Umbria Forum stages Giulietta with Eleonora Aabbagnato at PalaTerni
Saturday 11 May at 9.00 pm, Umbria Forum stages Giulietta with Eleonora Aabbagnato, artistic direction by Daniel Cipriani. In the vast panorama of the performing arts, few characters have captured the imagination and hearts of the public like Juliet, the eternally young and romantic heroine of William Shakespeare’s tragedy.
And in this enchanting show, simply titled Juliet, Eleonora Abbagnato brings this iconic figure to life in a fascinating new incarnation. Eleonora Abbagnato, director of the corps de ballet and the dance school of the Rome Opera Theater and former étoile of the Paris Opéra, stands out for her grace, her impeccable technique and her ability to convey emotions through language universal of dance.
And now, in the role of Juliet, Abbagnato presents herself as the emblem of love in all its facets. Juliet will be danced on the overture– Tchaikovsky’s fantasy. We see a blonde little girl absorbed in romantic daydreams: a little Juliet of our times who, looking in the mirror, sees reflected the image of the woman in love that she will become. The two are similar, since the woman is Eleonora Abbagnato, the little girl Julia Balzaretti, daughter of the étoile, aged 11, who (coincidentally) bears the same name as the Veronese heroine.
They will dance with the two choreographers and interpreters Simone Repele and Sasha Riva. But this show is not just a traditional representation of the story of Juliet and her Romeo. Here, the arts of music and dance come together in a multi-sensory experience that takes the audience on a journey through time and space. It’s not just about telling a story, but about exploring the universal themes of love, passion and the search for peace. One of the show’s most intriguing innovations is the use of music.
There will not be Prokofiev’s famous score that often accompanies performances of “Romeo and Juliet”, but rather other compositions inspired by Shakespearean tragedy. These musical pages will be performed live by two piano virtuosos, Marcos Madrigal and Alessandro Stella, who will bring a new interpretation of the familiar melodies.
Additionally, the show features a number of choreography originals that explore the theme of love in an innovative way. One of the most extraordinary is the creation of Uwe Scholz, a very talented German choreographer, who offers an intense and profound vision of passion through his pas de deux from the ballet “Red and Black”.
Here, Abbagnato and his partner, Michele Satriano (principal dancer of the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma), immerse themselves in the complex nuances of love, offering the public an engaging and unforgettable performance. But perhaps what truly makes this show unique is its message of inclusion and diversity. Through Giorgio Mancini’s choreography, entitled “Peace & Rainbow Love”, the show celebrates love in all its forms, including same-sex relationships. This element adds a contemporary and universal dimension to the story of Juliet, transforming her into a symbol of hope and tolerance for modern audiences. Giorgio Mancini creates Peace & Rainbow Love on Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story Suite for two pianos.
West Side Story, the famous musical with choreography by Robbins, then a film in 1961 (recently revisited by Steven Spielberg) transposed the story from Verona to New York; Mancini’s ballet, however, does not tell us about lovers coming from different ethnic groups or from rival families. Instead, it evokes love between people of the same sex, still going ‘over the rainbow’ to reach a broader brotherhood.
Many “Giuliettis”, and a “Giulietta”, are made representatives of human temperaments (here there are six, no longer four), each symbolized by a different color of the iconic “Rainbow Flag: Rebecca Bianchi (Red – Life), Simone Agrò (Yellow – Light), Mattia Tortora (Green – Life) dance nature), Gabriele Consoli (Orange – Health), Ramon Agnelli (Blue – Serenity), Michele Satriano (Purple – Spirit). Tickets are available online at www.vivaticket.com and at Vivaticket resellers throughout Italy.
JULIET
Artistic direction by Daniele Cipriani
Marcos Madrigal and Alessandro Stella pianos
they dance
ELEONORA ABBAGNATO (Étoile of the Paris Opera House)
RAMON AGNELLI (Rome Opera House)
SIMONE AGRÒ (Rome Opera House)
REBECCA BIANCHI (Etoile of the Rome Opera House)
GABRIELE CONSOLI (Rome Opera House)
SIMONE REPELE (Riva&Repele, formerly Grand Theater of Geneva)
SASHA RIVA (Riva&Repele, formerly Grand Theater of Geneva)
MICHELE SATRIANO (Principal dancer of the Rome Opera Theater)
MATTIA TORTORA (Rome Opera House)
with the little one
Julia Balzaretti (daughter of Eleonora Abbagnato)
PLAN
WHITE AND NOIR
Choreographic intermezzo by and with Simone Repele and Sasha Riva music Charles
Ives
LE ROUGE ET LE NOIR pas de deux Act I
choreography Uwe Scholz re-edited by Giovanni Di Palma
music Hector Berlioz
Scène d’amour from “Roméo et Juliette”, Symphonie dramatique
(transcription for two pianos by Otto Singer)
costumes Anna Biagiotti
Eleonora Abbagnato and Michele Satriano dance
pianists Marcos Madrigal and Alessandro Stella
WHITE AND NOIR
Choreographic intermezzo by and with Simone Repele and Sasha Riva music Charles
Ives
RAINBOW, LOVE & PEACE
choreography Giorgio Mancini
music Leonard Bernstein
Symphonic Dances from “West Side Story”
(transcription for two pianos by John Musto)
costumes Anna Biagiotti
lights Alessandro Caso
dancing are Rebecca Bianchi (Red – Life), Simone Agrò (Yellow – Light), Mattia
Tortora (Green – Nature), Gabriele Consoli (Orange – Health), Ramon
Agnelli (Blue – Serenity), Michele Satriano (Viola – The spirit) .
pianists Marcos Madrigal and Alessandro Stella
JULIET
choreography Sasha Riva and Simone Repele
music Piotr I. Tchaikovsky
Romeo and Juliet, Overture-fantasy
(transcription for two pianos by Karl Klindworth)
costumes Anna Biagiotti
scenographic elements Michele della Cioppa
lights Alessandro Caso
dancing are Eleonora Abbagnato, Simone Repele, Sasha Riva with Julia Balzaretti
pianists Marcos Madrigal and Alessandro Stella
A DANIELE CIPRIANI ENTERTAINMENT production recognized by the MINISTRY
OF CULTURE as a production organism for dance
Tags: Umbria Forum stages Giulietta PalaTerni Saturday
