As part of the Autumn Festival, on 6 and 7 November, the Portuguese actress and singer, María de Medeiros will feature in the Spanish première of a production created by the recently deceased American director, Robert Wilson, which pays tribute to the Portuguese poet, Fernando Pessoa. The performance is in French, Italian, Portuguese and English with Spanish subtitles.
Robert Wilson’s participation also takes on a special significance. A leading figure on the international scene, his career is linked to a theatre concept of a visual experience in which light, movement, space, sound and words create their own language. From major works such as Einstein on the Beach to his collaborations with leading figures in contemporary music and literature, Wilson has developed stage poetics that move away from unequivocal interpretations and embraces ambiguity, fragmentation and what remains unresolved.
The director moves closer to the Portuguese writer through his texts and his famous pseudonyms (Álvaro de Campos, Alberto Caeiro and Ricardo Reis) to build a reflection on the multiplicity of oneself. The piece is structured as a series of staged scenes in which the spoken word may appear fragmented, repeated or diluted within an elaborate visual and sound framework.
The result is a hypnotic show in which irony and melancholy go hand in hand, while Wilson’s theatrical language once again takes centre stage. The architecture of the light, frontal compositions and slow, precise movement create a recognisable visual universe that engages with the complexity and multiple identities that can be seen in Pessoa’s work.
Artistic File:
Venue: Teatros del Canal - Sala Roja Concha Velasco
- Creation - Robert Wilson
- Texts - Fernando Pessoa
- Playwright - Darryl Pinckney
- Associate Director - Charles Chemin
- Cast - María de Medeiros, Aline Belibi, Rodrigo Ferreira/Yure Romão, Klaus Martini, Sofia Menci, Gianfranco Poddighe and Janaína Suaudeau
- Costumes - Jacques Reynaud
- Associate Stage Design - Annick Lavallée-Benny
- Associate Lighting Design - Marcello Lumaca
- Sound Designer and Musical Adviser - Nick Sagar
- Make-up - Véronique Pfluger
- Stage Manager - Thaiz Bozano
- Technical Director - Enrico Maso
- Associate Costume Designer - Flavia Ruggeri
- Textual Collaboration - Bernardo Haumont
- Assistant Director - Elena Meoni
- Construction Accessories - Cecilia Sacchi, Props&Culture
- Painted Fabric - Paolino Libralato, inspired by Fishing by Santiago Ribeiro
- Costume Makers - The One Costumes
- Footwear - Pedrazzoli Calzature
- Wigs - Tiré par les cheveux and Atelier Filistrucchi
- Lighting Table Operator - Simon Gautier
- Sound Table Operator - Piero Bindi
- Machine Operator - Cristiano Caria
- Props - Gisella Butera
- Lighting and Screening Technician - Fabrizio Giummarra
- Costumes - Eleonora Sgherri
- Make-up Team - Véronique Pfluger and Greta Shivitz
- Production Coordinator - Simona Fremder
- Production Manager - Romane Reibau
- Production - Teatro Théâtre de la Ville Parigi and Fondazione Teatro della Toscana
- Co-production - Teatro Stabile del Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Teatro Stabile di Bolzano, São Luiz Municipal Theatre in Lisbon and Festival d’Automne à Paris
- Collaboration - Les Théâtres de la Ville in Luxembourg
- Image Credits - © Renato Mangolin
Approximate Duration: 1 hour and 20 minutes
Language: French, Italian, Portuguese and English with Spanish subtitles
