TERRIBILE E SPAVENTOSA STORIA DEL PRINCIPE DI VENOSA E DELLA BELLA MARIA

The Accademia Chigiana joins in celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Compagnia Figli d’Arte Cuticchio, the first association of puppeteers recognized by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, founded by Mimmo Cuticchio in the 1970s. For this occasion, the Accademia Chigiana features the “Terrible and frightening story of the Prince of Venosa and the beautiful Maria” by Salvatore Sciarrino: dramatic action freely taken from the story of Gesualdo da Venosa for Sicilian puppets of the Compagnia Figli d’Arte Cuticchio here within the streaming series on Chigiana Digital.

«This tragedy had a centuries-old resonance, so as to stimulate the imagination of historians, poets, playwrights, and now also ours. When everything was over, while Gesualdo’s life seemed to have returned to a princely normality, his music changed, he reached that style that is unmistakable for us. […] It is difficult not to shiver at certain words combined with singing, now that it deviates towards hallucination, now that the sounds become burns, and the unexpected chords become knife blades. We entrust the incredible story of the Sicilian puppets, so that they reveal the heroic, pathetic and farcical implications, and a smile will return to us. We entrust it to the storyteller who will exalt it with his stylistic gift”. *

* Salvatore Sciarrino, Carte da suono, CIDIM p.110 (translated)

Download the original program in PDF (in Italian)

Mimmo Cuticchio was born on 30 March 30th, 1948, after his father Giacomo, a “walking” puppeteer (wanderer) settled in Gela. From an early age he followed and helped his father but, despite receiving an education marked by an absolute respect for tradition, he found himself facing a modern society that was increasingly alien to the values ​​of popular culture. His was an apprenticeship that happened naturally.

In 1963, he followed his father to the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, and in 1967 he stayed for a few months in Paris to direct a puppet theater in the Latin quarter. In 1970, he moved to Rome where he met Aldo Rendine, director of the Sharoff Academy, who pushed him to continue the tradition of puppets. Back in Palermo, he increasingly felt the need for another teacher whom he found in the puppeteer and storyteller, Peppino Celano.

In 1973, the Puppet Theater of Santa Rosalia opens in Palermo. Meanwhile, Cuticchio receives the recognition from the Minister of Tourism and Entertainment.

In 1977, he founded the Associazione Figli d’Arte Cuticchio, which merged with the company of the same name, and was capable of producing shows by controlling all the phases (from the metal embossing of the armor to the wood carving of the bodies, to the painting of the scenes and signs, to the costume making). For the first time, a puppet company established a relationship with the public administration.

In 1984, as a tribute to Girolamo Cuticchio’s fifty years of activity, the group created the street and figure theater festival “The machine of dreams”, an annual reflection on puppet theater, oral narration, street theater, puppets and puppets, figures and objects.

Salvatore Sciarrino began composing as a self-taught composer; he gave his first public concert in 1962. Since 1969 he has published with Ricordi, and since 2005 with Rai Trade (now RaiCom). His discography is very wide, it counts about 150 CDs. He has authored most of the librettos of his operas and articles, essays and texts of various kinds, some of which are collected in Carte da suono (Cidim – Novecento, 2001). His interdisciplinary book on musical form Le figure della musica, da Beethoven a oggi (Ricordi, 1998) is of great importance. He has taught in the conservatories of Milan (1974-83), Perugia (1983-87) and Florence (1987-96). At the same time, he has held numerous specialization courses and masterclasses; among them in Città di Castello from 1979 to 2000 and at Boston University.

Member of the Academy of Santa Cecilia, of the Academy of Fine Arts of Bavaria and of the Academy of Arts (Berlin), in 2007, he received from the University of Palermo an honorary degree in Musicology. He has won numerous awards, including in 2003 the Prince Pierre de Monaco and the International Prize Feltrinelli; in 2006 the Musikpreis Salzburg; in 2011, the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of knowledge Award; in 2014 the Prize A life for music (Rubinstein Association Venice); and in 2016, the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in Music (Biennale Venezia).

Since 2013, he has been teaching at the Accademia Chigiana, where he taught previously, in 1983 and 2002.

Amii Stewart
Born in Washington, she began her career in the world of theater and dance. Over the years she has performed in many plays such as the Emmy Award-winning special Genesis Juba and other Jewels; followed by the Tony Award-winning musical Bubbling Brown Sugar.
Her first album is titled You can really touch my heart, but we can say that her real debut in the world of disco music is in 1977 with Knock on wood, which sold more than eight million copies. This is followed by Paradise Bird, where the influences of the pop genre begin to be felt, and the album I’m gonna get your love.
In 1983, she was an invited guest of the Sanremo Festival with the song Working Late Tonight, which marked the beginning of her artistic collaboration and her interest in Italy; shortly thereafter the hit single Grazie Perché with Gianni Morandi was released. Friends, Together, Try Love followed.
In 1986, she gave a new twist to her musical career by collaborating with Ennio Morricone.
In 1982, she also became a producer.
In 1993, she was one of the twelve artists chosen from all over the world to perform in the first concert held in Vatican City for the Pope, a concert that was broadcast worldwide. Her performance was so moving that she was the only artist to be invited to perform again in 1994.
Again, in 1993, she achieved resounding success at the Sanremo Festival together with Dee Dee Bridgewater.
She obtained a similar success shortly after with The Man I Love and again in Sanremo with the interpretation of September Morn.
1995 marked the beginning of her activity as a co-star in Italian television programs. Her most recent album is Love Affair, from 1996.

The Accademia Chigiana joins in celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Compagnia Figli d’Arte Cuticchio, the first association of puppeteers recognized by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, founded by Mimmo Cuticchio in the 1970s. For this occasion, the Accademia Chigiana features the “Terrible and frightening story of the Prince of Venosa and the beautiful Maria” by Salvatore Sciarrino: dramatic action freely taken from the story of Gesualdo da Venosa for Sicilian puppets of the Compagnia Figli d’Arte Cuticchio here within the streaming series on Chigiana Digital.

«This tragedy had a centuries-old resonance, so as to stimulate the imagination of historians, poets, playwrights, and now also ours. When everything was over, while Gesualdo’s life seemed to have returned to a princely normality, his music changed, he reached that style that is unmistakable for us. […] It is difficult not to shiver at certain words combined with singing, now that it deviates towards hallucination, now that the sounds become burns, and the unexpected chords become knife blades. We entrust the incredible story of the Sicilian puppets, so that they reveal the heroic, pathetic and farcical implications, and a smile will return to us. We entrust it to the storyteller who will exalt it with his stylistic gift”. *

* Salvatore Sciarrino, Carte da suono, CIDIM p.110 (translated)

The group, formerly Aedòn Quartet, was born from the meeting of four musicians who, after years of cross collaboration, decided to merge their experiences. They studied at the Rossini Conservatory in Pesaro, later specializing with Jean Marie Londeix, Serge Bichon, Pier Narciso Masi and Siefreid Palm.