PABLO PICASSO AT POMPEII

The Teatro Grande di Pompeii presents the two ballets “Parade” and “Pulcinella” with sets and costumes by Pablo Picasso

Celebrating the centenary of Pablo Picasso’s visit to Italy, the Teatro Grande di Pompeii hosts two ballets with sets and costumes designed by this legendary Spanish artist: “Parade”, with music by Erik Satie, and Igor Stravinsky’s “Pulcinella”. The choreography of both works has been created by Russian ballet star Leonide Massine. It is brought on stage by the corps de ballet of the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma under the direction of Paris Opera prima ballerina Eleonora Abbagnato and Leonide Massine's son Lorca as choreographer.

100 Years ago, together with Jean Cocteau, Picasso undertook a journey to Naples and Pompeii in order to work on “Parade”, an avant-garde ballet for the famous Ballets Russes, inspired by Neapolitan folklore and the commedia dell’arte. The stage curtain of “Parade” is the largest work Picasso ever completed, measuring about 11 meters height by 17 meters width. Satie's musical score mixes sounds from everyday life with the orchestral palette: noises of typewriters, revolvers, sirens, lottery wheels and bottles are brought together into a joyful "collage" reminiscent of cubist art. Cocteau's libretto tells the story of a troupe of street artists attempting to attract an audience for their show.

After the success of “Parade“, Massine, Picasso and the Ballets Russes worked together again for “Pulcinella”. This ballet follows the amorous episodes in the life of the young Neapolitan philanderer Puccinella, a well-known figure of traditional Neapolitan theatre!

A co-production of Heliox, Unitel and medici.tv