At the Carcano Theater in Milano “The Inspector General” on stage

From November 28 to 3 December 2023

Di Gaia Belloni il 22 Nov, 2023

At the Carcano Theater in Milano “The Inspector General” on stage

Russia, 1836: To control the life and actions of his subjects, Tsar Nicholas I established a new state body called the Third Section. It is a sort of inquisition that pursues and hinders all free thinkers, including Dostoevsky, Pushkin and Gogol himself. In a short time, this system unleashes a process of bureaucratization of the administrative machine and exponentially increases the level of corruption among state officials.

“The Inspector General” is an extremely funny satirical comedy that makes fun of the moral trivialities of those who hold power and consider themselves untouchable. It is perhaps the most analyzed, criticized, misunderstood, defended, opposed work of Russian literature of all time. Gogol himself felt obliged to write several texts that would dispel the misunderstandings that arose when he made his debut.

The plot, in itself, is very linear and is based on a misunderstanding: Khlestakov (Daniele Marmi) he is a frivolous traveler passing through a remote village who is mistaken for a high-ranking state official sent by the tsar to investigate the conduct of city officials. The misunderstanding triggers disastrous consequences for the “notables” of the small village – first of all for the Podestà (Rocco Papaleo) – who will find themselves living the longest and most tragic day of their existence, with the fear of being exposed.

It was not the first time that the everyday abuses of state bureaucrats were depicted on the Russian stage. But all the previous texts were based on the contrast between good and evil, with positive and negative characters. Neither “The Inspector General”, instead, for the first time, the characters seemed to be all negative, and for viewers of the time, this was inconceivable. Even the ending seemed overly ambiguous, both because the triumph of justice and the punishment of the corrupt were not represented on the scene, and because it was not made explicit whether the real inspector general announced in the last scene would carry out justice or behave like the false auditor. In reality, Gogol's text is much more metaphorical than naturalistic and denounces, through laughter and comedy, the corrupt bureaucracy of Tsarist Russia. “The Inspector General” takes you into a world where injustice and abuse dominate existence. But he is not the man who is evil; it's the company that makes it corrupt and corrupting, profiteer, exploiter, cheat.

SHOW SHEET

THE INSPECTOR GENERAL by Nikolai Gogol

Characters and performers

PODESTA Rocco Papaleo
CHLESTAKOV Daniele Marmi
OSIP Giulio Baraldi
WIFE Marta Dalla Via
DAUGHTER Letizia Well done
JUDGE Marco Gobetti
SUPERINTENDENT OF PIE WORKS Gennaro Di Biase
DOBČINSKIJ Michele Schiano di Cola
BOBCHINSKIJ Michele Cipriani
SCHOOL DIRECTORASTICO Marco Vergani
POST OFFICER Marco Brinzi
DOCTOR, WIDOW, WAITRESS Elena Aimone
ATTENDANT, MERCHANT Salvatore Cutrì
PRODUCTION: TEATRO STABLE DI BOLZANO STABLE THEATER OF TORINO THEATRE
NATIONAL and TSV – NATIONAL THEATER

National premiere debut:

Municipal Theatre, 26 October 2023 (reruns until October 29)

Tour: Rome, Quirino Theatre, 31/10-5/11; Trento, Teatro Sociale, 9-12/11; Trieste, Il Rossetti 14-15/11; Verbania, Teatro Maggiore, 17/11; Sanremo (IM), Casino Theatre, 19/11; Pordenone, Teatro Verdi, 21 and 22/11; Pavia, Fraschini Theatre, 24-26/11; Milano, Carcano Theatre, 28/11-3/12; Verona, Teatro Nuovo, 5 – 10/12; Livorno, Goldoni Theatre, 12/12; Treviso, Teatro del Monaco, 15-17/12; Tortona (AL), Civic Theatre, 19-20/12; Udine, Teatro Giovanni da Udine, 22/12
2024 Turin, Carignano Theatre, 9-21/1; Poggibonsi (SI), Politeama Theater 23/1; Pontedera (PI), 27 and 28/1 Padua, Teatro Verdi, 31/1- 4/2; Brescia, Teatro Sociale, 7-11/2; Genoa, Teatro Ivo Chiesa, 14-18/2; Vigevano (PV), Cagnoni Theatre, 20/2; Venice, Goldoni Theatre, 22-25/2; Thiene (VI) 27-29/2