The tale of Romeo & Juliet, originally based in Italy, is universal. This love story has inspired many generations of artists from Dante to Shakespeare, who brought to this story a world wide popularity. I like to think that Giulietta e Romeo, Romeo and Juliet, shouldn’t be connected to a specific period, as I think love can inhabit an ageless space.
In this ballet I present the story as timeless. A love story does not need to take place in a specific period.
Mankind, our lives past and present, is constantly looking for love and struggling to find it.
I have imagined a set based on a semicircular amphitheater connected by huge black and white triangles. These two colours are a reference to the fights and friction between the Guelfi and Ghibellini (two factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Empor back in the 12th and 13th centuries). From the moment Dante confined the Montecchi and Capuleti families (Montagues and Capulets) to the 6th Gironde of Hell, the struggle of these two lovers, Romeo and Juliet, became a legend that has been revised and rewritten by many different authors, until Shakespeare gave the world his seminal play.
For the set, I liked the idea of using transparent materials to create a river and a sky as symbols of life and death respectively. From a geographical point of view, the river is the Adige; an important river that cuts Verona in two.
For the costumes, I wanted to use colours that are reminiscent of my native Italy. For example, yellow, orange and green are very popular tonalities across the country. My inspiration definitely came from fashion overall more than from a specific time period. I’m bringing a design aesthetic to the costumes that could make us think of the late renaissance period – in certain cases with a touch of opulence – but with an overarching modern feel.
