The Protagonist Citizens

"What sense does it have, if you only save yourself? I want salvation for all the earth deprived of love, for all the human crowd in the world." These verses by Vladimir Majakovskij are the message launched by the chorus of the Worms and Butterflies in 'Purgatory' directed by Marco Martinelli and Ermanna Montanari; a co-production with Matera 2019 that saw citizens try their hand at theatre workshops and become the protagonists of a great choral work. It is a true journey through the emotions that the project participants faced, an act of love towards themselves and the city that gave birth to a vibrant show, in which the voices, the yells and the whispers of the actors all had the same impact on the soul of the spectator, leaving them dazed and moved.

'Inhabiting the Opera' was much more than a participatory art project. In fact, it not only allowed citizens to discover their own voice through singing workshops, but it also gave them the opportunity to use it, together with others, against the unique backdrop of the Sassi stone districts. For those who know the city, it will not be difficult to imagine this choral journey as a return to the mother's womb: the synergy between actors and choir, the reinterpretation of the seven deadly sins with a modern twist, the costumes and the choreography have produced a collective catharsis that is delivered directly to the disoriented public, as it lacks the 'protection' of the fourth wall.

A black river, a deep song, the slow and rhythmic pace. A procession-manifesto, that of Trenodìa (Threnody), the performance curated by Mariangela and Vinicio Capossela who brought back the tradition of the Greek threnos in Southern Italy. But what is the point of a collective lamentation? Ernesto de Martino says that ritual tears are a way “not to die with what dies”, because in fact pain and suffering are part of the realm of the living, certainly not that of the dead. Reconnecting with our vulnerabilities, singing and shouting about them along with others, expunging the ego through rhythmic movements and the monochrome of black is transmuted into a collective, shared, participatory pain, which is no longer a weakness, but a regenerative force and a vital engine.