Italian spectacle, as only they could deliver

The Olympics are back, wearing their lukewarm Winter Games gear. Although determination were volition beryllium a mates of weeks of sports competitions to come, nary are imaginable without an opening ceremony, a operation of solemn authoritative protocol with a fantastic practice of the big country’s civilization and character, evoking the Olympic tone itself. There are fewer opportunities to equine an amusement of this standard — not adjacent a Super Bowl halftime amusement tin compare.

This twelvemonth we are successful Italy, for the bi-metropolitan Milan-Cortina games, held successful the city’s San Siro Stadium and successful the northbound wherever the mountains are. The ceremonies, too, were divided geographically, with Olympic cauldrons successful some cities, with the athletes’ parade further shared with Livigno and Predazzo, nationalist delegations divided according to wherever their events would beryllium held.

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1. Human bobbleheads of Italian composers Rossini, left, Puccini and Verdi. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times) 2. Dancers connected signifier successful San Siro Stadium. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

The main concern took spot successful the arena. Directed by Marco Balich, who specializes successful large shows, it was elegant, successful a sleek, clean-lined Italian way, and implicit the top, besides successful an Italian way. Color played a large part, the programme opening successful achromatic (a balletic mentation of Antonio Canova’s sculpture “Psyche Revived by Cupid’s Kiss”), moving to to achromatic and achromatic (a motion to Fellini’s “La Dolce Vita” and its paparazzi), and past to a riot of color, arsenic elephantine floating tubes of overgarment sent streams of colored cloth stageward.) There were dancing quality bobbleheads of opera composers Verdi, Puccini and Rossini, arsenic if they were mascots for Team Rigoletto, Team Tosca and Team William Tell. There were dancing gladiators and moka pots, a phalanx of runway models dressed (in Armani) successful green, achromatic and red, to correspond the Italian flag.

In achromatic and shiny silver, with an ostrich feather boa and a reported $15 cardinal worthy of diamond jewelry, determination was a statuesque, statue-still Mariah Carey, who is not Italian, but sang successful Italian, the modular “Nel blu, dipinto di blu,” known present arsenic “Volare,” which merged into her ain “Nothing Is Impossible.” (She indispensable by present beryllium accounted a national of the world.) Why did I find this truthful moving? I americium not idiosyncratic who ordinarily cares thing astir Carey, but she was marvelous successful this context.

Mariah Carey performed the Italian tune “Volare,” earlier starring into “Nothing Is Impossible.”

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

The parade of nations is besides a manner show; for immoderate reason, the acold upwind cogwheel is mostly amended looking than the togs of summer. (As usual, Ralph Lauren designed the American outfits — achromatic puffy overgarment with knit caps of a Scandinavian pattern.) As ever, the countries arrived alphabetically (apart from Greece, who ever gets to march first; Italy, coming successful past arsenic the big country; France, successful penultimate presumption arsenic the big of the adjacent Winter Games; and the U.S., 3rd to past arsenic the big of the games, successful 2034, aft that). It makes neighbors of Lebanon, Lichtenstein and Lithuania, and truthful on, adjacent successful lasting if not successful size. (I person a peculiar fondness for the tiny delegations from the little imposing nations.) There was an particularly large manus for the Ukrainian team, dressed successful their nationalist colors.

The 2nd fractional opened with a cartoon successful which an animated Sabrina Impacciatore (of “The White Lotus” and, “The Paper,” which NBC happily did not cross-promote), traveled backward done erstwhile Winter Games earlier coming to beingness to pb an energetic accumulation fig that traveled backmost to now. (She should get immoderate benignant of diversion medal for this performance.) The Chinese pianist Lang Lang accompanied Cecilia Bartoli singing the Olympic anthem, and the large Andrea Bocelli, flanked by strings, offered a thrilling speechmaking of Puccini’s “Nessun Dorma.” Surrounded by dancers, the Italian rapper Ghali work an antiwar poem by Gianni Rodari.

Sabrina Impacciatore starring a radical of dancers during the ceremony.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

The taxable of the evening, and of evenings going forward, it is hoped, was “Armonia,” oregon harmony, not conscionable betwixt the metropolis and the state (expressed symbolically done dance), but, arsenic a bid of speeches made clear, among everybody, everywhere.

“At a clip erstwhile truthful overmuch of the satellite is divided by conflict, your precise beingness demonstrates that different satellite is possible. One of unity, respect and harmony,” said Giovanni Malagò, president of the organizing committee, addressing the athletes. Kirsty Coventry, the archetypal pistillate president of the IOC, noted that portion Olympic athletes are fierce competitors, they “also respect, enactment and animate 1 another. They punctual america that we are each connected, that our spot comes from however we dainty each other, and that the champion of humanity is recovered successful courage, compassion and kindness.”

And past determination was Charlize Theron, of each people, quoting her countryman Nelson Mandela: “Peace is not conscionable the lack of conflict; bid is the instauration of an situation wherever each tin flourish, careless of race, color, creed, religion, gender, class, caste oregon immoderate different societal markers of difference,” This is, of course, precisely what immoderate information of this federation would telephone “woke,” and though specified divisions are not the exclusive state of the United States, it was casual capable to work this arsenic a connection delivered to the White House.

Charlize Theron quoted her chap countryman Nelson Mandela successful her speech.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

Finally, 2 Olympic torches were lit 2 Olympic cauldrons, successful Milan and Cortina, their flames astatine the halfway of shape-shifting spheres. Almost inevitably, the ceremonies flirted with, oregon embraced, corniness astatine times, but adjacent (or especially) erstwhile it was corny, it was terrifically affecting. I ran done fractional a twelve handkerchiefs implicit the people of the proceedings. Admittedly, I mightiness beryllium unusually susceptible to these things, but I uncertainty I’m the lone one.

Let the games begin.