The foundation Inda, the National Institute of Ancient Drama, inaugurated the shows ‘Orestea’ second act, a multimedia exhibition curated by Marina Valensise, under the supervision of the director Davide Livermore, born on the occasion of the centenary of the staging of the ‘Coefore’ by Aeschylus, which took place in 1921 with the artistic direction of Ettore Romagnoli, the sets and costumes by Duilio Cambellotti, the music and choirs by Giuseppe Mulè. Starting with the collection of Unpublished photography by Angelo Maltese and thanks to archival documents and at new audiovisual technologies, the exhibition tells the origins of the Inda and the way of producing a theatrical performance at the beginning of the twentieth century. The exhibition, curated by Carmelo Iocolano and Elena Servito, is divided into three sections.
The first is dedicated to the protagonists of the resumption of classical representations at Greek Theater of Syracuse after the Great War and the Spanish epidemic: the Count Mario Tommaso Gargallo of Castel Lentini, which federated around itself the living forces of the city of Syracuse to revive the Greek Theater, thearchaeologist Paolo Orsi who guaranteed the protection of the monument, the Greek scholar Ettore Romagnoli who directed the shows, the composer Giuseppe Mulè and theartist Duilio Cambellotti who wrote the music and designed the sets and costumes. The second section exhibits a selection of 44 photographs of the same show from 1921, taken by the Syracusan photographer Angelo Maltese during the performances at the Greek Theater in April 1921.
Finally, entering the ‘Space of Time’, the visitor of the exhibition will be able to watch the projection of a video made by Alain Parroni with Threeab and immerse himself in theatmosphere of the Greek Theater of a hundred years ago: the images of the salient moments of the second act of ‘Orestea’, with the colors of the sets and costumes of Cambellotti, while the actors of 1921, taking today the voices of the students of theInda Academy of Art of Ancient Drama, recite some of Aeschylus’ verses and sing the choirs of the Coefore, under the direction of Maestro Marco Podda.
Finally, at the end of the video, the voice of Stefano Santospago plays an excerpt from the speech given a hundred years ago at the Greek Theater of Syracuse by Vittorio Emanuele Orlando, envoy of the Giolitti government. At the inauguration of the exhibition, present among the mayor of Syracuse Francesco Italia, president of the Inda Foundation, the superintendent of the Inda foundation Antonio Calbi, while July 19 is expected in the capital of Arezzo President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella.
(by Enzo Bonaiuto)