For this year’s very special Italian edition of the Opera Ball — hosted at the Italian ambassador’s Villa Firenze, celebrating composers like Verdi and Rossini, and serving up tons of risotto, mozzarella, gelato and cannoli.
Italian Ambassador Claudio Bisogniero eagerly signed on to host this year’s ball at his official Forest Hills residence because 2013 is, by official proclamation of the Italian government “The Year of Italian Culture in the United States.”