Valeria Arzenton: “My work, to feel the energy of Raffaella Carrà”

Born in 1974 in the middle of the green in the province of Padova, when he is 13 years old Valeria Arzenton he spends three summer months in New Jersey at his aunt’s house, where he attends his first concert, that of George Michael, at the Philadelphia Stadium. And perhaps that very day, with that first ticket, he had unwittingly laid the foundations for his future and career. Today she, a Paduan entrepreneur, with her inseparable partner Diego Zabeo, is the owner of Zed Live, the company that promotes and organizes shows and concerts in the Northeast.

And, to get an idea of ​​the extent, we are talking about a company that manages twelve large spaces, four of which are owned, invoices on average 15 million euros a year, with an operating group of about thirty people and in hand the management of about two hundred events a year, including concerts, theatrical performances, cabarets, prizes and various other. Of course, there was the stop imposed by the pandemic, but Valeria Arzeton never stopped, so much so that, precisely in this time limbo, she was awarded the rights of the Spanish film Ballo Ballo – Explode Explode directed by director Nacho Alvarez and dedicated to Raffaella Carrà: the idea is to produce a colossal musical, to be debuted in theaters (not only in Italy) at the end of 2022.

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“We are talking about an international icon, therefore we have a professional obligation to be able to fully represent his spirit, making his energy felt. Raffaella remains our absolute reference “, explains Valeria Arzenton, who, for this musical, made an investment of the order of a few million euros:” It is an Italian excellence that must go out into the world, a made in Italy that makes people vibrate. The team that is already getting to work is made up of passionate people and I have already heard from both Sergio Japino and the director of Dance Dance, who have been able to transmit a part of Raffaella’s strength to us. She collaborated throughout the film, she followed it closely, she was very fond of that project and fell in love with how it was then done ».

But how did you come up with the idea of ​​taking the rights?
“When I saw the film we were in the middle of the pandemic winter and I thought that this product could somehow be the symbol of the relaunch of Italianness: for the songs, for the energy, for the expressive power. I then went hunting for the producer and, after various meetings via zoom and various arguments, I signed that agreement, just a few days before her disappearance. I didn’t know Raffaella was so sick. I had sent her a message on Friday 2 July and her assistant replied that the lady was on vacation and that she would be away until September. On July 5, however, she left. So today I feel a great responsibility, not only professional, but also moral, as if I had the duty to do something that necessarily should have pleased her. I want this musical to respect her in everything, as an artist and as an exceptional person that she was. Now we will start casting, but we will look for freshness, moving away from well-known faces: we must aim for talent above all. To create the perfect product, we have the big name, and it is his, for the rest we need excellence. I knew that she was a very strong woman, but these days I realized that she was an institution: I have already received thousands of messages from Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay ».

And so, in short, now he also produces a musical as well as organizing hundreds of events and managing theaters, arenas and stadiums. But if I asked her what work she does, what would she answer?
“I feel like a dream catcher. In my life I have chosen to follow instinct, I have a creative mind and I always have several projects underway. I like contaminating myself with many things, approaching always different working methods and I am fascinated by absorbing new ideas. It then gives me incredible adrenaline to realize those ideas. When I offer our shows to the public, I always hope they see that there is always passion inside, that there is a part of me. I feel the duty to welcome the public well: theater is a form of catharsis, the show must not be beautiful, everything must be beautiful… ».

Which event are you most proud of?
«For sure this musical by Raffaella Carrà gives me an incredible charge: I feel blessed with luck to be able to follow a project like this. It gave me a lot of satisfaction to have organized the Excellent Women award in Abano Terme: I managed to put together some incredible people and we managed to celebrate femininity and excellence in many different fields. our theatrical performances the language of signs, so as to make the works usable even to those who would risk feeling excluded. But the truth is that I often take pride in the smallest details: now for the Gran Teatro Geox in Padua we have made baths for children, all in Lilliputian format, so that they can feel at ease: I like to know that children we have space in my theaters. The little ones must fall in love with art and entertainment naturally. And it is also for this reason that we always try to make favorable prices for families. Here, it is these attentions that in the end make me most proud of my work ».

You have really organized many concerts, even of great international personalities, I am thinking of Bob Dylan or John Legend just to name a couple. And now, which big international name are you aiming for?
«Eh, there have been so many: from Rem to Roger Waters, from James Taylor to Anastacia, from Goran Bregovic to Marylin Manson. What can I say, now I hope for Coldplay’s return soon. But my thought is not so much about who is on stage, but that everything is fine under the stage. I remember a beautiful lesson that Gianni Morandi gave me when I was a beginner: “Remember that I take care of everything that happens above the stage, that is up to me. You think well about what is in front of us and that it is always at its best ”. Sacrosanct words that I have engraved in my logbook and that I try to pass on to my collaborators too ».

A whirlwind professional life, what about private life?
“There is an English saying: This is no business, but show business. This work is not just work: it enters your DNA, it invades your life. You have your own time zone, you work when it is a party for others, you stay late at night and you are busy especially on weekends. It’s a wonderful job, but it requires a dose of sacrifice, it has its price. A price you need to know you have to pay. And my private life cannot exist if not closely linked with my professional life. That said, I like to do many things: play tennis, travel, read. And I really like writing: if I ever write a book, I already have the title and theme in the drawer: I just wanted to sell my tickets».