Three producers for Koltès

Producer and artistic director of the Civic Theatre of the Marche, Giampiero Solari sees the Koltès project as a prelude to the inauguration of Le Muse as well as a path towards the theatre which reopens next October. So, from June to July, the Mole Vanvitelliana will host the opening of Mario Martone's "In the solitude of cotton fields" and in the following months the producer Cherif will begin work on the staging of Roberto Zucco in other areas of the Mole. In February, Solari will himself make his debut as producer at Le Muse with Black battle with dogs. Finally, in June 2003, the three different Koltès plays will be shown simultaneously on the stages where they started off, ideally linked with a series of readings, which go across the port. But that's not all. Starting with Koltès, Solari intends to open the Civic Theatre to other producers such as Valerio Binasco.

Conversation with Giampiero Solari

The Koltès project - says Solari, - stemmed from the idea of reuniting three producers of the same generation with one of the most important contemporary authors. Three different producers, all friendly with one another, filled with mutual appreciation and above all the desire to create the theatre of the future with a provocative approach which is also conveyed through the drama. With the exception of Italy, Koltès plays are shown regularly across Europe. It is not just a coincidence that as soon as he wrote new works, Chéreau would stage them. Now, three producers are creating their staging around Le Muse basing them on three works.

How will you, Cherif and Martone tackle Koltès?

Cherif, who has already tackled Koltès in his career, started with the idea of working at the Mole with the Civic Theatre Youth Company and other actors on Roberto Zucco, which seems to have been written about the present day. He will begin with a first leg from June to July. At the same time, Mario Martone will continue with the project he had produced a few months ago for Radio3, In the solitude of cotton fields with Claudio Amendola and Carlo Cecchi. The play takes on a different aspect at the Mole, establishing a rapport between the theatre and the visual arts. The recited word is enriched with new sounds in a space outlined by lights where different "visions" can be seen at different times during the day. This is an opening which forms part of today's art fashions.
After these first two dates, Koltès will come to Le Muse in February with my production of Black battle with dogs. And in June 2003 the three works can all be seen together where they began with the addition of a series of readings along the port. I believe this is a good way to start, a fitting prelude to the reopening of Le Muse with one of our productions.

Why did you choose to make your debut as producer at Le Muse with Koltès?

The fact that I chose to stage first Koltès and then Molière for the opening season of Le Muse is a clear sign, a way of opening up trust in contemporary theatre, with Koltès performed in a large theatre in contrast with what usually happens in Italy where small halls seem to be the "norm" for Koltès plays. It's an important operation for me, whereby I try to stir the market towards a product of seemingly little commercial value.

Which actors did you have in mind for "Black battle with dogs"?

I thought of Remo Girone because he is an extraordinary actor who goes beyond the TV series or the most light-hearted films he does, where he has always created very strong characters.

The other actor is Valerio Binasco who, above all, is a brilliant producer. We are starting to work with him. He will probably come in the summer to do a small study at the Mole with the Youth Company which will preliminarily follow one of my seminars on Shakespeare. It interests me that Valerio has a link with the city of Ancona, and it was no coincidence that I hosted his Chekhov's 'Seagull' during the last theatre season. I believe he is one of the strangest and most interesting characters on the Italian theatrical circuit.

I am still looking for the other two actors. I have some very good solutions in mind especially regarding the girl; I will see in July about the black actor. The idea is to have a very strong quartet of actors which creates high tension, continually captivating the audience who must feel the joy build up inside them, and feed their constant interest in the stage, both for the strength of the script and the staging. If we manage to reach our objective, we would be doing it with the most difficult thing of all: an almost unknown script by a strong author.

How do you see the scenery being recreated?

I am still studying this. Koltès' script talks about the hyperrealistic reproduction of part of a bridge. Instead, I'm thinking of something simpler which still bears the spaces of the African camp in mind. There will however be elements which are real but not realistic, a container used as an office, a sort of veranda, and a large scraper. It will be a very large space so we will take the opportunity to extend the stage at Le Muse to cover the area for the orchestra. The stage will be designed by Sergio Tramonti.