“When it was proposed to me “Brother Sun, Sister Moon” the first thing was to think of a dramaturgy suitable for the theater, and with Angela Demattè we essentially focused on Francis’ youthful period up until his first visit to Pope Innocent III, long before he became a saint.”
Piero Maccarinellidirector of the show “Brother Sun, Sister Moon” taken from the opera of the same name by Franco Zeffirelli and Lina Wertmüller, with original music by Riz Ortolani and Donovan, it retraces the extraordinary parable of Francis of Assisi.
A Francesco who progressively, from a spoiled, worldly boy eager for life and nice clothes, transforms into a young man who renounces everything in the name of communion with nature, with the world, with all other living beings.
Daniele Gelsi’s costumes are inspired by Giotto and the frescoes of the Upper Basilica of Assisi: a work of great chromatic and compositional refinement that fits perfectly into Francesco Sereni’s scenography.
With the special participation of Fabrizia Sacchi And Massimo Wertmüllerin the role of Francesco’s parents, to all intents and purposes the noble fathers of the company and the friendly contribution of Tullio Solenghi, the tour, co-production of International Music and Arts, will start from the Guglielmi Theater in Massa, and then travel across the entire peninsula, including Milan (Teatro Manzoni 23-25 October), Aosta, Florence, Rome, Turin, Genoa, Catanzaro, Brindisi and Lecce.
AND it will start on October 4thon the day dedicated to Saint Francis of Assisi.
Piero, this year is the eighth centenary of the death of Saint Francis and Italy celebrates his memory through many shows dedicated to him. Why choose yours?
“Because it is not a show about Saint Francis. It is a show about the formation of a group of teenagers in life and love. The leader of these teenagers is called Francis but he is not yet the saint. He is above all a boy, who together with other young men and a young woman, Chiara, build their life on values which will then become the basis of the principles of Saint Francis. It is a show about brother Sun and sister Moon; it is only Francis. He became a saint much later.”
What are the differences compared to the original film?
“The only betrayal is the time frame: we stopped at 1209, the year in which dressed only in his habit he entered the Vatican for the first time, meeting Pope Innocent III, speaking to him in his voice about those universal concepts of respect for nature, tolerance towards the poor and the marginalized.”
In the theater there is also the inclusion of the Canticle of the Creatures
“It seemed to us that it perfectly represented the synthesis of Francis’ thoughts, whose words are disarmingly contemporary. There is a beautiful book, recently released, by the naturalist Stefano Mancuso which takes every phrase of the Canticle of the Creatures and shows its absolute relevance, without there being any need to distort anything.”
A figure who does not need to be made contemporary, because he was one in his own right
“It’s fascinating to see this spirituality, this attitude in young people. Realizing that they actually think many of the things that Francis thought, especially those about nature and tolerance. Not rejecting those who are different, but accepting them. They have many fewer problems than previous generations.
When Francis writes the Canticle of the Creatures, his terms of reference are not only spiritual. Apart from the incipit “Most High, omnipotent, good Lord”, we speak of the Sun, the Moon, the plants, the stars, the wind and the earth. These are not just religious values, they are absolute values and they are the values for which they are the first to fight even today.
Chiara talks about the pollution of the river – even then there was pollution through the fabric makers who dumped the fabric waste into the water. Theirs is an awareness first of all about nature, about the defense of this world, also for generations to come, and this is what in my opinion is very current and very right to represent. For Francis and not for Saint Francis.”
Francesco was also a great orator, with extraordinary communication skills
“Absolutely, but above all he was a great example; he was exemplary because he put his life into his flesh and into his words. He behaved as he spoke. Even then it was difficult to think of abandoning everything to follow his thoughts, and yet he made so many proselytes. We stop at 1209 and we talk about a membership of dozens of people, who later became hundreds and then thousands. He lived his words firsthand, he became encysted in this message, becoming its example living.
Is there anything you haven’t asked that you want to be told?
“I would particularly like to point out the cast of kids: in addition to Giulio Pranno (Francesco) and Ksenia Borzak (Chiara), there is a group of very young kids fresh from the Academy, close-knit with each other and entering into a dimension of mutual help. If someone is in difficulty, another actor steps in to help them. All this is very Franciscan…”
After all, it couldn’t be otherwise.
