“A silent volcano, life”. A striking verse in the ability to combine visionary and at the same time a reality: one’s own existence. The one of Emily Dickinson, which became one of the most important voices in American literature, who nevertheless led a secluded existence, far from the literary world, which would only discover her after her death. But not far from poetry, of which he was an extraordinary interpreter.
The meeting is dedicated to her “Inside an alabaster room” which will be held today, Sunday 14 November, at the Casa del Teatro 3 L’Arcoscenico in via Scarampi 20, as part of the cycle “Lives of verses”. The appointment is at 6 pm with free admission. Reservations are required: [email protected], www.allive.it/evento/135.
«The poem by Emily Dickinson – remember the coordinators of the event Ileana Spalla and Sergio Danzi – focuses on the themes of nature, love and death, and on reflection on the meaning of life. His love for nature shines through in all his poems. In the singular networks of images, metaphors, recurring symbols of lyric in lyric, a mighty invention of mythopoeic is perceived, which makes Emily Dickinson’s poetry a sort of modern cosmogony ».
An exceptional trio
On the stage recently renovated by Ottovio Coffano an exceptional trio will be on stage; Alessandra Morra, artistic director of «In Poetica», a transversal arts festival in Alba, will alternate with trumpeter Giorgio Li Calzi, artistic director of the Turin Jazz Festival, and actress Erika Urban, voice of «In Poetica».
Alessandra MorraAn architect by training, for some time he has dedicated himself with passion to poetry and in particular to that of Emily Dickinson. He conceived and directed In Poetics in Alba, a literary festival (but not only) that hosted leading figures of Italian culture, from the brothers Paolo and Giorgio Conte to Gabriele Salvatores, Peppe Servillo, Dori Ghezzi, Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, Elisabetta Sgarbi, Patrizia Valduga, Roy Paci, Morgan, Valerio Berruti, Mariangela Gualtieri, Cristiano Godano, Gianni Vattimo, Giordano Bruno Guerri, Massimo Recalcati and many others.
Erika Urban, originally from Venice, lives and works in Milan. Graduated in political science and graduated from the School of the Teatro Stabile in Turin, under the direction of Luca Ronconi, in the theater she has worked with directors such as Ronconi, Marco Baliani, Antonio Calenda, Giorgio Barberio Corsetti, Tonino Conte, Giorgio Gallione, Gabriele Lavia and Pierpaolo Sepe. In 2002 she won the “Aquilegia blu” prize as best author. He is the protagonist of the recent play «My Last Night. My Martini. Una vita », written by Aldo Nove. He has also worked for the cinema with Marco Bellocchio, Lucio Pellegrini (in “Tandem”), Marina Spada and Peter Greenaway. It is the “voice” of the In Poetica festival.
An element of great interest is the encounter between the poetry of Emily Dickinson and the music of Giorgio Li Calzi, Turin trumpeter of great sensitivity and one of the most creative figures on the Italian scene. In fact, Li Calzi is not just a trumpet player, but a complete composer. Taking advantage of the innovations of Miles Davis and other trumpet players of the last decades, he studied his own peculiar way to integrate the instrument with the electronics, with which he had started playing in the 80s.
Since his first records as a trumpet player, in the early 90s, he has proposed original reinterpretations of themes and soundtracks. He has recorded about ten albums, also in collaboration with international artists such as the Brazilian Lenine, and Wolfgang Flür, historical member of Kraftwerk, as well as great musicians from Mongolia, Egypt, Lebanon, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Brazil. At the end of the 90s he started a lasting collaboration with the singer Tiziana Ghiglioni.
In 1999 in Livorno he won the Ciampi Prize with Johnson Righeira (and again in 2005 with the singer Lalli and Pietro Salizzoni) for the best cover. Since 2006 he has intensified the live musical activity linked to the theater, sounding with trumpet and laptop, reading and works by writers, directors and actors such as Andrea Bajani, Giuseppe Culicchia, Fabio Geda, Massimo Carlotto, Tiziano Scarpa, Elena Canone, Oliviero Corbetta, Michele Di Mauro, Alessandro Haber and Banda Osiris (with them he was also a guest of Asti Teatro). He has also presented his soundtracks of films from the silent era on various occasions, or proposing an alternative reinterpretation with contemporary sounds of historical films such as “Aleksandr Necskij” by Sergei Eisenstein.
He is known for experimenting with new forms of electroacoustic sound related to the trumpet with the Audio HackLab collective, playing with musicians and hackers from Turin such as Kinetik Laboratories, Eniac, Pugile, Motor. With the association “Insieme a Chamois” he directs the “CHAMOISic” festival in Chamois, in Val d’Aosta, an event attended by leading names in European jazz. Since 2017 he has been director of the Torino Jazz Festival, assisted by Diego Borotti.