Vicenza, success for the 77th Cycle of Classical Performances at the Teatro Olimpico.

It ended on 77th Cycle of Classical Performances at the Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza, the first of the two-year period with the artistic direction Ermanna Montanari and Marco Martinelli dedicated to the "Choir": a month of intense programming, with shows and meetings offered from September 20th to October 20th, preceded by the majestic prologue of the Meredith Monk concert on May 1st.

The program was divided into 10 shows (for a total of 14 performances) of which 3 absolute premieres, 1 national premiere, 1 regional premiere, 3 public calls and 7 in-depth meetings at Palazzo Cordellina; it saw 213 artists on stage and 106 were the participants in the public calls (Festa Silenzio in the Basilica Palladiana and Purgatorio dei Poeti at the Teatro Astra).

On average, each of the 14 performances at the Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza was attended by approximately 330 people, for a total of almost 4.600.

The audience of spectators under 30 represented approximately 15% of the total and 50% of those present at the theatre were under 50 years of age; There were approximately 250 students from secondary schools in Vicenza, Schio, Possagno and Treviso, accompanied to the theatre by their teachers; of the total spectators, 80% came from Vicenza and its province. 65% of viewers buy online.

Numerous national newspapers, as well as local ones, announced the series and reviewed the shows. Among the national ones, we can mention Corriere della Sera, Repubblica with Il Venerdì, Il Sole 24 Ore with La Domenica, Avvenire, Manifesto, Espresso and Il Foglio.

«Ermanna Montanari and Marco Martinelli have managed to build a disruptive and very high-level first edition, giving indelible memories to those who were in the hall – comments the councilor for culture, tourism and attractiveness of the city Ilaria Fantin -. They involved the city in a chorus whose reverberations we still feel, carrying the name of Vicenza very far away. And for this I thank all those who contributed to the realization of this Cycle. An exciting, choral work, built in the direction of the public, with an international, new and overwhelming scope. An edition that saw an excellent quality of the shows, in what was in fact an almost sold out».

The Teatro Olimpico also hosted the show Pluto – God of Gold by Marco Martinelli performed by young actors from Pompei, Torre del Greco, Castellammare di Stabia, Torre Annunziata and Vicenza in a regional premiere on Friday 11 October. The initiative is part of the theatrical project “Sogno di volare” curated by the Archaeological Park of Pompeii with the aim of involving the local community in the cultural life of the UNESCO site. In fact, about three hundred boys and children from the Vesuvian area, where the risk of school dropout, unemployment and youth emigration is still felt, have participated as actors, musicians and scriptwriters in some shows. In recent months, the international star Madonna, visiting the archaeological area, met some of the young protagonists and decided to finance the project.

The strong message that emerged in the cycle is the value of the shows brought on stage and their universal language, with archaic myths shaking the consciences and sensibilities of men and the international scope of the festival, as well as in the extraordinary productions Duet Behavior by Meredith Monk & John Hollenbeck and Oresteia by Theodoros Terzopoulos, acclaimed in Vicenza, it resonates in the prestigious awards given to Alessandro Serra's new show Tragùdia, which was presented at the Teatro Olimpico as an absolute premiere, in a site-specific version.

During the recent 64th International Theatre Festival MESS in Sarajevo, it received the Golden Laurel Wreath awards for best show (Tragùdia), best director (Alessandro Serra), best actress (Chiara Michelini) and the Radio Sarajevo “Sound of MESS” Award for music. Song and ancient text as a channel of connection with a higher and more collective dimension of knowledge continue to resonate beyond the Oedipus scene, beyond Palladio's theatre.

The “chorus”, understood as the founding root of the theatre, It was the guiding image that marked the new edition of the Classical Performance Cycle and the project that led to its realization in a very short time was choral (the appointment of the new artistic directors was announced in mid-February).

The new edition has brought the idea of ​​theatre of the two artistic directors, Ermanna Montanari and Marco Martinelli, leading figures in contemporary creation, a couple of art and life, founders of the Teatro delle Albe and Ravenna Teatro, to go beyond the confines of the Teatro Olimpico stage and inhabit the places of the city, such as the Basilica Palladiana, the Teatro Astra and the Biblioteca Bertoliana, involving citizens and artists of various generations, also through joyful public calls in theatres and multiplying the debate and discussion on theatre, theatre criticism and scenic art during the numerous meetings (Autumn Parliaments and Lost Illusions?).

To amplify this widespread dimension of the festival, a cultural excellence that has never stopped questioning the role of the classics in contemporary times, a multitude of voices from top-level international artists contributed, a “chorus” that built an edition of the Classics that is vibrant and unique in its message. The participatory program has become "a revealing mirror of the polis, a close inlay between word, music and dance that, from the Athens of the 5th century, has never stopped revealing itself to the humanity of the 21st century, to multiply in the crucial node life-scene", involving the audience in a very intense dimension of spectacle, as demonstrated by the numerous standing ovations given to the creators and performers.

The names of the artists are Meredith Monk, Theodoros Terzopoulos, Alessandro Serra, Evelina Rosselli, Serena Sinigaglia, Giovanni Lindo Ferretti, Francesco Giomi, Daniela Pes, Mariangela Gualtieri, Abdullah Miniawy, Ndox Electrique, RYF, Serena Abrami and Enrico Vitali, and, of course, Ermanna Montanari and Marco Martinelli.

The 2024 edition of the Classics Cycle was promoted by the Municipality of Vicenza with the Accademia Olimpica, the Biblioteca Civica Bertoliana and the Veneto Region, created with the artistic coordination of La Piccionaia Centro di produzione teatrale, the general coordination of the Fondazione Teatro Comunale Città di Vicenza and with the Media partnership of Rai Radio3.

As regards productions, the Classics Cycle has availed itself of collaborations with National Theatre of Greece, Sardinia Theatre, Bellini Theatre, Emilia Romagna Theatre ERT-National Theatre, Fondazione Teatro Due Parma, Compagnia Teatro Persona, I Teatri di Reggio Emilia, PAV production, AMAT, Municipality of Pesaro, Gruppo Uror, Archaeological Park of Pompeii, Ravenna Festival, Teatro di Napoli-National Theatre, Fondazione Teatro Stabile del Veneto-National Theatre, Tempo Reale, significantly expanding the reference theatrical network.

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