Nearly the last in a sixteen-part homage to Ludovico Ariosto over four months, this was a semi-staged dramatic recitation of the very last section of his classic epic, Orlando Furioso. Most of the sessions were at Castel Sant'Angelo or, like this performance, in the Teatro Goldoni within Palazzo Altemps. (A similar series concentrating on Agostino Tassso's epic Gerusalemme liberata took place in Florence. Two differing approaches -- movement in staged versions in Florence and recitation with music for Rome -- taken together are precisely the two faces of Italian Renaissance theater. At this installment, even though movement was restricted to the opening and closing processions, director Ruggero Capuccio achieved great variety with sound and lighting. One central plus four ancillary reciters declaimed the tightly-rhymed text with none of the apologetic hesitancy about rhyming verse of today's English-speaking theater. Rounding out the cast were a vocalist, Francesca Cassio, and two musicians, Francesco Loppi and Elisa Papandrea.
Not surprisingly special guest Anna Bonaiuto made a strong impression with her rich, well-supported voice. Over the years, she has matured from arch-dramatic to more nuanced presentations, like this one. (See review of her performance in Seven Against Thebes in the Criticopia International section of TotalTheater.com) Director Ruggero Cappuccio saved her for the most involving moments of the text, and Paolo Vivaldi's score rose to greater eloquence in tandem. Among the supporting actors, versatile Matteo Belli added needed fire to the action narratives as well as a few musical cues on two different instruments. Cappuccio used two women, Nadia Baldi and Francesca Gamba, as a sort of echo chorus, while Andrea De Manincor took over more introspective moments. All in all, there was sufficient variety to hold the capacity audience's rapt attention. The organizers were generous enough to provide Ariosto's complete text to those in attendance but also wise enough to dim house lights so that attention would be on the presentation itself.
This theater inside newly-restored Palazzo Altemps (now home to the reassembled Ludovisi collection of ancient sculpture) has been active since at least the seventeenth century. Its current look including raised stage and proscenium arch dates from 1890. At various times the Teatro Goldoni hosted cinema and a piano bar. Currently the rectangular hall comfortably seats about 125-150 spectators.
