Ludovica Rambelli teatro

Ludovica Rambelli Teatro
from Napoli

presents: “La Conversione di un Cavallo”

The Ludovica Rambelli Teatro is a famous theatre company from Naples, known for its tableaux
vivants technique (French for “living paintings”).
Silent scenes “frozen” in life are staged theatrically, incorporating aspects of both the performing
and visual arts, and have become an art form in their own right. Paintings and sculptures from
historical to contemporary art works serve as models for the performers. In the 18th century, such
“living pictures” were staged by the Europan aristocracy and bourgeoisie, especially at courtly
festivities. Then long forgotten, this art of representation was revitalised by the Ludovica Rambelli
Teatro from Naples. In the presentation “La Conversione di un Cavallo”, twenty-three of
Caravaggio’s most famous works, composed of living bodies, are re-created one after the other
before the eyes of the viewer in a seamless, flowing process. Supplemented by a few minimal
elements, such as constantly re-draped fabrics of different colours and textures as well as a few
everyday objects, the process culminates in still images held by the performers for several
minutes. A single ray of light illuminates the scene, acting as an imaginary frame. La Conversione
di un Cavallo is truly a work of great visual impact and yet extreme simplicity. Accompanied by the
music of Mozart, Bach, Vivaldi and Sibelius, the magic of the tableaux vivants is brought to
fulfilment.

The Ludovica Rambelli Teatro was founded in 2010 at the behest of director Ludovica Rambelli.
The company was founded when Malatheatre (founded in the 1990s), also directed by Rambelli,
dissolved. From the old core of actors the director decided to continue her creative work with Dora
De Maio and Mauro Milanese, actors/ trainers. With historical headquarters at the Complesso
Monumentale Donnaregina, the new company emerged with the revival of the show “La
Conversione di un Cavallo. Tableaux vivants da Caravaggio” (2006). This show was so successful
that it has seen about 500 performances, between Italy and abroad (Spain, Portugal, Paris,
Russia, Kiev, Jerusalem, Malta, Oxford…). New shows have been produced over the years:
“Perugino” (in collaboration with Umbria Turismo); “;Mysterium- The Rediscovered Frescoes” (
which won the Amedeo Maiuri archaeology prize); “The Temple and Time” ( Pio Alferano Prize);

On stage:

Chiara Kija, Andrea Fersula, Elena Fattorusso, Fiorenzo Madonna, Maria La Greca, Rocco
Giordano, Alessio Sica, Antonio Stoccuto. 

Director: Dora De Maio

is an actress, a performer and a drama instructor. In the late ‘90s, she attended the Malatheatre
Company, directed by Ludovica Rambelli, first as an actress, and then as an assistant to the
director. She attended the Campo Teatrale School in Milan with the Maestro Matteo Lanfranchi,
and continued studying drama, including training with national and international artists. In parallel
with her theatrical coaching- she received a Master’s degree in Communications and
Entertainment Marketing (2007) and worked as a Drama Instructor in disadvantaged areas and
prison facilities (2008). She graduated with honours at the University of Salerno in Humanities, in
the fields of Art and Entertainment.

Il Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi)

was born in Milan on September 29, 1571 and died in 1610 (Porto Ercole aged just 38, on July 18,
1610) was a Roman Baroque painter whose influence on Roman, indeed international painting in
the 17th century was so resounding that he inspired Italian, Dutch, French and Flemish painters
alike to follow in his footsteps. Caravaggio’s hot temper, which often brought him into conflict with
the law and ultimately led to his murder, and the painter’s early death at the age of 38 made him a
figure shrouded in myth.

Caravaggio’s painting is unique, as he was able to masterfully capture a rare combination of
realism and theatricality on canvas. This style, a mixture of detailed reality and stark chiaroscuro,
his technique of light-dark contrasts, creates the dramatic atmosphere seen in all his works.
Nevertheless, a hundred years after his death, Caravaggio was almost forgotten. He was
rediscovered in the 20th century.
There are many legends, myths and stories about Caravaggio’s life, and there is no doubt that the
artist was a very extravagant personality. There have been at least three feature films about his
life, including “Caravaggio” from British director Derek Jarman (1986).
Exhibitions of Caravaggio and his art are crowd-magnets worldwide, and his paintings are now
worth dizzying amounts of money. “The Conversion of a Horse” brings 23 of his works back to life
on stage:

It is a real special project but I am sure the people will fall in love with it.
The travel party of this project is 10 people.
 
