Ravenna Festival’s Preview
Mantiq At-Tayr The Conference of the Birds
based on the famous wisdom poem by 13th-century Persian poet Farid Ad Din Attar
artistic direction Luigi Dadina, Lanfranco Vicari
direction Luigi Dadina
dramaturgy Tahar Lamri
organisational management Federica Francesca Vicari
set design and costume supervision Alessandra Carini, Nicola Montalbini
costume design Sartoria Natascia Ferrini, Stefania Pelloni, Simona Tartaull
music and arrangements Francesco Giampaoli
choirs Lanfranco Vicari
musical coordination Francesco Giampaoli, Enrico Bocchini
storytelling and care of stage spaces Massimiliano Benini
organisational coordination Federica Savorelli
graphic design Massimiliano Benini
press office Michele Pascarella
technical manager Matteo Rossi
technical setup Matteo Rossi, in collaboration with the technical team of Ravenna Teatro and Audio Elite
with Lorenzo Carpinelli and the Choir of Grande Teatro di Lido Adriano
coproduction CISIM|LODC, Ravenna Festival,Ravenna Teatro/Teatro delle Albe
in collaboration with Librazione Soc. Coop., La Cuciria, and Riti
premiere
Some hundred actors and musicians, children and adults of different nationalities, have worked together at Lido Adriano to create this first step of the Great Theatre, based on a famous Sufi poem by the 13thcentury Persian mystic-poet Farid ud-Din Attar. The birds of the world gather to seek a king, for they have none: they need order, and someone to represent them. The hoopoe suggests that there is a king: it’s the legendary Simorgh, and they must find him. His abode lies across the seven valleys of Quest, Love, Knowledge, Detachment, Unity, Wonderment and Poverty, but the journey is perilous. After many vicissitudes, only thirty birds make it to their destination. But when they enter the seventh valley, they realise that the Simorgh is none other than themselves: the goal of their journey was a quest for the Self.
