The theatre has always been an important part of the cultural life of Italy and, luckily even in the face of stiff opposition from the TV and internet, it still remains today a vital element in the social and cultural tapestry that makes up this country.
But be in no doubt that it is under attack as the sheer speed of images that move across a TV screen or monitor has a fascination that especially in the young is proving to be a powerful attraction.
So, it comes as a pleasant surprise to find that this morning the Teatro dei Differenti was filed with children from infant schools in the area completely immersed and enjoying a form of entertainment that moves at a far slower pace and direction than they would normally be used to -- The Unotheatre with Doctor Bostik -- Dino Arru with Raffaele Arru and the Dottor Bostik puppets presenting “Ho visto il lupo -- I’ve seen the wolf ” loosely based on Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf with large, sculpted wooden puppets taking centre stage.
The scene opens, the audience sees a large wooden slope and hear Prokofiev’s march in B minor, Opus 99. Each piece of scenery is carefully placed on stage to the rhythm of the music. A wood emerges, the house of Peter and his grandfather is built in front of our eyes, a large tree and some flowers take root, the edges of a pond appear. The spectacle takes the form of a large metaphysical painting in which all the instruments from Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf have their place. And thus, accompanied by the music, the puppeteer brings the characters (large, sculpted wooden puppets) on stage.
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The objective that the company tried to achieve with this production, is in many ways, the same as Prokofiev had in mind all those years ago when he created the symphonic fairy tale “Peter and the Wolf”. He wanted to arouse children’s interest, even the smallest ones, in classical music by using a simple story to reveal the sounds of the different instruments to them.
By using sculpted wooden puppets manipulated on stage, the simple story is told purely through images, movement and music, without the use of words. The set inspired by De Chirico’s expression of classicality, plus the strong emphasis given to the music and instruments, together with the customary involvement that the puppeteer Dino Arru and his puppets develop, characterize the interpretation of this well-known story.
As you can hear in the interview with Aldo Tarabella (in Italiano), the show this morning was just one part of an ambitious project “Un teatro per l’infanzia” to put theatre in front of young people right through this area with shows taking place in five local theatres until May.
Aldo Tarabella --
Divide principalmente la sua attività fra la regia e la composizione. Ha scritto per la Royal Academy di Londra, l’Orchestra Sinfonica di Cannes, l’ORT – Orchestra della Toscana, il Festival di Nuova Consonanza di Roma, la RAI-RadioTelevisione Italiana, il Festival dei Due Mondi di Spoleto ed il Mozarteum di Salisburgo. Dopo la collaborazione con il Piccolo Teatro di Milano dove firma, tra le altre, le musiche del Faust-Framenti seconda parte, per la regia di Giorgio Strehler, nel teatro e nel cinema lo ricordiamo col regista russo Nikita Mickalkov per le musiche del film Oci Ciornie e dell’allestimento di Pianola meccanica al Teatro Argentina di Roma con Marcello Mastroianni. Ha composto per Paolo e Vittorio Taviani una suite eseguita a Bruxelles, sotto l’alto patrocinio dell’Ambasciata d’Italia. Frequenti i suoi lavori per il balletto, come le collaborazioni con il coreografo Micha von Hoekhe in Guitare e Voyage.