After dedicating an exhibition to the beloved Italian cartoon figure Signor Bonaventura created by Sergio Tofano, the Fondazione Cinema per Roma celebrates a great 20th-century artist who was closely connected to Tofano's world: Emanuele Luzzati.
The tribute to Luzzati takes the form of a full-blown festival entitled Emanuele Luzzati. Fantasie (Fantasies), scheduled to run from December 5, 2009, to January 6, 2010, at the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome. The event was conceived and produced by the Fondazione Cinema per Roma with the support of the Ministry of Culture, in collaboration with the Fondazione Musica per Roma, the Museo Internazionale Luzzati, the Fondazione Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, the Fondazione Luzzati - Teatro della Tosse, and the Turin City Council.
The multi-faceted artistic personality of the Genoan painter, animator, illustrator, and stage designer will be explored by means of the characters Luzzati created, the costumes and sets he designed, and the music accompanying his works, with a focus on his special relationship with children. All the vivacity, originality, and sheer magic that has always distinguished the work of this supreme master from Genoa will be on display. "What is imagination? It's thinking that a chair is not something to sit on, but something, if you put a hat on it, that can turn into a person," Luzzati liked to say.
The homage to Luzzati opens with a large exhibition featuring sketches, drawings, lithographs, and set designs, along with the installation of a woods so dear to the Genoan artist, which has been reconstructed for the occasion. Visitors proceed through the various spaces at the Auditorium, from the foyers to the actual exhibition areas, arranged to reflect the three phases of Luzzati's artistic career: his beginnings, his work with animated films, and the theatre. The outdoor Cavea will host an installation of one of Luzzati's most famous urban stage sets, the Nativity Scene, which the artist designed for the city of Turin, and which is being exhibited outside the Piedmont capital for the very first time. The display of over 300 original works was promoted, conceived and curated by the Fondazione Cinema per Roma and the Museo Luzzati in Genoa, and is divided into sections according to genres, accompanied by captions and explanatory panels that describe the works and furnish comments and recollections by those close to the artist.
The festival also features a number of performances arranged in collaboration with the Fondazione Luzzati - Teatro della Tosse in Genoa, from the "Candido Viaggio tragicomico nel migliore dei mondi possibili" to puppet-show versions of The Magic Flute and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. Lastly, a special exhibition space will devoted to the world of fairy tales, with Luzzati's original stage designs for the show "Nel campo dei miracoli ovvero il sogno di Pinocchio". Mara Baroni, who collaborated with the Genoan artist, will be present to narrate traditional fairy tales to children and adult visitors alike.
The festival opens on Saturday, December 5 at 5 p.m.
On Sunday, December 6, at 12 noon in the Cavea at the Auditorium, it's parade time for young and old: the 'Gran Parata del Bosco', or Parade of the Woods. All the characters that peopled Luzzati's world will be taking part, from the Pied Piper to Pinocchio, from the Mad Hatter to Pulcinella, all played by actors from the Teatro della Tosse. Over the course of the parade, designed by Emanuele Conte, the actors will be wearing costumes created by Bruno Cereseto, based on Emanuele Luzzati's original sketches.
On December 10 in the Sala Petrassi (with performances running until December 15) visitors to the festival will be treated to "Candido Viaggio tragicomico nel migliore dei mondi possibili". Organized in collaboration with the Fondazione Luzzati - Teatro della Tosse in Genoa, the play is inspired by Voltaire's celebrated novel, with sets and costumes by Paola Ratto and Bruno Cereseto, all drawn from Emanuele Luzzati's sets for Leonard Bernstein's Candide.
From December 26 to 28, the Sala Ospiti will be displaying Luzzati's original stage sets for "Nel campo dei miracoli ovvero il Sogno di Pinocchio" by Tonino Conte, produced by the Teatro della Tosse. Inside this exhibition space the Winter Solstice will unfold, with readings, performances, and workshops revolving around the fairy tales told by Mara Baronti - the Genoan artist's collaborator - to the accompaniment of music and songs performed by Cristina Alioto and Francesco Menconi.
And the same space will be hosting puppet shows with the puppets Emanuele Luzzati designed himself, to be held in the first few days of January, in collaboration with the Fondazione Luzzati - Teatro della Tosse in Genoa. January 2 and 3 are the dates for the performance of The Magic Flute, follone by Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves on January 4 and 6.
Moreover, for the duration of the festival the Auditorium will be hosting readings and workshops for children, curated by Antonella Abbatiello, sole assistant to Giulio Gianini and Luzzati for their animated cartoons. In the Sala Sinopoli Foyer children can come to hear fairy tales and other fantastical tales and stories of knights in armour, but also delight in sound and light installations, while in the nearby Area Archeologica they can learn to make Christmas decorations, build a puppet theatre, make collages and design and fashion stage costumes.
There's outdoor fun, as well: in the Christmas Village set up outside the Auditorium, visitors can ice skate on a large rink that is utterly unique, thanks to Luzzati's stage sets and the realization of the rink by Itos Eventi using innovative energy-saving techniques. And for the first four days of the festival, the Consorzio Celestiniano in L'Aquila will be manning four stands that will be selling choice products from the hard-hit capital of the Abruzzo region. 20 % of the proceeds, in fact, will go to charity, to help rebuild the Celestino cafeteria, which provided meals to the poor and was destroyed during the earthquake. For the rest of the festival, the stands will be manned by Relais le Jardin and will be serving cotton candy, crepes, hot chocolate, popcorn, hot dogs, along with local delicacies.
Lastly, from December 5, 2009 to February 28, 2010, another event will be unfolding as part of the Luzzati Festival. The Casina di Raffaello will be hosting the exhibition "Luzzati e Rodari. I segni della fantasia". This is a collection of works that introduces and retraces the collaboration between the two great 20th-century artists, Lele Luzzati and Gianni Rodari, both firm believers in the necessity of creating a serious and equal relationship with children and their world.
The Luzzati Festival has been created thanks to BNL - Gruppo BNP Paribas, which confirms its role as main partner in the support of the Fondazione Cinema per Roma. Other contributors to the creation of the festival include Ford and Natura e Architettura.
In addition, the Luzzati Festival marks the start of a collaboration between the Fondazione Cinema per Roma and Rai Educational, directed by Giovanni Minoli. In particolar, the programme "La Storia siamo noi" will present a surprising portrait of Emanuele Luzzati, directed by Linda Tugnoli and Laura Del Vecchio.
For information about the Festival: the Auditorium's Infoline, tel. (06) 80241281
www.romacinemafest.org , www.auditorium.com .
For skating rink opening times and information: tel. (06) 3208666
