The theater, as a place where prose, dance and music merge, powerfully conveys the depth of Mediterranean culture. This is the main concept of Mediterrartè – Classical Contemporary, an international festival of Mediterranean artistic realities, which is now starting with a second edition between Catania and Syracuse with shows and events from different fields of art and culture. The festival, conceived and organized by Artelè, offers innovative and interdisciplinary proposals for an open forum in which innovative projects and processes sprout through the presence of some of the most interesting artists on the international stage in terms of language studies. A unique cultural project of its kind in terms of approach and geographical location, with proposals by artists able to draw on the classical tradition and popular culture to renew the language and reflect on the deep meaning of dramaturgy.
After making her debut in Catania with the first two concerts, the Teatro Massimo in Syracuse will host the dancer Mercedes de Córdoba, one of the most outstanding representatives of flamenco, who, in addition to being the protagonist of a special seminar (September 7 at 21), brings to the stage on Friday , September 8, flamenco show Sin Mas. A world premiere born out of need, struggle, dedication and unconditional love for flamenco. Mercedes de Cordoba, who is also on the show, will be accompanied by Juan Campallo on guitar, as well as singers José Luis De La Cruz Flores and Jesús Corbacho Vasquez. “Flamenco,” the dancer says, “is my need, so I fight every minute with the one I love, with the one who hurts and heals my soul, with the one who frees all my states so that I can communicate. Step by step, I am looking for a form and a way to return everything he gives me and be at peace with myself, because flamenco “sin más” is my way of life.”
The intense program will continue on September 10 with the show Deux rien by the French company Comme Si, whose work is aimed at a wide audience and is able to communicate with both children and adults through a language that combines theater and dance to express the magic of existence. A show full of moments of tenderness, surprise, poetry and comedy. Life and fiction are constantly in dialogue in an exciting adventure. The production received several awards, including the First Prize for Contemporary Choreography, the Audience Award, the Entre Danse Synodales 2016 Prize and the Cortoindanza Prize for Choreographic Writer.
It will continue on September 15 with the Plautine comedy Menechmi directed by Nicasio Anzelmo. The theme of foreigner, landing site, travel, death and rescue is at the center of the music and dance show Naufragio con spectator, created by Scenario Pubblico/ Compagnia Zappalà Danza – the National Center for Dance Production. The Nello Calabro and Roberto Zappala show will take place on September 22, and the main characters will be Adriano Coletta and Antoine Roux-Briffo. The festival also features artists who have distinguished themselves by reviving and maintaining local traditions such as puppetry, music and kunto art through shows. A completely different story of the Association Artepupi Fratelli Napoli and I Lautari, which will be held on September 23 in Syracuse and will be repeated on September 26 at Cortile Platamone in Catania. A modern show in which a new character enters the universe of Sicilian dolls: Angelo D’Arrigo, world champion in hang gliding and paragliding, free flight record holder, a real Icarus of the third millennium. Thus, D’Arrigo enters the legend and receives a knighthood.
The theme of the return of the foreigner in Slavomir Mrozek’s film “The Emigrants” directed by Hafed Khalifa with Sleh Msaddak and Mohamed Tawfik Halfawi, which will be staged on September 25, arriving in Catania at the Bonaiuto Chapel on the 27th and 28th. Tunisia in 2022 by a Polish text from 1975, in which we find the humaneness of the foreigner’s situation, which unites all communities. Nadya Talish will be the main character on September 25 at 19:00 in the lobby of the Massimo Theater in Syracuse in a monologue called “I am a woman” directed by Hafez Khalifa, in which the female figure is in dialogue with herself in order not to submit to the pressure of reality and society on him. The monologue will also be performed in Catania on the 27th and 28th at the Bonajuto Chapel.