On February 1st, the Teatro Sociale of Trento will welcome the debut of De Gasperi: Europe is burning. The work, masterfully directed by Carmelo Rifici, brings to the stage the complexity of the man and statesman Alcide De Gasperi, masterfully played by Paolo Pierobon.
Author Angela Dematté explores the life and challenges of De Gasperi, shedding light on one of the key figures in European history. The work is a production of LAC and the Teatro Stabile di Bolzano, La Fabbrica dell'attore/Teatro Vascello di Roma, in collaboration with the Fondazione Trentina Alcide De Gasperi and the CTB – Centro Teatrale Bresciano.
“Talking about De Gasperi – explained the director, Carmelo Rifici – for me means looking, from the present time, through a lens on the past, to a possible future. Dematté's text allows me to ask the public some fundamental questions: has a European project ever existed? Has there ever been a moment in history in which the word democracy was able to manifest itself in the state apparatus without having to make too many compromises with power plays and commercial expansions?”.
De Gasperi: Europe Burns narrates the formative years of the Atlantic Pact and the birth of contemporary Europe through the protagonist's inner journey. Dematté's lucid and theoretical dramaturgy builds dialogues between the protagonist and other key characters played by a talented cast, including Giovanni Crippa, Emiliano Masala, Livia Rossi, and Francesco Maruccia.
The author explains her interest in the great Italian statesman thus: “His rhetoric fascinated me, his emotionality at the Paris Peace Conference in August 46 struck me greatly. Then I saw a speech by him as soon as he returned from his trip to America, in January '47. I thought I heard another man. What happened in between?”
The tour of De Gasperi: Europe is burning
After the debut in Trento, the show will undertake a tour in various Italian cities, offering audiences in Genoa, Rovereto, Bolzano, Milan, Modena, Lugano, Turin and Rome the opportunity to live this extraordinary theatrical experience. The production stands out for the scenography by Daniele Spanò, the costumes by Margherita Baldoni, the lights by Gianni Staropoli and the music by Federica Furlani.
De Gasperi: Europe Burns is a work particularly suited to the historical moment we are living in, especially with the approaching community elections, because it represents a journey into the past that invites the public to reflect on the present and to question the future of European democracy.
