«Dawn Appeared» (Florence 1933)

Abstract

In May 1933, the first edition of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino takes place. This event lasted well beyond the fascist regime under which it was inaugurated. From the outset, this initiative was characterized by the novelty of what was offered, which marked the participation, as scenographers, of artists such as Giorgio de Chirico, Mario Sironi and Felice Casorati. This novel event developed on the lines of the European trends that, following the experiences of Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, had witnessed the development of a close dialogue between scenography and the leading European artists. In Italy, it had been marked by the work of the Futurists, by Pirandello for his Teatro d’Arte, and by Gualino’s Teatro di Torino. In May 1933, de Chirico’s mise-en-scène of Bellini’s opera The Puritans, causes a sensation and is seen as a challenge which shakes the laid-back habits of Italian musical theatre and projects it on to the vaster horizon of the European scene.