Claudio Longhi Stages Canetti's 'La commedia della vanità' at Teatro Storchi
Claudio Longhi directed Elias Canetti's 'La commedia della vanità' at Teatro Storchi in Modena, Italy, in 2019. The play, written between 1933 and 1934 after Hitler's rise, references the Nazi book burning on May 10, 1933. It depicts a dictatorship banning mirrors, glass, photographs, and portraits to eradicate vanity, leading to illegal mirror trafficking and a state-run 'house of tolerance' for self-contemplation. Longhi's production, lasting nearly four hours, transforms the text into a grotesque, expressionist circus. The set by Giulia Buzzi features a circular stage with a bridge and a cage, with lighting by Vincenzo Bonafini and costumes by Gianluca Sbicca. The performance includes live music (cymbalon and violin). Twenty-three actors, including ten from Longhi's company and thirteen from ERT's school, perform multiple roles. Fausto Russo Alesi plays three emblematic characters representing stages of power. The production is a co-production by ERT, Teatro di Roma, Fondazione Teatro della Toscana, and Lac Lugano.
Key facts
- Claudio Longhi directed Elias Canetti's 'La commedia della vanità'.
- The play was written between 1933 and 1934 after Hitler's rise to power.
- It references the Nazi book burning in Berlin on May 10, 1933.
- The story is set in a dictatorship that bans mirrors, glass, photographs, and portraits.
- Longhi's production runs nearly four hours.
- The set design is by Giulia Buzzi, costumes by Gianluca Sbicca, lighting by Vincenzo Bonafini.
- Twenty-three actors perform, with Fausto Russo Alesi playing three roles.
- The production is co-produced by ERT, Teatro di Roma, Fondazione Teatro della Toscana, and Lac Lugano.
Entities
Artists
- Claudio Longhi
- Elias Canetti
- Fausto Russo Alesi
- Giulia Buzzi
- Gianluca Sbicca
- Vincenzo Bonafini
- Max Ophuls
Institutions
- Teatro Storchi
- ERT
- Teatro di Roma
- Fondazione Teatro della Toscana
- Lac Lugano
Locations
- Modena
- Italy
- Berlin
- Germany