Venice, November 23, 2021- A project born from the desire to let Venice have its own musical. In this way was born “Casanova opera pop”, a musical created and produced by Red Canzian, which will be presented in January on national preview, at the Teatro Malibran as a tribute to Venice and its 1600 years of history. Two hours of still unreleased music and 21 performers, chosen among actors/ singers and acrobatic dancers, to give back life to the beloved Venetians adventurer, one of the most popular and controversial characters of all time.
“On birthdays we usually make presents, and on the occasion of the 1600 years of Venice I decided to write this musical as a gift to this wonderful and unique city. Although being an incredible city, so far Venice was the only one not having its own musical, and now it has one- says the singer and composer, who was born in Treviso- This is the fictionalized story of Casanova, even if I truly believe his life was not just a novel. A really significant show, where the public will be fully immersed in 1755 Venice. We created the images that will be projected on the screen during the show, and there the whole story will take place, while actors move, sing, and dance live on stage”. The tour will start on January 21st from Venice, and then will move to the Teatro Crebert, in Bergamo, Teatro Nuovo Giovanni in Udine, Teatro Arcimboldi in Milan, Teatro Comunale Mario del Monaco in Treviso, and Teatro Alfieri in Turin.
“There will be thirty performances overall - explains Canzian, and no more. Since theaters have been closed for almost two years, due to the health emergency, it was almost impossible to find available spaces. We believe that thirty performances are enough to make our show famous, because Venice must be brought all around the world. We have people travelling from all over the world to come and visit Venice, and we will bring this city into their hometowns. We will take it to Seoul, China, Russia, USA, South America, and of course Europe. I believe it will be a great way to promote a place that we are used to defining “wonderful” but that actually is even a bit more than that”.
Based on Matteo Strukul’s best seller, “Giacomo Casanova- La sonata dei cuori infranti”, an historical novel released in 2018 and translated into over ten languages, “Casanova opera pop” investigate in a new different way Casanova during its golden years, at the age of 35, just after his return from the exile, while defending Venice from the power games it was living in that period. “Casanova has always fascinated me, and I think he was always unfairly represented just in his attitude of latin lover and nothing more- says the artist, who joined the historic Pooh band in 1973- he was a philosopher, a chemist, a linguist, an expert on the cabala, much desired by all the great European courts, a close friend of Madame de Pompadour. My own Casanova is a superhero that kids will love, who desperately falls in love with a 19-year-old girl for whom he questions his whole life. He is a very romanticCasanova”.
Directed by Emanuele Gamba, the musical was conceived in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. “We rehearsed in a period during which no one knew if theaters would have shortly opened again. Everyone suggested us to stop- says Canzian- but my wife Beatrix Niederwieser and I, the producers of this work that in the end became a huge project, decided to keep going on and bring this show on stage, because Venice deserved it. As my wife rightly says we consider it like our third son”.
Behind Canzian during this journey, a team of national and international professional, like Milo Manara, who realized the musical’s artwork, the Fenice’s theater staging director Massimo Checchetto for the scenic design, Fabio Berettin for the lights effects, Desirèe Costanzo as styler and Stefano Nicolao’s Venetian atelier which took care of the 120 costumes. The designer Gian Pietro Muraro, together with the “Politecnico calzaturiero del Brenta”, realized the footwear.
“We were looking for the best quality and I think, in the end, good music was produced. The songs were written at the very last minute, as well as the idea of including them into the show- says Canzian- we then had the possibility to shoot an empty Venice during the pandemic. The greatest difficulty was to find characters matching with those I created in my imagination, but even on this point we had succeeded. My Casanova is powerful, is open minded, and is not a cheater. He’s positive, he opens his arms while singing “Venezia amore mio”, is a man that is ready to do anything to save his city. All the story and the show is filled with love, and in fact our motto is: it's time to fall in love. And so which better occasion than Venice and the “Casanova opera pop” to rediscover this need and desire”.