La passione di Cleopatra
Visioni e maschere di Arnaldo Pomodoro
June 24 - September 18, 2016
Museo Internazionale e Biblioteca della Musica, Strada Maggiore 34, Bologna
The International Museum and Library of Music of Bologna has organized, in collaboration with the Civic Archaeological Museum of Bologna and the Arnaldo Pomodoro Foundation, an exhibition that brings into the exhibition halls of the Museum of Music the project materials (drawings, masks, ornaments, stage models) created by Arnaldo Pomodoro for the staging of The Passion of Cleopatra by the Egyptian poet Ahmad Shawqi. The performance, directed by Cherif and with music by Paolo Terni, was presented on the ruins of Gibellina in the summer of 1989 as part of the Orestiadi, an international festival of theater, music, and visual arts still held today in the town of Gibellina, in the province of Trapani, which was rebuilt after the 1968 earthquake that devastated the Belice Valley.
The exhibition is part of the project related to the exhibition Egypt. Millennial Splendor, which allowed for an unprecedented operation in Bologna within the international panorama: the Egyptian collection of the National Museum of Antiquities of Leiden in the Netherlands – one of the top ten in the world – and Bologna's collection – among the leading collections in Italy in terms of quantity, quality, and state of preservation – have been united and integrated into a single exhibition path covering about 1,700 square meters of art and history.
The Passion of Cleopatra tells a fundamental chapter of that extraordinary journey that Arnaldo Pomodoro embarked upon over fifty years in the scenic design of more than forty productions. The exhibition recalls this spectacle through the sumptuous accompanying ornaments designed by the maestro, visionary bronze masks (for Cleopatra, Marc Antony, Caesarion, and other characters in the play), armors, breastplates, parade helmets, monumental jewelry, and stage models. Accompanying them is the enlightening commentary by Paola Goretti, in her dual role as art historian and – for the opening – as the narrating voice in an overture dedicated to the verses spoken – with a breath – by the famous Egyptian queen.
Info and how to access the exhibition
When: from June 24 to September 18, 2016 (check hours and access details on the website of the Museo Internazionale e Biblioteca della Musica di Bologna)
Where: Museo Internazionale e Biblioteca della Musica, Strada Maggiore 34, Bologna
Tickets: entry included in the museum ticket price.
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