Precious performances on a dazzling night as MSC Preziosa is christened

Screen goddess comes nowhere near to describing the appeal of Sophia Loren to her fellow Italians, and it is no surprise that MSC invites her back time after time when they launch a new cruise ship.
MSC Preziosa, christened on Saturday, is the 12th ship for which she has been called upon to act as godmother.
There is no doubt she does it with style and grace. But it is also clear that, at the age of 78, she remains very much a diva. And I would be prepared to bet that not everything was going her way as the big moment drew near.
From my seat half way back in the temporary theatre erected on the quayside in Genoa, it looked for a while as if she wasn’t quite sure what she was expected to do or where she was required to stand. You might have thought that after 11 previous ships, she would not need to be shown the ropes.
She was having a heated exchange of words (above) with MSC chairman Gianluigi Aponte and Preziosa’s captain, Giuliano Bossi, on whose arm she had arrived on stage. And the master of ceremonies intervened to stop her cutting the ribbon before he had finished his countdown.
Despite the diva moment, and the pouring rain, everything went to plan. The bottle of Lanson Champagne broke on Preziosa’s starboard bow, confetti was blasted into the air and a barrage of fireworks lit up the night sky like a cascade of crystals.
To build up the excitement and the emotion the audience had been treated to performances by veteran Genoese singer Gino Paoli, the ship’s energetic acrobats, a troupe of young ballerinas from the Genoa Russian Ballet College dancing a sequence from Swan Lake, and the 55-piece Roma Sinfonietta conducted by maestro Ennio Morricone.
They provided the interludes between speeches from local dignitaries, the company’s top executives, and ballet star Roberto Bolle, a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador speaking on behalf of MSC’s support of the campaign to raise funds for disadvantaged children in the favelas of Brazil.
MSC Splendida and MSC Opera danced their own ballet in tribute to the fleet’s new arrival, taking part in a laser light show with echoes of Spielberg’s Close Encounters – not too close though.
On Sunday, festivities over, MSC Preziosa departs on a seven-night maiden voyage to ports in Italy, Tunisia, France and Spain.