Massimiliano Finazzer Flory: Mongolians will be a good audience for “The Betrothed”

Below is an interview of renowned Italian theatre director Massimiliano Finazzer Flory with ‘Undesnii Shuudan’ newspaper

-Is this your first visit to Mongolia?

-Yes. Performances of Italian Theatre are to be played in Mongolia for the first time. I believe this will initiate good cooperation between the two countries. Coming here, Italian actors will try to contribute to Mongolian Theatre arts.

-At this time of year what usually occurs in Italy, especially in the theatre?

-From May until September, International Festivals of literature, music and film occur. It is the most competitive period of year for theatres. Due to the summer time a great number of people come to the oceans to relax. Every town of Italy has its own history so that they organise performances to display their own cultural arts for tourists.

-What is a classical art, especially in theatre for Italians?

-Italians consider classical art as very important. Everyone reveres it due to its great influence in society. All towns in Italy have their own symphony orchestra. Classical art is developed in every part of the country. Italy is unimaginable without its music and operas. I, myself am a drama actor but I work with musical
instrument too.

-Can you talk more about your art as an artist?

-My father influenced me to pursue the path of an artist. He had a great sense of art. I grew up in a small town in Northern Italy. Our town has a slightly different culture than central Italy. Every aspect of central Italy intrigued me. I was connected to theatre easily as I was a keen reader when I was a child. First I used to give recitals then I started my career as an actor. Now I’m a theatre director. Lately, I’ve been writing screenplays on my own.

-I heard you used to work as a Cultural Minister of Milan city. In what theatres did you perform?

-I have performed in almost all theatres across Italy. But I had a close relationship with the Venice Theatre and Museum of Venice city. I used to work there too. Actually I made my firsts step towards working in theatre on the streets. When I was young, working in theatre wasn’t that important. The streets are considered to be an individual cultural environment. I think I did my most significant works in Venice Theatre when I used to work there.

-As the Mongolian State Academic Theatre of Opera follows a traditional classical art style with academic characteristic, it performs only classics such as P.I.Tchaikovsky. Modern performances are hardly ever played in this theatre. It’s the first time for the theatre to perform a play, musical and ballet all in one. What is the philosophy of your play ‘The Betrothed’?

-The play ‘The Betrothed’ can’t be completely identified as a modern art. The novel itself is an old classical one. The play demonstrates a lifestyle and love in the 16th century. History may get outdated, but love doesn’t. Though it’s an old classical novel, its theme is timeless. The novel is romantic as most Italian people are.

-I heard you have performed your play in Canada, Argentine, France, Turkey and America so far. Artists say that the audiences of each play are different. What are your comments on this?

-Generally, each country has different kinds of people. I’m performing in Asia for the first time in your country. I think Mongolian people will understand the play in a good manner. Performing in America, the audience didn’t understand the implied meaning, but just took it as it was showed. It seemed they lacked imagination. As for Europeans, they paid more attention on aesthetics such as how good the play quality, lighting and narration were. In Turkey, they watched everything in detail. Argentineans are very hot-blooded and received everything with their dynamic character. I don’t know in what level Mongolians will understand the play but they seem very thorough which is nice.

-Seeing you performing on the stage, the monologue narration of the play seemed quite a challenge for actors. I believe being without a companion on a stage, portraying many characters alone is a thing that only experienced actors can cover. How much energy is needed to perform this kind of play?

-A mono play requires a lot of effort, energy and skill. If you saw me rehearsing a few moments ago, I didn’t just say words continually. I portrayed five or six emotions, changing my voice tone four or five times. I portray a woman, a nasty man or a graceful and sympathetic monk. It sounds hard but actually we have them all in us. But it takes a lot of energy to show them all in one performance. Thank you for asking this question.

-How does ‘The Betrothed’ end? How did you feel after reading the novel? Do the ending of books, novels and life happenings make us think and realise something?

-Both the novel and play are magnificent. After the ending, it feels like finally I’m able to take a deep breath after a long hard struggle. It was a very nice question of yours. When reading the novel, I strived along with characters living among them. I was relieved after turning the last page and started to think about the meaning of the novel. I realised that literature was a real life and novel characters are representations of us.

-I want to talk more about literature and art with you, but unfortunately you have a tight schedule.

-I’m willing to talk about Italian arts and cultures more and let Mongolian people know about them as a former Cultural Minister of Milan. Could we continue our interview at a later date?

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