Italian actor and New York Film Academy BFA Acting for Film alumnus Gianlorenzo Albertini’s acting, singing and dancing chops caught the eye of the producer of a major hip-hop opera that has been over sixteen years in the making, landing Albertini a part in the first fully-staged production of “ONE: The Hip Hop Dance Musical,” by Walter Robinson, scheduled to premier in Los Angeles in the summer of 2016.
The retelling of the story of Exodus began as “Moses,” a gospel opera first performed in Boston in 1999. The piece was performed in a concert or workshop setting several times over the past twenty years. For the past several months, Robinson has been work-shopping the piece in the Philippines with support of a three-year grant from Steven Spielberg’s Righteous Persons Foundation.
“I feel incredibly thankful and honored for being able to be a part of this project,” says Albertini. “It is very exiting because Walter is the creator and writer, and I was overwhelmed to find out that this was the first fully realized production. I felt compelled to start working with Walter, especially after I read the script. It explores the innocence of the human condition through the seduction of money, drugs and power.”
“I believe God is Love,” says the young actor, who is about to start two months of rehearsals for the production. “‘ONE’ translates various passages of the Bible with a modern and artistic approach that carries along the core of the musical. I appreciate that the musical translates the Bible passages in a modern way that is easily accessible by the young people who are the target audience of the play.”
This isn’t the first time producers and directors have recognized Albertini’s musical gifts. A conservatory-trained classical guitar player, Albertini also lent his composition and performance skills to his own award-winning short film, “Immortality In Blue,” an exploration of Pablo Picasso’s “Blue Period.” Albertini’s guitar performances were also captured along with his performance in the short film “Sound of Silence,” released in 2015.