They Really Are the World

The Rome-based Orchestra of Piazza Vittorio isn't like a conventional symphony. For one thing, its members, who hail from 11 countries and speak eight different languages, don't all play regular orchestral instruments. The lineup for the orchestra's first U.S. West Coast tour features a Cuban flugelhorn player, a Senegalese djembe player, and an Andean flute player from Hungary, to name a few of the more unlikely participants. For another, the orchestra's one-night-only engagements in San Francisco, Santa Cruz, and Los Angeles follow an unusual format, combining live music with a movie screening. Directed by Italian filmmaker Agostino Ferrente, the feature-length The Orchestra of Piazza Vittorio takes us on a journey to the Piazza Vittorio in Rome, circa late 2001, where local resident and musician Mario Tronco comes up with a plan to save an historic local theater from ruin by transforming it into a multicultural venue with a 25-piece resident orchestra. If the musicians' diverse backgrounds, the odd assortment of instruments, and the evening's multimedia structure aren't enough to merit curiosity, the fact that the tour is presented by a subdivision of movie rental giant Netflix ought to push the event's bizarro credentials through the roof. (If you miss the concert, the film will be available for instant download on Netflix starting Oct. 23.)
Tue., Oct. 9, 7:30 p.m., 2007