Dedicated to Allegra Byron
La bambina inglese
dramatic elegy for spoken and sung voice, countertenor, saxophone, two trombones and percussion
libretto, dramaturgy and direction Elena Bucci
music Paolo Baioni
with Elena Bucci actress
Helmar Hauser countertenor
Jacopo Prospero sax
Riccardo Brancato trombone primo
Amedeo Zacchi trombone secondo
Lorenzo Mercuriali percussions
commissioned by Ravenna Festival
in collaboration with Le belle bandiere
premiere
After many years, the ancient courtyard comes to life with the footsteps and laughter of Allegra, the young girl from England often left in the care of Teresa Guiccioli. She stared wide-eyed at the monkeys, peacocks and other exotic animals scurrying around the yard. Her custody was disputed between her father, the eccentric Lord Byron, who wanted her to be a Catholic and marry young, and her mother Claire, whom he had abandoned but who remained a slave to unrequited love. Elena Bucci, an undisputed star of Italian theatre, now follows in Allegra’s footsteps, blending words, song, and Baioni’s music. She focuses on the few years of Allegra’s life during which she was shuttled from family to family and town to town, until she was sent to the Poor Clares convent in Bagnacavallo where she died at the age of five.
