Il “grazioso” e “umano” di Fiorenzo Carpi. Appunti sulle musiche di scena per l’Arlecchino servitore di due padroni – Davide Verga – Stratagemmi 15

Descrizione

Sound design is an essential part of contemporary theatre, despite the lack of studies devoted to musical scores in theatrical plays. Since the early 20th century, music has become an unavoidable element (as well as set pieces, costumes etc.), of the ‘text’ of the play, contributing to its sense and its global reception. This is why it doesn’t come as a surprise that Fiorenzo Carpi – the well trained composer who started to collaborate with Piccolo Teatro in Milan since the very beginning of its activity –is considered one of Giorgio Strehler’s closest partners. Over the years, the director has often mentioned the crucial importance of Carpi’s work in his letters and interviews.The real impact of Carpi’s contribution however, can be measured directly in the text. The following paper will analyze Carpi’s work on Arlecchino servitore di due padroni, so far one of the most significative Piccolo Teatro’s plays. With its ten different editions, Arlecchino offers a very special slant on the evolution of Strehler’s interpretation and its influence on musical scores (especially with the 1956 Edinburgh Edition and the ‘brechtian’ reading of the original Goldoni’s Arlecchino). First by studying the original autographic scores by Fiorenzo Carpi, held in the Piccolo Teatro Historical Archive, then by analyzing ‘secondary’ sources such as press reviews, TV videos, tapes, photographs, programmes or playbills – thankfully for the most part also held in the same archive –the article will try to explain how the music score evolved togheter with the different readings of the director.