Pozzi
projects
Scenography
THE FANTASTIC WIZARD OF OZ
The flagship production, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, returns to the stage after five years of performances at the Teatro Alfieri from November 19th to 21st (school performances November 17th and 18th at 10:00 a.m.). The show features the Compagnia Torino Spettacoli, the Liceo Teatro Nuovo, and the Coro Nuove Voci Ensemble, all sung and performed live.
The text by Germana Erba and Franca Dorato is loosely based on the novel by Lyman Frank Baum. The original music is by Bruno Coli; choreography and direction are by Franca Dorato. The Wizard of Oz is brought to life through a combination of prose, song, and dance, in a visually striking setting. The production, created by Fondazione Teatro Nuovo and Torino Spettacoli, draws on the artistic resources of this unique institution in Italy: on the scenographic level, the production relies on the teaching artists at the TNT High School for the stage design, with its rich, bold colors, in keeping with the images that resonate with the collective sensibility; on the acting level, the finest talents from the Fondazione Teatro Nuovo's educational department are involved, led by professional actors and dancers, forming a cast with delightful narrative and spectacular synergies.
The director and choreographer's stylistic signature employs an interdisciplinary approach to evoke a celebrated and beloved story, yet one that remains to be explored for its messages and its timely and universal communicative potential. This approach also informs the choice to involve protagonists of different age groups, capable of appealing to an audience of children, teens, and adults, in a harmonious performance.
The Wizard of Oz has long been part of cinema history and, even more so, the collective imagination, with its very young protagonist, a former child prodigy who becomes a true diva when, as a teenager, she plays Dorothy, winning a special Oscar for Best Young Actress. A classic that lives again in this production, in which a teacher reads the introduction to Baum's novel to her class and a young student, Dorothy, is transported by a whirlwind to the fantastical land of Oz. Everything was gray for the little girl in Kansas, but now the scenery is completely changed: colorful and exciting for a surprising journey in the company of Toto the dog, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion...
THE APOTHECARY'S BELL
As part of its Diderot project, the CRT Foundation is organizing a performance of "The Apothecary's Bell," a comic opera by Gaetano Donizetti. The opera is entirely staged by students from the Liceo Teatro Nuovo Artistico, Coreutico, and Teatrale in Turin, who have designed the sets, costumes, chorus, and ballets. The musical performances feature young musicians from the CRT Foundation's Master of Musical Talents program.
The March 19th performance will be followed by similar performances for schools, which will be held between the morning of March 20th and 30th in schools in the provincial capitals of Piedmont and Valle d'Aosta. These performances will complement the music, theater, and dance courses that have been held in the same schools since the beginning of the school year.
This edition of The Apothecary's Bell is truly unusual in many ways: it features the rare original 1836 version, which alternates theatrical scenes and musical numbers. Students from the Liceo Teatro Nuovo, majoring in Art, oversaw the entire stage design, from costume sketches to the creation of the sets, while students from the Choreographic program participated directly in the performance, performing ballet scenes inserted into the opera and choreographed by Robert North. Thanks to the CRT Foundation and its Diderot project, an unparalleled mobilization of youthful creativity has been created around this operatic production: 150 young artists will perform over the course of two weeks throughout Piedmont before an audience of over 10,000 first-time spectators: elementary, middle, and high school students, perhaps experiencing opera for the first time. The opera's direction—entrusted to Girolamo Angione and supported by the musical direction of Paolo Fiamingo and Massimo Peiretti—accentuates the opera's scenic dynamism and comic nature, with its alternation between theatrical and lyrical scenes. The protagonists are some of the most experienced and seasoned performers of the Donizetti repertoire: Matteo Peirone as Don Annibale, Maurizio Leoni, Enrico and Francesca Micarelli as Serafina. They are joined by actors Giambartolo Botta as the servant Spiridione and Maria Paola Casorelli as his mother-in-law Donna Rosa. The sets and costumes were designed under the guidance of Raffaele Nocerino and Anna Schirra, teachers at the Liceo Teatro Nuovo, and coordinated by Elisabetta Ajani of the Accademia Albertina di Belle Arti.
THE ART DEALER
Set designs and extemporaneous painting performances at the Tedacà Theatre in Turin.
It's time for renovation in the art gallery.
The merchant, after returning from his incredible travels in the company of his playful assistant, decides to exhibit what he has purchased.
The strange buyers will battle it out to win the works, but they are not buying material goods but rather performances of magic, dance...
Everything is staged like a real auction, but the currency used is applause. The actors leap from one performance genre to another.
The spectator is involved as a potential buyer of the dealer's works.
Theatrical language
Surreal gags, outrageous situations, acrobatic dialogue, and wordplay. The comedy stems from the seriousness with which the performers weave illogical dialogues or the ease with which they live their wild lives. There's room for improvisation; in this show, there's no script; the merchant dictates the timing of the interventions and gags, both on stage and among the audience.
The content
Dance, magic, and comedy are works of art, at least as much as the famous paintings displayed in museums. A perfect blend of many artistic disciplines to be enjoyed from an unusual perspective.