Il Santo folle
Francesco, the Sultan, a tent on the banks of the Nile
stage action for actress, bass, baritone, strings, mixed choir and percussion
text by Guido Barbieri
music by Marcello Fera
Astra Lanz actress
Nicola Zambon baritone
Ludovico Dal Pra bass
Marco Zanco percussions and sword master
Conductus Ensemble
Gruppo Vocale Heinrich Schütz
violin and conductor Marcello Fera
commissioned by Ravenna Festival
in coproduction with Festival Internazionale di Musica Sacra di Pordenone, Festival regionale di Musica Sacra di Trento e Bolzano, “ut re mi” Aps and Festival Rodolfo Craia di Macerata
premiere
It was during the Fifth Crusade that Francis and the Sultan of Egypt met. This marked a pivotal turning point in the relationship between East and West, the two entities that still govern the global balance of power despite the geopolitical instability of our times. Francis achieved this by bringing dialogue and mutual understanding into the conflict arena. In Barbieri’s stage action, accompanied by Fera’s original music, the dialogue between Francis and the Sultan — bass and baritone — takes the form of a memoir narrated by Jacopa de’ Settesoli, a close friend of Francis’s. Meanwhile, a video in the background shows a master of arms evoking the battle between Christians and Muslims. Telling the story of Francis’s “mad” gesture today is more an exploration of the present than a re-enactment of the past.