 
Ludovica Rambelli Teatro is the famous company for its Tableau Vivant Tecnique.
Based on the “tableaux vivants” technique, La Conversione di un Cavallo is a work of great visual impact and yet of extreme simplicity. Before the viewers ‘eyes twenty-three of the best Caravaggio’s canvasses are composed by the actors’ bodies with the help of some minimal elements only, such as draped fabrics of varied colours and texture and other everyday objects. Just one stream of light brightens up the scene, working as an imaginary frame. The changes are all “en plain air” and Rhythmically punctuated by Mozart, Bach, Vivaldi and Sibelius’ musics: that’s the magic of the Tableaux Vivants.

The 23 Caravaggio works

  • La Deposizione (1602-1603) Musei Vaticani, Città del Vaticano
  • Estasi di Maddalena o Maddalena Klein (1606) Collezione privata
  • Crocefissione di Pietro (1601) Cappella Cerasi, Santa Maria del Popolo, Roma
  • Decollazione del Battista (1608) Cattedrale di San Giovanni, La Valletta, Malta
  • Morte della Vergine (1604) Museo del Louvre, Parigi
  • Giuditta Oloferne   (1599) Palazzo Barberini, Roma
  • Flagellazione (1607-1608) Museo di Capodimonte, Napoli
  • Sacrificio di Isacco   (1602)   Collezione Cremonini
  • Martirio di Matteo (1600) Cappella Contarelli, San Luigi dei Francesi, Roma
  • Annunciazione (1609-1610) Musée des Beaux-Arts, Nancy
  • Adorazione dei Pastori  (1609) Museo Nazionale, Messina
  • Riposo durante la fuga in Egitto (1595-1596) Galleria Doria Panphilj, Roma
  • Madonna dei Pellegrini   (1604-1606)
  • Sant’Agostino, Roma
  • Santa Caterina d’Alessandria (1597) Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid
  • Narciso (1599) Palazzo Barberini, Roma
  • Giovanni Battista (1604) Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri
  • Seppellimento di Santa Lucia   (1608) Santa Lucia, Siracusa
  • Martirio di Sant Orsola (1610) Palazzo Zevallos, Napoli
  • Resurrezione di Lazzaro  (1609) Museo Nazionale, Messina
  • La Maddalena (1594-1595) Galleria Doria Panphilj, Roma
  • San Francesco in Estasi   (1594-1595)Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford
  • Bacco  (1596-1597) Galleria degli Uffizi, Firenze
  • Canestra con Frutta   (1596) Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Milano

The program Part 1

The “Conversion of a Horse” shows of 23 Tableaux Vivants from Michelangelo Merisi da
Caravaggio.

The Deposition (1602-1603) Musei Vaticani, Città del Vaticano
Ecstasy of the Magdalene(1606) Collezione privata
Crucifixion of St. Peter (1601) Cappella Cerasi, Santa Maria del
Popolo, Roma
Beheading of John the Baptist (1608) Cattedrale di San Giovanni, La
Valletta, Malta
Death of the Virgin (1604) Museo del Louvre, Parigi
Judith and Holofernes  (1599) Palazzo Barberini, Roma
The Flagellation(1607-1608) Museo di Capodimonte, Napoli
Sacrifice of Isaac   (1602)   Collezione Cremonini
Nartyrdom of St. Matthew (1600) Cappella Contarelli, San Luigi dei
Francesi, Roma
The Annunciation (1609-1610) Musée des Beaux-Arts, Nancy
Adoration of the Shepherds  (1609) Museo Nazionale, Messina
Rest on the Flight to Egypt (1595-6) Galleria Doria Panphilj, Roma
Madonna of the Pilgrims (1604-16)  Sant’Agostino, Roma
St. Catherine of Alexandria (1597) Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza,
Madrid
John the Baptist (1604) Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art,
Kansas City, Missouri
Burial of St. Lucia   (1608) Santa Lucia, Siracusa
Martyrdom of St. Ursula (1610) Palazzo Zevallos, Napoli
Resurrection of Lazarus  (1609) Museo Nazionale, Messina
Mary Magdalene (1594-1595) Galleria Doria Panphilj, Roma
St. Francis in Ecstasy   (1594-1595) Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford
Bacchus  (1596-1597) Galleria degli Uffizi, Firenze
Bowl of Fruit   (1596) Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Milano

