In April, the major highlight is the premiere of The Sleeping Queen, the new work by Mauro Astolfi, staged at the Teatro Comunale Città di Vicenza: a contemporary and symbolic reimagining inspired by Sleeping Beauty, transforming the fairy tale into a powerful reflection on power, alienation, and inner awakening. With a score that reinterprets the musical language of Pëtr Il’ič Čajkovskij through a contemporary lens, the piece explores the fragility of authority and the possibility of a rebirth grounded in listening and self-awareness.
The narrative heart of the work revolves around the theme of awakening. In the fairy tale, the prince’s kiss is an external and salvific act of love. Here, instead, the awakening is an internal process. The symbolic “kiss” is not a romantic gesture, but a direct confrontation with the suffering, rebellion, or even the hope of those who surround her.
Ph. Paolo Laudicina