Institutional portal - Municipality of Milan

Rabaiotti and Del Corno: “The perfect set for a 'popular theater' itinerary that intends to make our homes its scenography and the inhabitants its protagonists”

Milan, September 19 2019 – The theatrical idea is suggestive: the district of public housing will act as a scenography, the galleries of the first three floors as a stage, the large internal courtyard as an audience audience. The underlying idea is to nourish and branch out opportunities for knowledge and social aggregation in working-class neighborhoods, often far from the mix of lively Milanese offerings, and to do so with the direct involvement of the people who live there.

With an installation created by the Association for MITO ONLUS as part of the ClassicAperta review, in the courtyard of the block of flats in via Cesana/Palmanova/Tarabella on the evening of next Saturday, 21 September, the lyrical comedy I due timidi, composed by Nino, will be staged Rota in 1950, originally conceived for radio broadcast and two years later adapted for the theatre. The collaboration of MM, which manages the council-owned public housing, and the contribution of the Zampa Foundation, in addition to that of Esselunga, also made its creation possible, as part of LaCittàIntorno, the urban regeneration program of the Cariplo Foundation.
The musical part is entrusted to the Symphony Orchestra of the Vivaldi Conservatory, directed by Marcello Rota. The orchestral players, as well as the soloists and singers, are students and teachers of Vivaldi while the direction is by Luca Valentino, creator and artistic director of the international festival of opera and musical theater Scatola sonore.

“Via Cesana, a stone's throw from Parco Lambro and Via Palmanova, becomes the perfect set for a stage machine that brings an opera by the great composer Nino Rota and a quality orchestra away from the traditional places dedicated to the performance of this kind, but very close to the citizens – declare the councilors Gabriele Rabaiotti (Social and housing policies) and Filippo Del Corno (Culture) –. This sharing of music and words, gestures and meanings is precisely the ultimate meaning of any musical and theatrical show: a tool for weaving community bonds. The context of the houses in Palmanova/Cesana/Tarabella undoubtedly gives further value to the show and we hope that all the tenants can appreciate it and get involved. We hope that the Association for MITO Onlus will be available to explore other courtyards with us and to build a 'popular theatre' itinerary that makes our homes its setting and the inhabitants its protagonists".

“ClassicAperta – intervenes Margherita del Favero, president of the Association for MITO ONLUS – is the project that best summarizes the spirit of the Association for MITO ONLUS and has the aim of making classical music accessible to everyone. The valorization of decentralized areas through classical music, culture, beauty: the universal language of music to harmonize cultural diversity and overcome social barriers, with the involvement of the inhabitants of the neighborhood".

The action takes place in a suburban building, where the story of two young lovers is told between shops, tenants and caretaker. Around them, the whole world of those who live in those houses and experience them day after day moves, a crossroads of stories that the director wanted to be returned to the public in the most realistic way possible, also involving around twenty current tenants in the theatrical performance. of all ages, recruited a few days ago as extras during a casting.

Together with them, an actor and ten singers will go on stage, accompanied by the music of around fifty orchestra members who will find space at the foot of the building. Twelve apartments, between the ground and second floors, will be made available for the show, becoming an integral part of the scenography, and their balconies, which all overlook the internal courtyard, will serve as as many stages.

The opera, in a single act, will be staged on the evening of Saturday 21 September, starting at 20pm (the general rehearsals will be held tomorrow, Friday, at the same time). Entrance, from via Bruno Cesana 3, is free but reservations are required on Eventbrite. The courtyard has a capacity of approximately 300 seats. Journalists can find useful information about the show on the website Association for MITO ONLUS.