Readings from the Odyssey with music interludes.
A wine tasting from Cincinnato Winery will be offered by Enoteca Da Paolo di Sperlonga after the performance
The evening offers a unique experience to experience the Museum during evening hours.
It will be possible to visit the Museum starting from 8 p.m. and at 9 p.m. attend a performance of theater and music.
Actor Giuseppe Pestillo will perform one of the most significant cantos from the Odyssey, enriched with music improvisations by Sandro Sposito. The reading will take place in front of the sculptural group found in the cave of Impetor Tiberius representing precisely the episode of the blinding of Polyphemus.
At the end of the performance, it will be possible to taste a selection of wines selected by Enoteca da Paolo of Sperlonga while admiring the exhibits preserved inside the museum.
In the 9th canto of Homer’s Odyssey, the tale of the encounter between Odysseus and Polyphemus represents one of the most emblematic and symbolic episodes of the entire poem. Odysseus and his companions land on an island inhabited by the Cyclopes, one-eyed giants. Among these giants, Polyphemus is the most known. Ulysses, in Latin, Odysseus in Greek, represents human ingenuity, wisdom and adaptability. During his encounter with Polyphemus, Odysseus saves himself and his companions from imprisonment and death through shrewdness. Polyphemus, on the other hand, represents the wild and uncontrolled nature, the brute force that knows no reason. He is a monstrous figure, not only because of his appearance, but also because of his lack of hospitality and cannibalistic behavior. Polyphemus is an emblem of the unknown and the terror which ancient man could feel when faced with the unknown.
In antiquity, the encounter between Odysseus and Polyphemus symbolized the struggle between civilization and barbarism, between human intelligence and the dark forces of nature. Ulysses represented the ideal of the Greek hero: cunning, courageous, and gifted with great ingenuity. Today, the story can be read as a metaphor for modern challenges.
Through the accompaniment of music the emotional and symbolic impact of the narrative is amplified. This synergy between narrative and music provides an immersive experience, bringing the audience to experience the tension between cunning and brute forces, between civilization and barbarism, making the universal message of the Odyssey resonate even today.
Giuseppe Pestillo, born in 1983, is a graduate actor at the Silvio D'Amico National Academy of Dramatic Art, Rome, and a graduate student in Musical Theater Direction at the Frosinone Conservatory of Music.
Since 2003, he has been studying and deepening the Mimic Method, conceived by Maestro Orazio Costa Giovangigli, with Maestro Alessandra Niccolini.
He specializes in Commedia dell'Arte at the course of High Artistic Training promoted by Teatro Argentina in Rome in 2011. He adds to his training, in Spain and the United States, studies related to acting in the audiovisual sector. He has been a professional actor since 2005. Among his numerous work experiences are: his participation in the 53rd Spoleto Festival as the lead in the comedies THE CONQUESTS OF NORMAN trilogy by Alan Ayckbourn; his performance in the film TWO LIVES BY CHANCE by Alessandro Aronadio, presented at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2010; and his latest television work in RAI production: FIGLI DEL DESTINO directed by Francesco Miccichè and Marco Spagnoli, and, I BASTARDI DI PIZZOFALCONE 3rd season, directed by Monica Vullo. As a director, he has curated the following projects in recent years: THE FAIRY QUEEN by Henry Purcell, for Le Giornate FAI (Fondo Ambiente Italiano) at the Villa Gregoriana Park in Tivoli; L'INCORONAZIONE DI POPPEA by Claudio Monteverdi, for the International Festival of Baroque Music of the city of Faro (Portugal); LA BOHÈME by Giacomo Puccini for the Licinio Refice Conservatory.
In 2017 his project WHO'S THERE? SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL is selected and published in the theater section of the volume 100 STORIES OF CREATIVITY 2017. Initiative promoted by Lazio Creativo: program of the Lazio Region in support of creativity.
He is the creator and promoter of various cultural projects, among them: the activity center BELTEMPO CASA DELLE ARTI; the theater review TEATRO MAESTRO; the cycle of conferences on the new Italian dramaturgy IL GIOVANE TEATRO ITALIANO; the first edition of the FONDI JAZZ FESTIVAL; the summer festival of performing arts IN ARTE SIGNOR PI GRECO.
Sandro Sposito undertook his early musical studies under the guidance of his mother, a pianist and teacher. As a teenager he transferred his musical passion from piano to guitar. After graduating in Disciplines of Music Arts and Performing Arts (DAMS) from the University of Bologna with a thesis in Methodology of Music Education, he approached the Movimento Progetto Uomo - Musica.
He then attends the Italian Orff Schulwerk, obtains the qualification for the teaching of Musical Disciplines for secondary school and specialization for the support of classes with disabled pupils. In these areas he carries out teaching activities in state schools and at music associations. In 2007 he obtained a Level II Academic Diploma in Musical Disciplines at the Frosinone Conservatory of Music.
From 2011 to 2016 he collaborates with the University of Roma Tre, Faculty of Education Sciences, on a research entitled “Comparing pedagogical and methodological investigations for the enhancement of hands-on learning of music” and on the Master's Degree “Storytelling Techniques.” In 2015, he made Inclusive Musics, a path of social inclusion through musical experience for at-risk minors in situations of marginality, poverty, and disability.
In 2021 he realizes the music dedicated to the Divine Comedy readings curated by actor Giuseppe Pestillo staged until January 2022.
Reservations are required.
The performance will begin at 9 p.m., followed by a wine tasting of Cincinnato Winery.
