"I have no problem singing with a Russian until she says what Putin is doing is okay."
In the words of Sofiia, a young Ukrainian soprano from the Santa Cecilia Conservatory who today in Rome will have her Russian colleague Anna next to her in the concert for Peace scheduled at the Pantheon, there is all the suffering of this terrible moment.
The girl from the attacking country has no hesitation.
'' Singing with my friend Sofiia is really very important to me.
This concert means that despite everything you can find peace through music ''.
The story of these terrible days divides the two young singing students of the Roman Conservatory but to unite them is the music that at 7 pm, in front of the temple heritage of Humanity, will launch its message against the war between the two countries.
The event, wanted by the Undersecretary for Culture Lucia Borgonzoni, will involve about thirty young musicians of many nationalities directed by the master Michelangelo Galeati.
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What does this concert represent?
'' I will sing the Ukrainian anthem - Sofiia tells ANSA -.
I want to sing it to show that we don't want to be a part of another country.
We have our history.
Ukraine was not created by Lenin as Putin said recently in an interview.
It is not so.
I have studied and I know well that our roots are ancient.
For centuries we have had our culture, our poets.
I want to represent all of this with my anthem.
If there are other Ukrainians attending the concert, I would like them to sing with me. ''
Among the three pieces that she will perform there is also the Stabat Mater by Pergolesi.
'It represents a prayer for not only Ukrainian victims but all victims because we know that so many Russian boys sent to this hell have been killed.
Russian TV doesn't say it, I don't like it but I follow it every now and then.
Our TV talks about four thousand victims between dead and wounded ''.
What does it mean to sing for peace with a young woman from an enemy country?
'' So many Russians who do not enter anything - replies the young woman from Lviv -.
I was curious and I asked my Russian friend if she had noticed anything different than her before her, how they look at what they tell you, if she had changed something towards her about her because she was Russian, the country attacker.
She told me that nothing has changed, just a lot of questions about what she thinks about the war.
Singing with a young woman from a country at war is not strange to me.
I have many Russian friends here in Rome too, I met them and I appreciate them very much.
I have no problem singing with a Russian until she says that what Putin is doing is okay. ''
What news do you get from relatives at home?
'' I talk to my mother, they are locked in the house, they don't go out,
they put sandbags to protect the windows.
There is almost nothing left in the supermarkets.
My family can't leave because their life was building the house, stone by stone.
Many families find themselves in the same situation.
At the moment they are not starting but I think they will be forced to do so. ''
How are you living these days?
When I heard about the war on February 24, I wasn't particularly worried.
For two months now, there had been talk of war.
Then when the news started coming in, I felt terrible.
The bond with my land, only in this way can I explain what I feel ''.
Many families find themselves in the same situation.
At the moment they are not starting but I think they will be forced to do so. ''
How are you living these days?
When I heard about the war on February 24, I wasn't particularly worried.
For two months now, there had been talk of war.
Then when the news started coming in, I felt terrible.
The bond with my land, only in this way can I explain what I feel ''.
Many families find themselves in the same situation.
At the moment they are not starting but I think they will be forced to do so. ''
How are you living these days?
When I heard about the war on February 24, I wasn't particularly worried.
For two months now, there had been talk of war.
Then when the news started coming in, I felt terrible.
The bond with my land, only in this way can I explain what I feel ''.
For Anna, who comes from Moscow, this concert is of particular importance.
''It is a great honor for me.
Since the beginning of the war I have been trying to find a way to express myself.
I am happy that the Conservatory has given me this opportunity because singing with my friend Sofia is really very important to me ''.
What news do you have from your family?
'' I am lucky, my relatives are fine but the news, unfortunately, is not good. We do not know what will happen in the future for us Russians as well.
The only thing left is to hope ''.
What can young people do right now?
'' We young people have to be positive and try to do our best for the future.
As a young musician I will too, make beautiful music that helps support the spirit.
Unfortunately we cannot know what will happen but I hope we will be back in peace soon. ''
(HANDLE).