Agenzia Giornalistica
direttore Paolo Pagliaro

Masks and puppets: Neapolitan "Guarattelle" at the Marionette Arts Festival

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Masks and puppets: Neapolitan

(JULY 18, 2017) Guarattella is a Neapolitan dialectical word that indicates 'a situation that although very simple makes it very tangled'. In the theatrical jargon, guarattelle are traditional performances featuring Neapolitan puppets, based on old canovaccios dating back to the 17th century. Pulcinella, one of the main protagonists, always confronts the typical characters of the popular theatre (the bully, the fierce dog, the blind, the death.. The conflict originating from these scenarios is always fun, irreverent, cathartic and animated by an irreversible rhythm. Gianluca Di Matteo, an Italian puppeteer internationally recognized as a master of Italian traditional interpretation, has been featured in the show "Le Guarattelle di Pulcinella" for more than 15 years. Thanks to the collaboration with the Italian Institute of Culture of Montreal, Matteo will be a guest at the 14th biennial of the International Marionette Arts Festival scheduled in Canada (Saguenay, Quebec) from July 25th to July 30th. "La Guarattelle di Pulcinella" will be part of the free program on the outside scheduled at the parc de la rivière aux sables. (Red)


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The accurate manipulation, the strength of gestures and the insistent rythm are the core aspects of Gianluca Di Matteo's Pulcinella, which he has been staging since 2001 with his traditional puppet-play Le guarattelle di Pulcinella. Gianluca Di Matteo studied at the Neapolitan School of puppet theatre and now he performs traditional canovaccios making use of puppets or shadows that he himself creates. He works mainly abroad, where he's hosted by the International Festival of Marionette Arts and by theatres specialized in puppetry. He also collaborates with the Italian Cultural Institutes and conducts both practical and theoretical workshops focusing on the art of guarattelle and on shadow plays. He also builds the scenography for his and other companies, he works as stage technician and his wooden puppets are exhibited at the Centre for Puppetry Arts of Atlanta.

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