Massimo Popolizio, together with the multi-instrumentalist Stefano Saletti and the singer Barbara Eramo, is the protagonist of a musical play based on pages from The Master and Margherita, in which Michail Bulgakov tells his version of the meeting between Pontius Pilate and Jesus Christ.
Massimo Popolizio performs the second chapter of the masterpiece by Bulgakov, the twenty-five pages dedicated to the governor of the Roman province of Judaea, Pontius Pilate, and his encounter in Jerusalem with a strange individual, Yehosua Ha-Nozri, whose death is called for by the crowds, stirred up by the high priest Caiaphas. The writing is of such power as to immediately suggest to the reader that this death, the point of origin of one of the three most practised religions in the world, could not have taken place in any other manner than that told by Bulgakov.
“The universally known story of Jesus Christ, from his arrest to his crucifixion on Golgotha, is here seen from the point of view of the governor Pilate - explains Popolizio. We experience his migraines, his panic attacks when facing the crowds, his terror induced by his encounter with Caiaphas. The fear, the dismay of finding himself faced with a profoundly unsettling situation in meeting with the prisoner Yehosua from the city of Gamla, all become our point of view, as though Pilate was permanently followed by a camera”. The words of the actor are interwoven with the musical backdrop created by Stefano Saletti and Barbara Eramo, compositions that are in part original and in part inspired by Mediterranean and Sephardic Jewish tradition. The music underlines the most intense parts of the text and support the narration of Popolizio, leading the spectator to travel through time and space, through the words and the ancient and evocative timbres and sounds.
Duration: 75 minutes
Massimo Popolizio performs the second chapter of the masterpiece by Bulgakov, the twenty-five pages dedicated to the governor of the Roman province of Judaea, Pontius Pilate, and his encounter in Jerusalem with a strange individual, Yehosua Ha-Nozri, whose death is called for by the crowds, stirred up by the high priest Caiaphas. The writing is of such power as to immediately suggest to the reader that this death, the point of origin of one of the three most practised religions in the world, could not have taken place in any other manner than that told by Bulgakov.
“The universally known story of Jesus Christ, from his arrest to his crucifixion on Golgotha, is here seen from the point of view of the governor Pilate - explains Popolizio. We experience his migraines, his panic attacks when facing the crowds, his terror induced by his encounter with Caiaphas. The fear, the dismay of finding himself faced with a profoundly unsettling situation in meeting with the prisoner Yehosua from the city of Gamla, all become our point of view, as though Pilate was permanently followed by a camera”. The words of the actor are interwoven with the musical backdrop created by Stefano Saletti and Barbara Eramo, compositions that are in part original and in part inspired by Mediterranean and Sephardic Jewish tradition. The music underlines the most intense parts of the text and support the narration of Popolizio, leading the spectator to travel through time and space, through the words and the ancient and evocative timbres and sounds.
Duration: 75 minutes
Credits
Cassina Anna – via Sant'Arnaldo, 17 Milano
18 July 2020, 9.30. p.m.
Pilato
from "The Master and Margherita" by Michail Bulgakov
with Massimo Popolizio
music Stefano Saletti
Stefano Saletti, oud, bouzouki, bodhran, vocals
Barbara Eramo, vocals
a Piccolo Teatro di Milano – Teatro d’Europa production
In collaboration with Fondazione Cariplo
The shows form part of the "Aria di Cultura" programme organised by the Municipality of Milan
In the event of baw weather performance will be cancelled
Free admission, places subject to availability; reservations required for seat assignment at no. 02.42.411.889 open from Monday to Saturday from 9.45 a.m to 6.45 p.m., Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For purchases by telephone a valid email address must be provided, to which the electronic ticket will be sent.
Shows can be accessed by showing the ticket either printed or directly from a smartphone. In the event that tickets have been forgotten, spectators are advised that it will not be possible to print the ticket before entering.
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• In order to prevent queues and crowding, we invite spectators to arrive at the venue no earlier than 30 minutes before the beginning of the performance.
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In the event that tickets have been forgotten, spectators are advised that it will not be possible to print the ticket before entering on the evening of the performance.
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