"The bet is to be able to find proposals that can work in Caracalla, a very large place with a very large audience, and at the same time not be satisfied with going on predictable titles and ideas. Bringing novelties and challenges that are good for the public and the theater, with this spirit I will humbly try to do my part". Damiano Michieletto sums up the imprint he intends to give to the Caracalla Festival, the summer appointment of the Opera di Roma of which he will take care of the program of the 2025 edition, the year of the Jubilee. The assignment to the Venetian director announced today by the superintendent Francesco Giambrone is the result of "many productions made together - he tells ANSA -, of a personal knowledge in the field, born from a meeting and mutual esteem and from my affection for the Teatro dell'Opera and for the people I have been able to appreciate in recent years". Michieletto, what is special about Caracalla? "The greatest charm is its transversal nature. It is a place that welcomes an audience and proposals that escape labels, from pop to opera to jazz. There is a theatrical and musical offer that can be expanded. It is also a very popular place, strongly linked to the history and identity of Rome where since the twenties it began to make a show. This summer character, outdoors, I really like it also with the acoustic and stage limits that it also presents compared to the possibilities of a traditional theater. I have already worked many times in Caracalla and I know that limits are never a brake on creativity but an invitation to find new solutions and ideas". After the terrible experience of Covid the opera house is experiencing an extraordinarily happy moment. Why is the public responding this way? "The reason is that theatre has a great value of immediate and real human communication. I don't like the campaigns that are being done to promote the virtual world. I am convinced that the response of the public shows a great affection for live events of any kind. Everything that is live has a great value and it is on this dimension that it is good to invest public resources because in this way the possibility of reaffirming the sense of belonging, identity and participation is created. I think that the more a community develops this dimension, the stronger it is, more democratic, open to dialogue and encounter, not isolated in a virtual and perfect world. I prefer imperfect but authentic things." What novelties will you bring to the stage in Caracalla? "The superintendent has already announced plans to make Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story. It is a beautiful appointment for me, an authentic masterpiece on which I will focus my energies to offer the public an experience worthy of the quality and level that this work represents. My commitment as a director ends with that title but my task as director will be to give space, opportunities, resources and voice to other artists that I respect and that I hope will be available to participate in the Festival".
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