La Divina Commedia

 

The Devine Comedy by Dante Alighieri is considered to be the greatest epic poem to come out of Italy. It is made up of 100 cantos and 14233 verses. The poem represents the culmination of the medieval world-view and is divided into three sections, Inferno or Hell, Purgatory where souls go to be purified before they can venture into Heaven, and Paradise or Heaven where god and the Virgin Mary live. . It is a highly complex work in which the structure is mathematically determined and the language is of a Tuscan origin and helped set that dialect as the Italian standard of speech and writing.  You might think it should be called a tragedy but that title was reserved for works written in Latin. So what we have is a “comedy”, or a work written in everyday language, which contemplates the way the universe is set up and the importance of love, in that love only exists in Paradise.

Any sane person would think making a representation of this monumental often impenetrable work, was a hellish proposition. But not the artists who collaborated on La Divina Comedia L’Opera and who delivered a spectacle to enchant the ears, eyes and heart.
Like its source material the opera that results is also monumental, lasting 3 hours. It has a cast of sixty, 24 singers, 20 ballet dancers, and 10 acrobats plus six leading actors with a Griffin thrown in for good measure.. They auditioned 2500 applicants and choose the all-Italian cast    It has played in Rome before 150,000 and is now playing in Milan. I hope it travels the world

The skills of all the participants are first rate, great singing, impressive dances, enthralling gymnastics, and a gorgeous mise-en scene. The often- thrilling music was composed by Marco Frisina. The soaring score runs the gamut between Gregorian chant to blues and rock and roll. The libretto is by Gianmario Pagano by way of Dante. The choreography is by Anna Cuocolo and gymnastic choreography by Francesca Romana Di Maio.  The set is by Antonio Mastromattei and consists of a revolving ring which can be raised or lowered to create uphill roads, 16- plus hanging pieces of cloth, a huge cyclorama against which are projected, truly amazing and impressive moving artwork designed by projection designer Paulo Micciche. The gorgeous costumes (600 of them) are by Alberto Spiazzo and the versatile lighting design is by Maurizio Mottobbio. All this takes maestro Marco Frisina and two directors, Elizabetta Marchetti and Daniele Falleri to create this remarkable pop opera.

The leading actors are Vittorio Matteucci, a  full-voiced well-known singer, as Dante, Lalo Cibelli with a wonderful basso voice as Virgil, Manuel Zanier as a powerful Francesca, and sweet-voiced Stefania Fratepietro as Dante’s beloved Beatrice. All the singers had rich expressive voices.

Special mention must be made of the creator of the fantastical creatures including The Fates, Satan Himself, and the above-mentioned Griffin. All these were designed by Oscar –winning (E.T. Extraterrestrial, King Kong, Alien) Carlo Rambaldi and executed by Sergio Stivaletti

There are nine Circles of Hell, The Terraces of Purgatory, and the Spheres of Heavento get through but it is well worth the trip. The story is difficult to comprehend at times even for Italians. I don’t even speak Italian but I thoroughly enjoyed it. The creative team are people from Television, Film, Theatre, Opera, Special Effects, Ballet Companies etc who have put together a fantastical spectacle.
Only in Italy Ciao