A young member of the Sistine Chapel Choir photographs a statue of the Virgin Mary and the Infant Jesus at the Detroit Institute of Arts, one of the choir’s “around town” stops in between performances. Dan Meloy | The Michigan Catholic
OK, so Detroit doesn’t have the Palazzo Doria Pamphilj, but the Detroit Institute of the Arts and the newly minted Little Caesars Arena still captured the interest of the Sistine Chapel Choir.
The choir arrived in Detroit on Sept. 22 and took in a Tigers game at Comerica Park. The following day, sporting their Tigers caps, the choir visited the Detroit Institute of the Arts and took a trip to the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn before their Friday night performance at Ste. Anne de Detroit.
“We’re very happy to be here, and we’re enthusiastic to sing in Detroit for this concert,” choir member Michele Marimelli told The Michigan Catholic through a translator. “There are many things here in America, but Detroit is among the most fascinating for us. Nothing was better for us than the baseball stadium. We love Detroit baseball. It doesn’t have a big following in Italy, but that’s why we liked it, it’s unique for us.”
Choir members donned their Detroit Tigers hats as they visited Detroit’s best known locations, such as Little Caesars Arena, Comerica Park and the Detroit Institute of Arts.On Saturday, the choir got a tour of Little Caesars Arena, where they learned the history of the Detroit Red Wings and enjoyed some of the amenities of the new arena, including the video screen in the fan plaza where the singers could see themselves “standing next to” virtual Red Wings on the video board.
“I really enjoyed my time in Detroit,” said singer Riccardo Catapano. “My favorite thing was the Henry Ford Museum, because of the cars, of course, and because there was so much to see like the Rosa Parks bus, the chair of Abraham Lincoln and so on.
“The baseball was fun, too. I was shouting ‘Let’s go Tigers!’”
