Bellinzona’s Teatro Sociale reopened on 9 October 1997 with the world premiere of Giorgio Gallione’s play, Snaporaz Fellini. Since then, Federico Fellini’s dreamy universe has lingered in the theater. In honor of the 25th anniversary of the theater’s reopening, we’ve invited choreographer Marie-Caroline Hominal to pay homage to the filmmaker with the musicians of Bellinzona’s Civica Filarmonica. The result is Fanfara favolosa, a creation based on the music composed by Nino Rota for Fellini’s films. The work plays with theater, space, music and atmosphere – as well as with the audience.

It came out of a desire to bring amateur actors to the stage, under the guidance of professionals. Amateurs have the capacity of expressing a spontaneous – and perhaps involuntary – truth, which sets them apart from professionals. By putting the musicians of Civica Filarmonica in the spotlight, we can highlight their musical skills while maintaining that truth – a truth that does not come from seasoned actors or characters, but ordinary people. To cite German theater group Rimini Protokoll, we wanted to feature “experts of the everyday.”

In an interview, Hominal describes the personal significance of this project: “Nino Rota’s music was the soundtrack of my childhood and of some of my dance performances later on. When Gianfranco Helbling asked me to stage a performance with Civica Filarmonica at Teatro Sociale, it was a dream come true. Creating a show for this magnificent Italian-style theater was like working with a troupe of people and instruments that come to life and involve the audience.”