There is a hawk flying over the Strait of Messina and sees a bridge appearing and disappearing. And it is from this image that takes shape The Voices of the Strait, work in an act of the composer Roberto Scarcella Perino, presented on March 27 at the Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò in New York within a project dedicated to contemporary music theatre.
The work was born, in fact, from a commission: “The La Spezia Conservatory asked me to write a work for boys,” the composer says. From now on, however, the project takes a more personal direction. The initial idea was to work on Colapesce, legendary figure half man and half fish; then, along with the librettist Eugenio Refini, moves on the Strait of Messina. “We wanted to create a fairy tale with characters from the Strait who told themselves and their history,” he explains.
The result is a simple structure: six paintings, each dedicated to a character, plus a final. “A form declared by fable,” which, however, lies on a very concrete tradition: that of the Italian melodrama. “His booklet was very musical in itself,” says Scarcella Perino, speaking about the work of Refini, “it was as if the music was already inside the text”.
An accessible writing, “very melodic, sometimes romantic”, far from some contemporary experimentation and closer to a narrative idea of music. A choice consistent with the audience to which the work is addressed: not only children, but spectators called to recognize themselves in the characters.
As often happens in the musical theatre, the fantastic size works as a device to talk about the present. “To gather stories with contemporary themes helps the audience’s response a lot,” the composer says. In the case of the Strait, the reference is inevitably to the bridge, project discussed for decades. In the work, however, the bridge is never really real: «Absolutely more myth and dream, not reality». It is a choice that avoids explicit positioning: “The work does not propose a point of view: it wants to stimulate the debate”. Rather than stand up, it sets out the ambiguity of the theme itself, transforming it into image.
It is no coincidence that the characters are those of the myth: Scilla, Cariddi, Colapesce, Fata Morgana. Figures that, as the classical tradition recalls, have inhabited the Strait for centuries and embody its dangers and suggestions. To these is added a realistic element: a hawk, typical migratory animal of the area. It is the only “true” character, and for this reason it becomes the point of contact between fairy tale and reality. “Inserting a real character allows you to connect fairy tales and present”, explains Scarcella Perino.
From a visual point of view, the work uses contemporary tools: projections, animations, videos. In particular, a graphic contribution shows the bridge that is built and dissolved, making visible the idea of illusion. On the musical level, however, the choice is opposite: «I love the true sound of the instruments». No nostalgia, but a clear position: technology is a means among others, while the center remains sound, recognizable. “I would like the audience to carry with it the song and the history of each character”. More than a unique message, a series of questions: “Who is Scilla? Who’s Morgana? ».
Perhaps this is the closest point to the narrative style that the work seems to pursue: do not explain, but evoke. Do not solve the debate on the Strait, but turn it into a story. And, as often happens with the best stories, leave something that continues to resonate even after.
After Le Voci dello Stretto, Roberto Scarcella Perino continues to work on other projects. Among them, a work on Henry IV of Pirandello. In parallel, the activity continues in chamber music. On 14 April, in fact, he will present a new piano sonata at the Italian Institute of Culture.
L’articolo The Voices of the Strait, from melodrama to the contemporary fable proviene da IlNewyorkese.
