June 3 – Brussels spends the weekend remembering Carlo Goldoni thanks to the Italian Cultural Institute and the theatrical atelier of the European institutions. The ICI theater stages on Saturday, June 6 (8:15pm) and on Sunday, June 7 (4pm) “I Rusteghi”. The “rusteghi”, as defined by the Goldoni, are those men “of rigid and unsociable manners, followers of the ancient customs and obstinate enemies of the fashions of fun and conversation.” The play, performed for the first time at the Teatro San Luca in Venice during the 1760 Carnival, focuses on Lunardo, father to Lucietta, and on Maurizio, father to Filippetto, who have just sealed the marriage between their children. The latter neither know of their intentions, nor should they see each other before the wedding. The wife of Rustego Canciano, Felicia, puts a plan into motion to allow the two young betrothed to see each other. When the plot is discovered, the rusteghi reaction threatens to derail the wedding, but eventually they are forced to give into the good sense arguments made by Felicia. The performance will be staged at the Italian Institute of Culture in Brussels by director Antonio Fabbi, and will star Paolo Covelli, Giuseppe Macaione, Elisa Agnolini, Rosangela Di Serio, Paolo Sandri, Raffaella Batella, Antonio Fabbri, Benedetta Sechi, Guido Bilanceri, Pietro Falangario, Marika Stevens.
