Exhibitions: The exhibition of the Inda, ‘Orestea’ second act, at the Palazzo Greco in Syracuse

The Inda foundation, the National Institute of Ancient Drama, inaugurated the exhibition ‘Orestea’ second act at the Palazzo Greco in Syracuse, a multimedia exhibition curated by Marina Valensise, under the supervision of the director Davide Livermore, born on the occasion of the centenary of the mass on stage of Aeschylus’ ‘Coefore’, which took place in 1921 with the artistic direction of Ettore Romagnoli, the sets and costumes by Duilio Cambellotti, the music and choirs of Giuseppe Mulè. Starting from the collection of unpublished photographs by Angelo Maltese and thanks to archival documents and new audiovisual technologies, the exhibition tells the origins of the Inda and the way of producing a theatrical performance at the beginning of the twentieth century. The exhibition, curated by Carmelo Iocolano and Elena Servito, is divided into three sections. The first is dedicated to the protagonists of the resumption of classical performances at the Greek Theater of Syracuse after the Great War and the Spanish epidemic: Count Mario Tommaso Gargallo of Castel Lentini, who federated around himself the living forces of the city of Syracuse to make the Greek Theater was reborn, the archaeologist Paolo Orsi who guaranteed the protection of the monument, the Greek scholar Ettore Romagnoli who directed the shows, the composer Giuseppe Mulè and the artist Duilio Cambellotti who wrote the music and designed the sets and costumes. The second section exhibits a selection of 44 photographs of the same show from 1921, taken by the Syracusan photographer Angelo Maltese during the performances at the Greek Theater in April 1921. Finally, entering the ‘Space of Time’, the visitor of the exhibition will be able to watch the projection of a video made by Alain Parroni with Threeab and immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the Greek Theater of a hundred years ago: the images of the highlights of the second act of ‘Orestea’, with the colors of the sets and costumes of Cambellotti, while the actors of the 1921, taking today the voices of the students of the Academy of Art of the Ancient Drama of the Inda, they recite some of the verses of Aeschylus and sing the choirs of the Coefore, under the direction of Maestro Marco Podda. Stefano Santospago’s voice reproduces a passage from the speech given a hundred years ago at the Greek Theater in Syracuse by Vittorio Emanuele Orlando, envoy of the Giolitti government. At the inauguration of the exhibition, among the mayor of Syracuse Francesco Italia, president of the Inda Foundation, the superintendent of the Inda foundation Antonio Calbi, while on July 19 the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella (by Enzo Bonaiuto) is expected in the capital of Arezzo.