Olga: a piece of our heart

02/02/2023

Olga: a piece of our heart

A few rays of sunlight shine on the golden domes of the Russian Orthodox Church in Geneva on this last day of January. A large crowd, saddened and weeping faces, wait and then enter the nave to pay their last respects to Olga.

Olga Cheremisina Venzi worked in the Conference Management Division of the United Nations Office at Geneva. No one who ever had the privilege of meeting her will ever forget her.

She was bright, smiling, kind and caring from the very first words we exchanged. It was so easy to become friends with her – you only had to meet her and the connection was immediately and naturally established.

During the ceremony, the priest found the words to convey her endearing personality, encouraging everyone not to enter into vain, futile quarrels and thus miss out on precious and important moments. Her close friends, who had the courage to speak despite the emotion, explained how magnanimous she was on both a personal and professional level.

This extraordinary soul was even more evident during our rehearsals at the Music Club. Olga sang with her deep, warm voice that gently pierced the space. The music and the performance of an artist sometimes send out indescribable vibrations that escape all understanding. Deep connections are made without the need to speak. Olga was undoubtedly an artist.

She had a sense of rhythm and a love of music, and she knew how to lay down her voice, move her body and bring her soul into her performance.

She was so quick-witted, so available and attentive to everyone! How can we bear that she left us so young a few months after having been transfigured by the happiness of welcoming her little daughter?

For Stefano, her husband, for Mila, her daughter, for her family, for her friends, for the musicians who, at the turn of a note, will be filled with her benevolent presence, we are sending her this message to the beyond to try to send back to her a piece of our heart. She knew how to share hers with us so well.

You remain present, next to us in time and space, in our hearts, in our ears and in our lives, dear Olga.

Christian David