Caravaggio music Tracks

W.A. Mozart-Requiem in D Minor, K. 626 “Missa pro defunctis”: VIII. Communio. Lux
aeterna di Maria Stader, Münchener Bach-Chor, Münchener Bach-Orchester & Karl
Richter
J.S. Bach – Johannes-Passion, BWV 245, Pt. 2: No. 39, Chor. “Ruht wohl, ihr heiligen
Gebeine” di Andrew Parrott, Taverner Players & Taverner Consort
J.S. Bach – St. Matthew Passion, BWV 244: No. 47 Aria “Erbarme dich, mein Gott” di Dame

Janet Baker, Münchener Bach- Orchester & Karl Richter
Antonio Vivaldi – Violin Concerto In e Minor, Op. 11, No. 2, RV 277, “Il Favorito”: II. Andante
di Sonatori de la Gioiosa Marca & Giuliano Carmignola
J.S. Bach – St. John Passion, BWV 245: 58. Aria: “Es Ist Vollbracht” di Hertha Töpper, Karl
Richter & Münchener Bach-Orchester
Jean Sibelius – Valse Triste, Op. 44 No. 1 di Royal Philharmonic Orchestra & Ole Schmidt

Second half of the program after a 15 minutes break

A thousand faces of Artemisia

On stage: Chiara Kija, Elena Fattorusso, Fiorenzo Madonna, Antonio Stoccuto
Scenographer: Andrea Fersula, Director: Dora De Maio

Artemsia Gentileschi (8 July 1593 –  1656) was one of the great master painters of the 17th
century, although as a woman, she had to wait 300 years before she was recognized as such. She
was producing professional work by the age of 15 an era when women had few opportunities to
pursue artistic training or work as professional artists, Gentileschi was the first woman to become a
member of the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno in Florence and she served an international
clientele.
Many of Gentileschi’s paintings feature powerful women from myths, allegories, and the Bible,
portrayed in dramatic chiaroscuro lighting, and with great detail to anatomy and emotional
expression. Her achievements as an artist were long overshadowed by the story of Agostino Tassi
raping her when she was a young woman and Gentileschi being tortured to give evidence during
his trial. Along with many other great women artists, her life and art have been reexamined in our
era to reveal their exceptional talents despite being severely disadvantaged by their gender.
Today these works are treasured by the most renowned museums in the world.
The idea of reviving the paintings of Artemisia Gentileschi stems from a great privilege that the
theatre company enjoyed with their permanent residence in the Complesso Monumentale
Donnaregina, which afforded them the opportunity to study the original paintings exhibited in the
museum almost every day. The great paintings are imprinted in the eyes
of the actors, to be re-created with their bodies, in a constantly evolving process in which bodies
and music merge into a single dramatic action.

11 Tableaux Vivants of Artemisa:
1 The Annunciation, Napoli, Museo di Capodimonte
2 Minerva, Galleria degli Uffizi; Florence
3 Judith and Holofernes Terni, Cassa di Risparmio di Terni e Narni
4 Conversion of the Magdalene Firenze, Galleria Palatina – Palazzo Pitti
5 Judith and her servant Napoli, Museo di Capodimonte
6 David with the Head of Goliath Private Collection
7 Corisca and the Satyr, Private collection
8 Judith and Holofernes Firenze Galleria Palatina
9 Cleopatra, Ferrara, Fondazione Cavallini-Sgarbi
10 Jael and Sisara, Budapest, Szepmuveszeti Muzeum
11 Judith and Holofernes Milano, Galleria Arcivescovile

Artemesia music tracks
Verdi, Aida, prelude
Scarlatti, Giuditta, aria Chi m’addita  per pietà
Scarlatti,  Giuditta,  aria Se ritorno  entro le mura
Verdi, Macbeth,  preludio
Verdi, Macbeth,  Vegliammo  invan due notti
Bellini, Norma, Dhe non volerli vittime

Video sequence on Youtube about Caravaggios tableaux vivants

Video sequence on Youtube about Atemesia Gentileschi