VERDI 2001 - PARMA A CITY
ON STAGE
"LA TEMPESTA DEL MIO COR"
Melodramatic gesture from the figurative arts
to the cinema
exhibition organized
by Giovanni Godi and Carlo Sisi
Parma, Voltoni del Guazzatoio Palazzo della Pilotta May 5 - July
29 2001
In the sphere of the celebrations for the 100th anniversary of the death
of Verdi, that in the year 2001 will place Parma at the center of international
interest throughout the world of culture, from May 5 to July 29, 2001,
an interesting exhibition will be held in the delightful location known
as Voltoni del Guazzatoio at Palazzo della Pilotta, entitled "LA
TEMPESTA DEL MIO COR. Melodramatic gesture from the figurative arts
to the cinema".
The exhibition, organized by Carlo Sisi and Giovanni Godi, presents
a selected group of works from the 19th and early 20th century, in which
in addition to the quality of the work itself, the sentiment expressed
by the melodramatic gesture is stressed, emphasizing the close relationship
between the figurative arts and theatrical conventions, particularly
those of the opera, that took advantage of both literary and artistic
conventions to obtain the most spectacular effect.
Divided into three sections, with the addition of a fourth devoted to
the carry-over of melodrama into Italian cinema in the post-war period,
the exhibition groups about 70 works by specific themes (including paintings,
sculpture, posters by famous artists and manuals of theory) from important
public and private collections, thus presenting a review of great scientific
interest, but above all capable of visually evoking the canons of the
sentiments of an entire century _ that of Giuseppe Verdi _ until the
eve of the avant gard movements. Among the paintings are works by Francesco
Hayez, Alessandro Guardassoni, Domenico Morelli, Andrea Appiani, Gaetano
Previati; the sculptors include Giovanni Dupré, Achille della
Croce, Emilio Gallori; there are posters from the Salce Collection of
Treviso, by illustrious artists like Marcello Dudovich and Galileo Chini.
In the first section, entitled "The code of the passions: from the
repertoires to the stage photographs", consists of a part made up
of manuals and repertoires that, during the 19th century, coded the
melodramatic expression of the sentiments, that are then rendered explicit
by a gallery of paintings and sculptures that illustrate them in portraits
of singers depicted in some of their most celebrated roles: from Giuditta
Pasta in "Anna Bolena" by Donizetti (by Karl Pavlovic Brjuilov) to Giovanni
David in "Gli Arabi nelle Gallie" by Giovanni Pacini (by Francesco Hayez).
The works in the second section, "Passions in painting", are
distinguished by their specific 'content' depicting the theatrical passions
in all their most fundamental values: the death of lovers, the death
of the hero, contrasting affections (hatred, jealousy, menace, virtue
assailed), the oath, the curse, civil heroism, martyrdom, kidnapping,
patriotic revolt, choral prayer, the 'lost' woman, the letter.
To document the tradition of melodramatic gesture in the early years
of the 20th century, the third section, entitled "Emblems of the
Twentieth Century", shows celebrated posters of operas depicting
the heroes posed in an emblematic attitude for the dramaturgical canon
of the new century and for popular identification of the musical drama
(see "Tosca" by A. Hohenstein or "Parisina" by Plinio Nomellini).
The fourth section is particular fascinating, for it deals with the
theme "Cinema and melodrama": recent studies have examined the
use, in the cinema, of formal aspects drawn from operatic tradition,
and refers to these in videos that present, with appropriate comment,
the most significant examples from films by Visconti, Bolognini, Pasolini,
Bertolucci.
For information contact I.A.T. (Informazioni Accoglienza Turistica):
tel. 0521/218889.
E-mail: turismo@comune.parma.it
Information for the press (REFERENCES NOT FOR PUBLICATON) can be obtained
from:
Press Office/Studio Pesci, tel. 051/269267 - Fax 051/2960748
E-mail: gio@mailbox.dsnet.it
Website: www.giuseppeverdi.it
Press Office Palazzo Pigorini:
tel. 0521/218914 - Fax 0521/231142
E-mail: pigorinistampa@comune.parma.it
Website: www.comune.parma.it
