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Articles – The Creatures of Prometheus in Genoa – Nervi Saturday, August 1, 2020
The Creatures of Prometheus in Genoa – Nervi
Saturday, August 1, 2020
On Saturday, 1 August, at 9:15 p.m., the Teatro ai Parchi in Nervi hosted a national premiere: The Creatures of Prometheus / The Creatures of Capucci, a concert with scenic‑choreographic action set to music by Ludwig van Beethoven, with costumes by Roberto Capucci and choreography by Simona Bucci. On the podium, conducting the Orchestra of the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, was one of the most talented young Italian conductors, Leonardo Sini. (Among the audience was also the staff of the Beethoven Music Research Center, www.lvbeethoven.org!)
Lighting by Luciano Novelli. The dancers, in order of appearance: Hal Yamanouchi, Fabio Bacaloni, Davide Bastioni, Filippo Pieroni, Nico Gattullo, Marco Lo Presti, Roberto Lori, Luca Campanella, Giampiero Giarri, Raffaele Iorio, Antonio Cardelli, Flavio Marullo, Riccardo Battaglia, Luca Giaccio, Damiano Ottavio Bigi.
The production, curated by Daniele Cipriani, is a new co‑production of the Fondazione Teatro Carlo Felice and the Spoleto63 Festival dei Due Mondi, where it will be staged on 28 August.
In the year marking the 250th anniversary of the birth of Ludwig van Beethoven (Bonn, 16 December 1770 – Vienna, 26 March 1827), the Festival del Balletto e della Musica – Nervi 2020 presents, in scenic form, the rare complete performance of the only ballet in Beethoven’s catalogue, offered here in a striking and unprecedented combination: The Creatures of Prometheus / The Creatures of Capucci. The project brings together a formidable encounter between the arts, celebrating the creative genius of two historical figures distant in time yet close in spirit. On one side, Ludwig van Beethoven with his only score conceived for choreography: the two‑act ballet The Creatures of Prometheus [Die Geschöpfe des Prometheus], Op. 43, commissioned by the Imperial Theatre of Vienna for the choreography of Salvatore Viganò and premiered at the Burgtheater in 1801. On the other, Roberto Capucci, master of international haute couture, an innovator capable of making garments converse with nature, art, and architecture, here represented through a series of visually striking costume designs.
These two artistic processes meet on this occasion in their independent nature, distant in history and in their sources of inspiration: parallel lines that intersect on the stage in an unusual union from which new possibilities and visions emerge. The two worlds converge in a metaphorical dimension: that of musical power inspired by mythology—as a representation of the archetypes shaping the human psyche—and that of “other” creatures who appear like effluvia only to vanish again into the dreamlike imagination, drawing from the same archetypal matrix.
Returning to the Austrian capital in 1799 after several years spent touring Germany, Bohemia, and Italy—years that had greatly increased the fame of his choreographic talent—Salvatore Viganò conceived this ballet, which celebrates the Fine Arts, in honor of Empress Maria Theresa, the second wife of Emperor Francis I of Austria, a patron of music and an accomplished amateur singer. Beethoven himself had recently paid homage to her with the dedication of his Septet.
The choreographic “text” has not come down to us; however, we can attempt an approximate reconstruction by drawing on the information contained in the playbill of the première, on certain annotations found in the sketches—reported occasionally by Nottebohm and in full by Mikulicz—and finally on a description by Carlo Ritorni in his work on Viganò, though we cannot be certain that it refers precisely and in every detail to the Beethoven production.
The première took place at the Imperial and Royal Court Theatre. The playbill posted at the theatre, as reported in the Thayer catalogue and repeated in Thayer–Riemann (vol. II, p. 219), announced the event as follows (here in Italian translation):
New Ballet At the Imperial and Royal Court Theatre near the Castle by the artists of the Imperial and Royal Court Opera today, Saturday 26 March 1801, performed in honor of Signorina Casentini. Il Barbiere del Villaggio, a one‑act operetta based on the comedy of the same name. To follow (for the first time): The Creatures of Prometheus. A heroic, allegorical ballet in two acts Invented and performed by Signor Salvatore Viganò. Characters: Prometheus – Signor Cesari Creatures – Signorina Casentini Signor Salvatore Viganò Bacchus – Signor Ferdinando Gioia Pan – Aichinger Terpsichore – Signora Brandi Thalia – Signora Cesari Melpomene – Signora Reuth Apollo – Amphion – Arion – Orpheus. The foundation of this allegorical ballet is the myth of Prometheus.
For those wishing to explore the subject further and listen to the complete music, it is available on our website: Opus 043 – Die Geschöpfe des Prometheus (The Creatures of Prometheus), ballet by Salvatore Viganò.
You can also, exclusively, listen to all the other “choreodramas” by Salvatore Viganò containing music by Beethoven: La Vestale, Raccolta di varj e migliori pezzi di musica, Il Conte di Essex, Gli Ussiti, and Didone.
Nervi, besides being one of the most elegant districts of Genoa, is home to the Museum of Modern Art, where one can admire the splendid statue Young Beethoven by Pasquale Romanelli (1812–1887).
Per chi volesse approfondire l’ argomento ed ascoltarne le musiche complete, lo può fare sul nostro sito: Opus 043 Die Geschöpfe des Prometheus (Le creature di Prometeo), balletto di Salvatore Viganò
Può anche, in esclusiva, ascoltare tutti gli altri “coreodrammi” di Salvatore Viganò contenenti musiche di Beethoven:
Nervi, oltre ad essere uno dei quartieri più eleganti di Genova, è sede del Museo di Arte Moderna, dove è possibile ammirare la splendida statua del “Beethoven giovinetto” di Pasquale Romanelli (1812 – 1887).