From December 28, 2024, to January 5, 2025, the Sala Assoli in Naples hosts "Tempesta," a Casa del Contemporaneo production directed by Rosario Sparno. This play is part of a Shakespearean diptych that Sparno began with his staging of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" last spring at the same theater.
Through the diptych "Shakespeare and Illusion," Sparno explores Shakespeare's poetic and supernatural world, where magic and dreams intertwine with human stories. While in "Dream," magic served love and passion, in "Tempesta" it becomes a mirror for complex themes such as slavery, power, and redemption. The cast, including Massimiliano Foà, Luca Iervolino, and Paola Zecca, transforms the theater into an enchanted island, maintaining a continuous dialogue between stage and audience.
The stage installation and its symbolisms
The opera features a massive 2-ton salt installation that transforms the stage into a magical and dynamic space. In this setting, the stories of Prospero, the exiled magician, the spirit Ariel, and the slave Caliban unfold, touching on themes of slavery, power, and the desire for freedom. The audience, placed at the center of the action, is transported into an experience that blends theater, dance, and contemporary art. The energy of the actors, with their vitality and irreverence, guides the audience through this theatrical journey, demonstrating the theater as a place of transformation and rebellion. The barriers between stage and real life dissolve, creating a collective energy that makes each performance a unique experience.
The concept of transformation according to Sparno
"Salt becomes sea, revenge turns into forgiveness, the stage is a wooden circle on which to dance to subvert every role," explains Rosario Sparno. It's during the storm that we must dare. Reverse roles, dance until salt turns into sea, fight so that slaves don't yearn for power but for new visions of a society without losers. This show is dedicated to the actors and their characters, who live, grow old, and act together, making every word a sword blow and every step a revolution.
Programming:
- 28, 30 December and 2, 3, 4 January at 20.30 pm;
- 29 December and 5 January at 18.00
Tickets are available at €18,00 for full admission, with discounts of €15,00 for those under 30, over 65, and participating organizations. Information and reservations: 345 467 9142 - assoli@casadelcontemporaneo.it.
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Comments (1)
The article is about 'Tempesta' and it seems interesting, but I wonder if the salt installation is really necessary for the story. I don't know if it makes the experience more immersive or just confusing for viewers.