My son Sandro and I were introduced to traditional Italian puppet theatre last weekend at the Festa di San Pietro di Castello. I can't remember the last live performance of any kind I went to that was so entertaining, perhaps not least of all because the audience was so deeply engaged in it. Kids not only responded enthusiastically to any questions addressed to them by the puppets, but did their best to influence the action. I wish I'd had a video camera to record the way one little girl stood up and, with hands pressed together, pleaded with Brighella not to drink the bottle of wine that had just been dosed with magic sleeping powder by the evil magician. She could've been auditioning for the most heart-rending scenes from
Open City or
Aida.... Except, of course, she wasn't acting.
The play,
Arlecchino, Brighella e i due maghi, was performed by Compagnia Teatrale L'Attimo.
I did not have a camera, but fortunately the local photographer Federico Roiter was there. The photos below were taken by him, and he was kind enough to let me post them here. A google search will turn up more of his excellent photos of events in Venice.
I'd only ever seen puppet shows of this type in old Italian or French movies and had always thought the kids' response was exaggerated for cinematic purposes. At San Pietro I found out it was not.
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| photo credit: Federico Roiter |
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| photo credit: Federico Roiter |
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| photo credit: Federico Roiter |
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| Photo credit: Federico Roiter |
Absolutely adorable!
ReplyDeleteE` una bella cosa che la Commedia dell`Arte sta vivendo a Venezia. Ho letto una storia di Arlecchino una copia di anni fa. Era assolutamente incantevole. Le foto di bambini sono veramente speciale. Bravo Signore.
ReplyDeleteSono molto felice che Signore Roiter era la con la sua macchina fotografica!
ReplyDeleteOh, the tension in the bodies of those children! How wonderful to see them caught up in this art form. Thank you to you and Federico Roiter.
ReplyDeleteI have come back to this post about 5 times today. It is absolutely captivating.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you can get a sense of what it was like from the photos as I was really surprised by how captivating it was to be there. I would love to see Teatrale L'Attimo again. I don't know where they are based but they do sometimes play around Venice (I noticed they did something here in May). The thing is we completely lucked into it, as we knew about the festival but not the puppet show and my son was sleepy that afternoon & adamant about NOT wanting to go out...
ReplyDeleteHi, do you know what dates this festival will be held in 2012? We will be visiting Venice June 26 - 29. I read about the festival in Rough Guide, then did a Google search and came across your blog.
ReplyDeleteHi, Stuart,
ReplyDeleteI found an online Rough Guide piece on Venice that said it was the "week ending June 29" but as the article was undated I'm not sure how reliable this is. I was also v. surprised to find a fancy website (in Italian) for the festival--http://www.sanpierodecasteo.org/--but it gives no schedule for 2012. Perhaps as we get closer to June?
Over the next few days I'll try to run into some of the people who always help out with it and ask them, then tell you what I find out.
It seems likely that your dates will work out perfectly.
Oh, and I should note that last year's festival presented the most affordable ride in a gondola I've ever heard of. I don't know that it was part of the official schedule, but one evening there were gondoliers who were giving rides from the fondamenta in front of the church to the interior of the Arsenale for just a few euro per person. A typical ride in a gondola costs 100 euro. It's something to keep in mind if you go...
Thank you so much for your quick reply. My wife and I have children who are 11 and 9, and I think the puppet show would be just right for the 9 year old, not so sure about the 11 year old. We arrive at the airport on Tues night about 6:30, our flight was moved to later by Al Italia, and so really we have one full day (Weds), then on Thurs we have some time but also we are staying near the airport that evening and then flying out early the next morning, and that afternoon (the 28th)I really wanted to go to Padua and see the Scrovegni Chapel. In our time in Venice, I know we want to go inside San Marcos, go up either the Campanile or the Bell Tower and ride a Gondola. Beyond that, I am very interested in walking around, riding the vaporettos (most likely Burano), and just soaking up the atmosphere. I would like to go inside a few churches, but definitely we are not going to go in any museums, after Rome and Florence I think we will be all museumed-out. I don't think we will have time for Lido.
ReplyDeleteI welcome any suggestions of experiences for children on those days.
The thing is, there's no knowing when the puppet show will be--last yr it was on a Saturay afternoon, but perhaps there will be a schedule on the festa website before you come. There is live music on a large outdoor stage every night during the festival, though, and food, so you could head to the festa for an evening (but check the schedule first to confirm the band that's playing etc.)
ReplyDeleteAny of the things you mention would be interesting for kids of 9 & 11, I think, but I don't know that it's realistic to plan on doing all the things you're thinking of on Wed AND getting out to Burano. I seem to recall it take 40-45 minutes on the vaporetto to get to Burano--and then of course the same amount of time back. So that's an 1 1/2 hrs of travel time w/out any waiting for the vaporetto to arrive figured in. You'd really have to hustle throughout the day.
I haven't bothered much w/ getting into Basicila San Marco in June, but I suspect there will be lines. I know sometimes it's better if you go not too long before closing time. I don't know if it's also better to go right when it opens (I'm worried that may be when tour groups line up, but I'm really not sure).
If the line to go up the Campanile is really long, another option is to go up the campanile on San Giorgio Maggiore (the island just across the basin of S Marco).
The number 1 vaporetto line is a great ride down or up the Grand Canal, but I suspect in June you'll need to arrive at either of its starting ends (Lido or Piazzale Roma) and make sure you're at the front of the line to be sure of getting a seat outside. Or go early in the morning or later at night.
I know you said no museums, but the Palazzo Ducale is not a museum & has something for everyone (including some arms & armor). Haven't tried arriving early, but I know going an hour or 1 1/2 before its closing time can mean less crowds.
As for areas to hit, say, for dinner away from San Marco: San Giacomo dell'Orio is a beautiful large campo & not simply touristy (the walk from the San Stae stop to it, if you can find it, is rather nice). In Campo San Polo there's the restaurant Birraria La Corte which has good pizza & not only Italian food (which is kind of a nice change sometimes); my visiting Italian cousins from Piemonte & their 2 kids really liked it. And they even have a website: http://www.birrarialacorte.it/it/photogallery/ (in Italian & English, though the Italian seems to have more pages). Campo Santa Margherita in Dorsoduro can be fun, & the walk from there all through Dorsoduro as it narrows to S Maria Della Salute & the old Customs House is also nice in the evening.
Anyway, those are some things off the top of my head. If you don't want to deal with the crowds of the Palazzo Ducale, the upper floor of the Scuola Grande di San Rocco will give you a small taste of a similar kind of splendor--and the church of the Frari is right next to it. But Palazzo Ducale seems like kind of a can't miss. Ruskin thought it the greatest building in the world.
Thank you for the great advice! We will check the web site before we go, if there are any events from the Festival when we are in Venice, that will be great, but if not, so be it.
ReplyDelete