L'Italo-Americano

GIOVEDÌ 17 OTTOBRE 2019 www.italoamericano.org 7 L'Italo-Americano IN ITALIANO | times of Socrates. But the pupi we are familiar with today come from the 1800s. The stories are those of medieval Chivalric Romance, of the kings of France, of the Orlan- do Furioso (The Frenzy or Orlando) and of the Orlando Innamorato (Orlando in Love). They tell about the wars and bat- tles against the Moors of Spain. Characters recur and events are intertwined and this is visible in the marionettes as well: each character has his or her own color, his or her own special decoration or symbol on the armor and shield. This, too, is part of tradition. T h e w a y p u p i a r e m a d e remained unchanged since the 19th century: the body and the head are carved in wood, accor- ding to traditional models, that become unique thanks to the creative work of the puparo. The same is true for the armors, which are entirely handmade using traditional instruments and techniques. Here in Palermo, pupi are about 90 cm tall (3 ft) and weight between 6 and 10 kg (12 to 20 lbs). But they're not the same everywhere: in Cata- nia, for instance, they are taller, they can reach 130 cm (4 1/3 ft) and weight up to 30 kg (60 lbs). And then, we have the cha- racters. Their personality was, and still is, extremely important: they were all heroes, who mirro- red people's necessity to redeem their position of outcasts by i d e n t i f y i n g w i t h f i g u r e s o f higher values and morals they also felt as their own: friendship, loyalty, courage. A very interesting part of your work is the cunto, the "tale," which is typical of the teatro dei pupi: why is it so important? The cunto is one of the very roots of the Opera dei Pupi and it's not easy to describe. Narra- tion takes place through a very specific type of metrics, which helps the cuntista to make the events of the story almost tangi- ble, "physical." The voice doe- sn't simply tell a story, it shapes it and moulds it, it's as impor- tant as the movements of the pupi themselves. It makes the tale alive. Without a doubt, the art of cunto is complex, rooted as it is not only in the knowledge of each and every tale, but also in the personal creative afflatus and inspiration of the narrator. A n d i t ' s a n e x c l u s i v e l y o r a l form of art. Maestro Mimmo Cuticchio learned the art from Peppino Celano, one of the greatest cun- tisti of our times and, today, he uses cunto for both chivalric tales and contemporary ones. T h e o p e n i n g o f a p u p a r i school as part of your Associa- zione marked an important moment in its history. What's the value of such an education institution in today's world? The school opened in 1997, about 20 years ago. It was the first school for pupari and cun- tisti in the world. It's a three year, atelier-based course, that aims primarily at transmitting the immense cultural and artistic patrimony of the Opera dei Pupi to those interested in it. It's in Palermo, at the Teatrino e Laboratorio dei Figli d'Arte Cuticchio. Our students, who at the moment are all between 18 to 26, don't only learn the art of making pupi and of the cunto, but also get acquainted with other disciplines like drama, stage setting, costume making, lighting, direction and acting: in short, everything pupari need to do their job well. The school has received the support and collaboration of the Comune di Palermo, and also of important international insti- tutions like the International School of Theatre Anthropo- logy (ISTA), the Charleville M e z i é r è s ' É c o l e S u p é r i e u r e N a t i o n a l e d e s A r t s d e l a Marionnette and several Italian universities. T h e l a s t f e w y e a r s h a v e witnessed a rise in interest, especially among the younger generations, in our ancient traditions, those that gave to Italian culture its variety and beauty: have you been noti- cing signs of this trend also for the Opera dei Pupi? B e t w e e n t h e e n d o f t h e 1950s and the beginning of the 1980s, things weren't rosy for the Opera dei Pupi. It was con- sidered "old stuff," but para- doxically not "old enough" to be interesting. For more than one g e n e r a t i o n , p u p i h a v e b e e n nothing more than souvenirs. Today, however, people's attitu- de has changed also, I believe, t h a n k s t o t h e w o r k M i m m o Cuticchio has been doing with the school. His shows, which he brought all over the world, also helped. His work has been una- nimously appreciated by public, critics and academics alike. Without a doubt, this new interest in history and traditions positively helped our work, to the point that, as we already s a i d , t h e O p e r a d e i P u p i i s t o d a y p a r t o f t h e U N E S C O Intangible Heritage List. Mind, intangible heritage, that is, not the marionettes themselves, but all the theatrical techniques (use of the voice, dramatization, mise en scène) you pass on from father to son, from teacher to student. Finally, tell us something a b o u t t h e M a c c h i n a d e i Sogni… The Macchina dei Sogni is our festival. Its first edition took place in 1984, to celebrate the 50 years of activity of Giacomo C u t i c c h i o , M i m m o ' s f a t h e r . Since then, we've been organi- zing it every year, with shows, exhibitions and events all con- n e c t e d t o t h e w o r l d o f t h e Opera dei Pupi. The Festival lasts for a month and wants to bring attention to the world of pupi as a whole: to the cunto, to history, to craftsmanship. For the first 10 years, the festival took place in Palermo, then we moved around Sicily a bit, first to Sortino (Siracusa), then to Terrasini (Palermo) and, for a few editions now, we've been in Polizzi Generosa (Palermo). Every year, La Macchina del Tempo hosts artists from all over t h e w o r l d w h o M i m m o , o u r Maestro, met during his trips. NEWS & FEATURES PERSONAGGI OPINIONI ATTUALITÀ Continua da pagina 5 G I Pupi vengono realizzati ancora oggi con tecniche tradizionali (Copyright: Città di Parma) Pupi di varie dimensioni (Copyright: Città di Parma)

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