14 April 2016. On 16 April at 7:00PM in Cascais, Portugal, the Italian Cultural Institute of Lisbon will be mixing music and cinema. The show, “Duse e Muse – Le colonne sonore dell’arte,” features Marcello Allulli on the saxophone and Giovanni Ceccarelli on the piano. The music will be set against the images of Febo Mari’s silent film “Cenere” (1916), featuring Eleonora Duse. The event is part of the 9th edition of Portugal’s 8½ Festa do Cinema Italiano, and will take place at the cultural centre of Cascais, which is playing host to the festival for the first time. The performance features a musical score to Cenere, with the pieces composed, arranged and performed live by Allulli (a leading national saxophonist) and Ceccarelli (nominated for a Latin Grammy Award in the Best MPB Album category). The artists will seamlessly blend neo-bop, funk, folk music, avant-guard and Mediterranean influences in a single performance, thanks to their eclecticism, talent and musical and human touch. The film, based on a story by Grazia Deledda, is considered one of the finest meetings of literature and theatre. It preserves the memory of one of Italy’s finest thespians, Eleonora Duse—which unto itself makes it an important film. But it is also a rare example of a film intentionally engaging with literature, rather than for practical or opportunistic reasons.
