Roberto Zappalà's 'La giara' challenges stereotypes at Teatro Regio Torino

At Teatro Regio di Torino, a double bill paired Alfredo Casella's 1924 'commedia coreografica' 'La giara' with Pietro Mascagni's 1890 melodrama 'Cavalleria rusticana' for the 2018/2019 opera season, directed by Andrea Battistoni. While Gabriele Lavia's staging of 'Cavalleria rusticana' relied on clichéd Southern Italian stereotypes—coppole, black shawls, patriarchal gazes—Roberto Zappalà's new choreography for 'La giara' offered a critical, contemporary reinterpretation. Zappalà, a Catania-born choreographer, transformed the familiar folk tale into a collective dance exploring the jar's interior void, using eleven bearded dancers in abstract printed bodysuits. The choreography, with dramaturgy by Nello Calabrò, emphasized collective movement and totemic prosthetics, challenging static imaginaries of the South. However, critic Stefano Tomassini noted that the dance remained overly subservient to Casella's score, lacking transitions except when dancers filled pauses with gesture and voice, suggesting a more emancipatory potential. The production featured Compagnia Zappalà Danza and dancers including Gaetano Montecasino and Rubén García Arabit.