Goodbye Renato, the essay by Elisabetta Castiglioni recalls Rascel as the protagonist of the Italian scenes of the twentieth century

How many today remember Renato Rascel (1912 – 1991), aka the “National Little One”? “He was one of those multifaceted artists who could (and was able) to write and interpret every role with enthusiasm, grit and determination”, explains to Adnkronos Elisabetta Castiglioni, author of the volume dedicated to him “Renato Rascel. A protagonist of the show of the Novecento “, to be released by Iacobelli publisher in the main Italian bookstores and on digital platforms. “I would dare to say that his talent derives from the ability to observe around him, as a child, what was happening and to concentrate on restoring it – continues Castiglioni – with surreal scenic situations, jokes and interpretations, through his own dreamlike and delightful creativity, above all unsettling. The biggest surprise is precisely to have discovered that his greatness came from being an intelligent self-taught, capable of listening to the spectator and intuiting their moods “. A multiple character, both as an original author and as a refined and unmistakable interpreter, as well as a singer, Rascel was in fact able to create, in his unpredictable performances, a very personal style, playful and reflective on the ‘fil rouge’ of surrealism. Castiglioni has been searching for its traces for twenty years in public and private archives and dedicates this essay to him, convinced “that Rascelian creative writing is still current and extremely communicative”. His is a critical itinerary through the genesis and the background of his works, able to bring out the poetics and uniqueness. Strong of an unequivocal style and his talent as a “one man show”, the eclectic Rascel has unraveled with ‘nonchalance’ between avanspettacolo, magazine, musical comedy, prose, cinema, television, pop music, genres to which the various chapters of the volume are dedicated. The bewildered and childlike character of him knew how to establish an immediate dialogue with the public, ranging from the humor of the “Corazziere” to the poetics of the absurd of Beckett and Jonesco; from the musical comedies of Garinei and Giovannini to the “evergreen” songs, first of all “Arrivederci Roma”. In this reasoned artistic biography, where interesting unpublished projects also stand out, you can retrace the various stages of his career to grasp the measure of his greatness as well as the events of half a century of Italian entertainment. The volume, rich in iconography, is edited by Francesco Coniglio.Born in 1912 and died in 1991, Rascel will be a musician, performer, director, composer, dancer, singer, author – in short, a storyteller of his own bewildered poetics – from the 1930s to the Eighties, indiscriminately touching the comic and dramatic chords, without ever intellectualistic pretensions. “His polite humor – Castiglioni emphasizes again – produced genuine well-being and his commitment to tackle every new adventure between theater, cinema, radio, television, music , journalism and fairy tales for children. In every gesture, word, action and reflection (such as having included, among the first, the eclectic mastery of Gigi Proietti, for example) Rascel has put both his and ours ‘And what about Rascel’s’ temper’? “Many remember him for this – replies the author – I consider him professionalism. I did not know him personally, but I ‘breathed’ him for three years on the paper of scripts, books and newspapers, but above all through the stories of the person who was close to him – in public and in private – for over 20 years, Giuditta Saltarini “. Finally, a hope: that the new generations will take an interest” in this work of research and investigation, because in that part of the Italian show, of which Rascel was contemporary, there is a lot to recover and rediscover “.