Irpinia owes its artistic creativity, which has led him to be among the most sensitive and innovative theater directors. Roberto Aldorasi, 41, discovered her vocation by assisting to the traditional Flight of the Angel by Gesualdo, a custom that has been handed down for centuries. Thus he undertakes the path aimed at giving the theatrical representation a connotation of mystery about the movements of the human soul, in a contemporary key. His artistic vision of him leads him to move to Denmark, where he acquires an original modus operandi, which emerges from the experimentation of languages closer to the complexity of the existential condition of the third millennium. He has curated the choreography of Don Carlos for Giorgio Barberio Corsetti, directed by Valerij Gergiev, at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, he collaborated on Macbeth, on stage at La Scala. He is the director of Don Quixote, with Alessio Boni, Marcello Prayer and Serra Ylmaz, the Turkish actress known for being among the interpreters of Ozpetek’s films. He is also the artistic director of Parthenium Calling, the mountain festival promoted by the Partenio Park. Aldorasi, how did your passion for theater start?
«From two elements, typical of Irpinia folklore. On the one hand, there is the charm of the party, in a popular sense, with many people gathered around an artistic or religious moment. The other aspect is the journey, the desire to know new worlds, understood not only as places, but also as inner dimensions. The theater allows you to follow emotional itineraries, to look beyond appearances, to grasp the most hidden impulses ».
Was there a decisive event in your choice?
«As a kid I attended the Flight of the Angel in Gesualdo. It is a ritual linked to tradition, which symbolizes the eternal struggle between good and evil. Seeing the stage machine enchanted me, and I understood that art would be my future “
Do you remember what your first approach to theater was?
«I started with a company, born from the meeting with other young people from Avellino. We bought a van, and we were staging the Irpinia fairy tales, written by Aniello Russo. For several summers we traveled far and wide, we had fun and let our imagination fly with the traditional tales of the territory ».
When did you take the plunge?
«After attending the Castellarte festivals and attending the 99 Posti di Mercogliano Theater. It was fortunate to have a theater available. For whole days, we dedicated ourselves to the scenic setting, at night, we thought about the sets, to assemble and disassemble. I understood that my role was as a director rather than as an actor, always having an overview of a work ».
What prevented her from acting?
«Not feeling myself inside the show. I had an overall vision of a scenic narrative, the stage gave me discomfort. I felt the need to create a connection on the emotional impulses to be transferred to the actors ».
What enriched your cultural background?
“During my university years, I liked going to theaters, and I saw truly extraordinary artists at work, such as Emma Dante, Antonio Latella. In 2006, I decided to move to Denmark, to study in Eugenio Barba’s group. It was a crucial meeting for my artistic life. I founded the company These Ghosts & Son. Thus was born my first show, Instruction Manual, which changed my path, making its debut at the Edinburgh Festival ».
What is the essence of the theater?
«It is a craft in which there is an artisan aspect, which you also learn from other artists. There is an exchange of intellectual energy, a fine-tuning of the character, sewing the scenic features on him. The other aspect concerns the soul, feelings, emotions. For introspection, anyone can be a source of inspiration, with the personality and inner qualities of him. It is necessary to know how to read the heart of those in front of us ».
His Don Quixote continues the reruns in the main Italian theaters with great success.
«The idea for the show was by Alessio Boni, who is the protagonist. For my part, I added contemporary nuances to the classicism of Cervantes’ story. The chivalrous world has been enriched with echoes from Irpinia. We have included the wind, the landscapes, the references between the sacred and the profane, typical of the territory ».
What is the secret to narrating a character?
«Escape from immediate likes, privilege apprenticeship, enter the soul of the character. This also happened for the show dedicated to the Prince of Musicians, Carlo Gesualdo. Francesco Niccolini’s dramaturgy was staged by digging into the controversial soul of a genius who wants to atone for his guilt with the spirituality of his music “
With Parthenium Calling he has created a series of shows and contemporary art exhibitions in different Irpinia countries.
«I needed to make a provocation, not only as an author and director of shows. We live on outdated formulas, where there is a need to innovate the cultural offer. I believed I could overcome the cultural declinations of industrial civilization with new models, with zero environmental impact, to favor a different approach to nature «.
An open-air theater?
“Not only that, experiencing nature among the night lights, with theatrical performances. Our territory lends itself a lot to applying a sort of ecology of the soul, a purification that comes from spirituality, but also from a purer and more intimate contact with the environment ».
In your opinion, why did the novelty work?
«We have recovered the magic of places, inserting in their traditions, such as Juta that starts from Ospedaletto, languages closer to contemporary sensibility. Irpinia is the land of great challenges, and has always shaped my work, with its natural and human landscapes ».
Roberto Aldorasi: “I live the stage as if I were a craftsman”