Turandot

Association Grupporiani - City of Milan - Culture - Theatre Convenzionato
"Next laboratory of ideas", a project of the Lombardy Region

Marionette Company CARLO COLLA & SONS

adaptation of Eugenio Monti Colla Marionette
directed by Eugenio Monti Colla
from an idea from 'Association Lilopera
in two and five paintings from the homonymous lyric drama
Booklet Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni
homonym theatrical fable by Carlo Gozzi
duet and final scene completed by Franco Alfano
Music Giacomo Puccini

puppeteers: Eugenio Monti Colla, Franco Citterio, Maria Grazia Citterio, Piero Corbella, Camillo Cosulich, Debora Coviello, Decio Carlo, Cecilia Di Marco, Titian Marcolegio, Sheila Perego John Schiavolin, Paul Seven

music consulting Danilo Lorenzini
costumes Eugenio Monti Colla and Cecilia Di Marco, made by the Association tailoring Grupporiani and inspired by the original sketches by Umberto Brunelleschi
sculptures Franco Citterio and Paolo Seven
masks Debora Coviello, Fabrizio Palla and Giovanni Schiavolin
set and lighting Franco Citterio
technical direction Titian Marcolegio

The Compagnia Carlo Colla and Sons is one of the largest and oldest companies existing puppets in the world. Established in 1835, the company, orgine of Milan, is an expression of the happy union of exquisite craftsmanship and extraordinary talent that typically characterize our historical heritage and national art. By assembly operations, adaptation and dressing of puppets, to the musical arrangements and dubbing of the voices, everything is taken care of in the name of a tradition that does not fail to renew itself.
starting point of the new layout was the discovery of the original sketches drawn by Umberto Brunelleschi for the first edition of Turandot in 1926, deposited with the Historical Archive Memories but never realized for the La Scala debut. And it is precisely from these beautiful designs that the company began its work: it was impossible to achieve so rich costumes for humans, perhaps for the puppets the company could groped. about a hundred costumes were made, four of which are different versions of Turandot. For every new dress, a new puppet was sculpted and painted five scenes with props and objects. This year there will be no spoken parts to make a link in the story. The music was in fact entirely entrusted with the understanding of the famous story of the cruel princess who denies love. On stage will hear the voices of Maria Callas, Eugenio Fernandi, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf directed by Tullio Serafin in the historical edition of 1958.

"The theater of puppets at the appearance of the post-romantic and dramatic issues of world connected to it, had respectfully stopped. Themes too important and painful for the wooden heads and their express a little mechanical and repetitive. So Puccini's world had always been preserved from any incursion. But how resist the irrepressible charm and the numerous difficulties Turandot? beyond any temptation, there is still an atmosphere of fairy tale, with its fair share of cruelty and death, c ' is a great despairing unrequited love that requires self-sacrifice, there are a closed Prince in blind selfishness of his passion and a haughty princess who denies the joy of love. Especially there is a music made of light and shadow, obsessive, rich in colors, poignant and full of mystery.
How to resist the desire, albeit cocky, to see how much of this the world of puppets will appear on the scene with respect and enthusiastic faith? "
Carlo Colla and Sons