On June 22nd, debuts “Two Men, Two Civilizations” by Annamaria Waldmüller Volpi, directed by Mariano Bauduin, the story of Giovan Battista Sidotti, a Palermo priest martyred in Japan in 1715

The world is a book, and those who do not travel know only one page, said St. Augustine. Father Giovan Battista Sidotti (or Sidoti) was certainly a great apostle, but he was also a great reader of the world. Peculiar and not well- known figure, of a noble Palermo family, Sidotti lived an adventurous and heroic life. Left alone in the Mission for the distant and then unknown East, he suffered martyrdom in Japan in 1715. His courageous history, his love for knowledge, his fervent Christianity have now become a theatrical work written by journalist and writer Annamaria Waldmüller Volpi who, produced by the Volpi family under the Patronage of the Municipality of Palermo, of the Embassy of Japan in Italy and of the Italy Japan Foundation, will make its debut at Spasimo in Palermo on June 22nd at 9 pm (with a reply the next day),directed by Mariano Bauduin, who also has written the music, scenes by Nicola Rubertelli and costumes by Marianna Carbone.

Starring in the roles of Sidoti Mario Zucca, known voice actor and performer of radio comedies and important satirical varieties. The Confucian master Arai, is the actor Micha Van Hoecke, darling of the Palermo audience for having signed so many dance shows at the Teatro Massimo, of which he was also director of the Dance and principal choreographer. They are joined by Paolo Romano (narrator / Shogun), rapper, writer and actor; Patrizia Spinosi, interpreter of many works by Roberto De Simone, and Lello Giulivo, actor of cinema and theater. These last two give voice to Haru and Chosuke, the two servants that Sidotti converts, violating the prohibitions that would have left him alive. The production is of Gli Alberi di Canto Teatro, the company founded by Bauduin, composer and director of lyric and prose, he also trained with De Simone, of which he has filmed important directories such as that of the famous “Gatta Cenerentola”.

For the Mayor of Palermo, Leoluca Orlando: “Once again, Art becomes the builder of bridges and links between peoples and cultures. Once again, thanks to Art and Cultures, Palermo strengthens its ties and its international relations. The figure of the Sidotti Missionary is symbolic of a commitment to dialogue and to the meeting between peoples which is today the hallmark of Palermo. Also for this I am grateful to the Volpi family, to the Embassy of Japan and to the Italy Japan Foundation for having wished to realize this work that I hope will bring new dialogue and new encounters between our peoples “.

日本語で読む