When it was staged for the first time in 1948, La grande magia was not understood, and provoked controversial reactions. «There was a form of resistance – explains Gabriele Russo – that a great artist always encounters when they try to explore new horizons. The incomprehension of the audiences of the time reveals how this work is steeped in depth and ability to express our contemporary emotions and uncertainties.» 
The work centres on the clash between Calogero di Spelta, a man obsessed with control, who tries desperately to bring order to an increasingly elusive reality, and the enigmatic illusionist Otto Marvuglia. 
Forty years on from the death of De Filippo, Natalino Balasso and Michele Di Mauro are the protagonists of this dark comedy, at times dramatic and mysterious, that goes beyond familiar tales and opens up to a multitude of interpretations thanks to the magical mechanisms of Eduardo’s dramaturgy.