In the age of internet, play stations, game cubes, MP3's, cell phones and huge animated full length films at the cinema, is there still a space in the repertoire of things that amuse children for a puppet show? How about a puppet show dating back (almost) unchanged for over 200 years?
Hmmm, difficult call, especially when the puppet show is on for one night only and partly hidden at the far end of the car park area below Barga Vecchia but last night the Gran Teatro dei Burattini by the Niemen brothers proved that they are match for anything that the modern world can throw at them.
They are the last traditional puppet show in Piemonte still working the piazzas of Italy in the same way that they have done for the last 7 generations.
The traditional puppets of Gianduia, Brighella, Tartaglia, Testafina and Giacometta were all there in their finery and performing the same xenophobic, racist, violent, chauvinist, un-politically-correct wonderful magic that has entranced kids of all ages for generations (their posters proudly proclaim "do not miss the show with rich scenery and splendid costumes for all children from 2 – 90 years old – you will leave enthusiastic"
I Niemen, antica famiglia circense radicatasi in Piemonte, sono gli ultimi continuatori di quello che un tempo era indicato come il trattenimento del Gianduja. Da oltre 150 anni i Niemen portano in scena un repertorio pressoché inalterato, in cui Gianduja assume un ruolo determinante e risolutore. Tra i titoli figurano alcuni "classici" del teatro dei burattini diffusi in tutta l'Italia settentrionale, come L'acqua miracolosa o Il guardiano dei morti, che i Niemen, generazione dopo generazione, hanno riplasmato sull'ímmagine della maschera piemontese.
I Niemen: le loro imprese sono a semplice conduzione familiare, ma è proprio la famiglia il loro punto forza, essendo i Niemen una delle dinastie di burattinai tra le più ramificate. E ancora oggi direttamente dall'Ottocento portano sulle piazze d'Italia la salacità di Gianduja di Callianetto, mantenendo viva una tradizione plurisecolare. Their site is here (including a small video )
Moves are afoot this morning to see if the Gran Teatro dei Burattini can be invited back next year, this time inside the castle for a repeat performance. Fingers crossed.
Spotted in the audience last night was Amy Luckenback, the founder of the TeatroMinimo puppet based theatre in Florence enjoying every moment of the show with her grandchildren just as entranced as her. Amy was last working here in Barga with her puppets during the summer of 2004 (article with many images from her breathtaking show here )
In 1996 Amy Luckenback created Teatro Minimo, a Florence based puppet theatre, whose work is a collaboration between the world of puppetry and that of music. In July of the same year the 52nd edition of the Settimana Musicale Senese saw the debut of this theatrical company with A-ronne, the result of a collaboration between Luciano Berio and Amy Luckenbach. A-Ronne subsequently appeared at the Venice International Festival of Contemporary Poetry, the Semoneta Festival, the Milano-Musica Festival (for La Scala), and the Festival Présences in Paris. The group's second production, Novissimum Testamentum: un ritratto di Edoardo Sanguineti based on Sanguinetti's poetic self-portrait in verse, premiered at the Piccolo Regio of Turin for "Settembre Musica", and subsequently has been performed in conjunction with A-Ronne at Centro Tempo Reale (Florence), the Palazzo delle Esposizioni (Rome) for the Association Amici di Santa Cecilia, the Festival of New Music of Macerata, and the Festival Internazionale Musica y Escena di citta del Messico. In 1999 the groups' production of Paisiello's "Serva Padrona" was presented by Teatro Comunale of Florence at Teatro Goldoni. Their productions for children include Histoire de Babar, La Boîte a Joujoux , and Il Fannullone e il Pesce Magico. The Accademia Bartolomeo Cristofori of Florence, "Artigianato e palazzo" in Florence, and Santa Cecilia's program of theatre for children have all played host to Teatro Minimo. In May of 2001 Fantasy Sketches, a collaboration of Amy Luckenbach and Maurice Sendak with music by Wolfgang Mozart had its world premiere at Santa Cecilia in Rome. In June this production will move to New Haven, CT to participate in the International Festival of Arts and Ideas. Future productions are currently being developed and include collaborations with Luciano Berio, Phillip Glass, Betty Olivero, and Maurice Sendak. (Teatro Minimo site here)
Click on the link below to hear a small portion of the show last night
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