20 DI/VERSI. Madrigali Contemporanei

Figli di un Dio ubriaco. Incursioni fisiche sui Madrigali di Claudio Monteverdi is not only a performance by Balletto Civile. It is the title of a composite project consisting of three different stages that Michela Lucenti and her group intend to realise, between 2021 and 2022, linked to the theme of contemporary madrigals, a sort of poetry slam with dancing. Besides the performance presented at the Melotti Auditorium for the Oriente Occidente Festival, with volunteers from the region of Trentino, 20 DI/VERSI. Madrigali Contemporanei is a performance-cum-exhibition hosted at the Sala Kennedy venue during the Festival, in which 20 “witnesses” – so to speak – present 20 biographies, 20 physical actions accompanied by original madrigals composed from their stories. The third and last stage, planned for 2022, will be a feature film directed by Katia Bernardi and inspired by the project, based on the documentation relating to the previous events, but with an independent poetic identity, of which a preview will be proposed at the Festival.

20 DI/VERSI. Madrigali Contemporanei was created with ordinary people, twenty people drawn from different backgrounds, willing to tell their stories and get involved. An investigation oscillating between civil society and poetic act, as the title reminds us, referring both to the verses of the ancient lyric/musical composition and the uniqueness of individuals, who "differ" for gender, age, occupation, experiences, witnesses to their life experiences and to the communities in which they live.

«Balletto Civile has consistently and extensively adopted this “community-based” scope since its foundation,» Lucenti explains, «which is the reason why – this time – we wanted to overturn this perspective. From the micro to the macro, like looking into a funnel from the other way round, broadening the horizon from the experiences of individuals to the story of the community as a whole. Fifty people replied to our call, all of them extremely interesting individuals. Of course, we couldn’t involve them all! So, we selected twenty». Following this selection, we began a long period of listening, with interviews aimed at composing personalised madrigals by Balletto Civile, which were then read – and recorded – by people close to each individual performer and constitute the soundtrack of the physical movements designed by the choreographer for each one of them, performed under their own blow-up during the exhibition. A way of underscoring the fact that «I am my madrigal».