Dec. 13 – “The Betrothed” brought to the theater by Massimiliano Finazzer Flory is a worldwide theatrical success. The show “The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni” (director and performer Finazzer Flory, dance choreography by Ghislaine Valeriani, music by Giuseppe Verdi, Mascagni, N. Rota , L. Berio) first came to life as a way to honor the 150th anniversary since Italy’s unification, but continued to grow as Italy set out to celebrate the bicentennial since Verdi’s birth. Since then, the pièce has traveled around the world and found success with audiences and critics in the U.S., Canada, Argentina, Egypt, Turkey, throughout Europe, China, Korea and Japan. Now, it’s time to hit Australia, Sydney, and its National Institute of Dramatic Art, where the show will go on stage tomorrow at 8pm. The location is known for having trained, among others, Mel Gibson and Cate Blanchett. The production will bring on stage Chapters I, VI, VIII, XII, XXI, XXXIV and XXXVIII, “to offer a dual challenge: to show off the characters (Don Abbondio and I Bravi, Don Rodrigo, Fra Cristoforo, Lucia, the Unnamed, and Renzo) as Shakespearean figures, as if they had to defeat themselves before they could confront others. The second challenge intends to highlight how Manzoni’s language continues to be polyphonic, polemic, poetic, and incredibly contemporary. The production’s final goal is to join music, dance and opera together so that they can bring to life the particular regard of the narrator on changing human conditions, from the individual to the crowd, and explain how the story of one is tied to the history of a people.” The show, in Italian with English subtitles, enjoys the patronage and cooperation of the National Centre for Manzoni Studies.
