VERDI 2001 - PARMA A CITY
ON STAGE
VISCONTI AND VERDI IN PARMA:
the epic of melodrama, from music to cinema
At Palazzo Pigorini in Parma, from November 24, 2001 to January 13,
2002, an exhibition on the great director of Ludwig and his relationship
with Verdi's operas.
A realistic, decadent director who is considered a master. An author
of operas who was a living legend in his own time and is still dear
to the hearts of people everywhere in the world. Luchino Visconti lent
his genius as a director to the staging of many of the operas of Giuseppe
Verdi. It was inevitable that, even a century later, the route travelled
by two personalities who found their means of expression in dramaturgy
should meet at a common intersection. In a radio interview, when asked:
"What is the function of the director towards the melodrama?" Visconti
replied: "Let us hope it is an important one. It is not for me to say,
the public will judge, others will decide whether a director can really
add anything to a melodrama." Intensifying the melodramatic aesthetics,
the director performs an authentic revolution in the world of the opera,
erasing all the previous theatrical conventions and starting over again.
That is how Luchino Visconti approached the direction, on as many as
three occasions, of La Traviata, including the celebrated edition of
1955 with Maria Callas, and also directed Don Carlo twice, Il Trovatore
twice, as well as Macbeth, Falstaff and Simon Boccanegra.
The Department of Culture and the Department of Verdi Celebrations of
the City of Parma, with the Monte di Parma Foundation and with the coordination
of the Cooperativa Edison, devote an exhibition to the director and
his relationship with Verdi.
The material available will make it possible to observe Visconti from
different points of view. The exhibition at Palazzo Pigorini (Strada
Repubblica 29), entitled: "VISCONTIANA, Luchino Visconti and Verdi's
melodramas", is organized by Caterina d'Amico, a veteran of exhibitions
devoted to the director, and will be held from November 24, 2001 to
January 13, 2002.
The exhibition consists of a collection of findings and documents that
testify to the operatic production of the director: photographic documentation,
costume designs, original scenery designs (a particularly interesting
passage because it takes us directly into the imagination of the artist
just when he is trying to mentally organize and illustrate his vision
for others), posters announcing the events and the mythical costumes
worn by the singers, like those of Maria Callas for La Traviata at La
Scala. We discover the creativity of Visconti that extends to his ideas
for the characteristics of the costumes and accessories, celebrated
for a few evenings and then forgotten in the costume warehouse.
The paper documentation is flanked by filmed scenes: there is a retrospective
exhibition of restored films, a selection of film clips showing the
interaction and exchange that arises between his film craft and the
melodrama in films like "Sense", "Obsessione", "Gattopardo", "Rocco
and His Brothers". It is the ideal exhibition for a look beyond the
cloak of his genius.
The catalogue is edited by Mazzotta Editore (Milan). The exhibition
will be open from November 24, 2001 to January 13, 2002, every day from
10 a.m. to 6 p.m. except Monday. Admission is free.
For information contact I.A.T. (Informazioni Accoglienza Turistica),
tel. 0521/218889 - E-mail:
turismo@comune.parma.it
Website: www.comune.parma.it/pigorini/verdi/visconti/stampa
For information for journalists: (REFERENCES NOT TO BE PUBLISHED)
Barbara Pecchini, tel. 0521/218914 - Fax 0521/231142
E-mail: pigorinistampa@comune.parma.it
Carla Soffritti, Ella Studio, tel. 335/8388895
Tel. 0521/504003 Fax 0521/204721 - E-mail:
info@ella.it
To download images in high resolution . jpeg from the website
www.comune.parma.it/pigorini/verdi/visconti/stampa
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