THEATRE | The curtain falls to the theatre Vittorio Emanuele of Messina in 2020

The curtain fell before their start on many of plays and ballets scheduled in the 2019/2020 artistic season of the theatre Vittorio Emanuele of Messina. Like all other national theatres, even the historic one in the city of the Strait closed its doors for the second time this year, in compliance with the new Prime Minister’s Decree that establishes and tightens measures to contain the spread of COVID-19. The theatre season showed a great start in October last year with Bram Stoker’s “Dracula”, directed by Sergio Rubini together with Luigi Lo Cascio. Full house and a warm welcome from the audience.

Before the closing of the theatres last March, the brilliant and hilarious “Massimo Lopez and Tullio Sollenghi show” amused, entertained and even touched the loyal visitors of the former trio, now a duo, of italian comedians, for two hours and non-stop.

Indeed, the curtain fell but not the desire to go back to sit on the red armchairs, enjoy the darkness in the audience in the moments before the start of a show, as much a play, ballet as opera, and then witness the magic that only the stage of a theatre can give to fans of the genre. The shows, scheduled for the 2020/2021 season, are for now suspended and postponed to a later date. Let us hope that it will be as soon as possible.

History

The Vittorio Emanuele Theatre of Messina was commissioned by Ferdinand II of Bourbon in 1842 and saw its inauguration ten years later. Due to the devastating earthquake of 1908 it was seriously compromised and underwent extensive restoration work, which almost entirely rebuilt it and ended only in 1980. It was inaugurated again in 1985 and the first opera represented was “Aida”, the last to be performed before the earthquake.

The layout of Vittorio Emanuele Theatre

The entrance to the theatre is characterized by a three-arched portico, surmounted by the marble sculptural group “Time that discovers the Truth and Messina” created by the Messina sculptor Saro Zagari. The internal ceiling is decorated with a huge work by Renato Guttuso, depicting the myth of “Colapesce”, which dives into the waters of the Strait, surrounded by sirens. The fresco overlooks the stalls and offers a glimpse, with fairytale tones, of the depths of the sea and legend has it that the heroic swimmer supports even today the Messina tip of the island.

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