A thunderous applause from an enthusiastic and delighted audience greeted Caterina Murino's superb acting performance. A Cagliari native, she's a renowned star in the gilded world of the big screen, a refined performer appreciated in the most important Italian and French theaters. She's recently been on the island starring in an 18th-century comedy classic by the genius Carlo Goldoni, thanks to the Cedac Great Prose Season, the regional live entertainment circuit chaired by Antonio Cabiddu and directed by Valeria Ciabattoni.

The godmother of the 80th Venice Film Festival, and therefore the most celebrated artist of international cinema in that unforgettable 2023, but also Bond Girl in one of the most successful episodes of the 007 saga alongside a monumental Daniel Craig, European Golden Globe in 2008, a kind and generous soul always at the forefront for noble causes and Amref testimonial, superb protagonist alongside Vincent Cassell and Fanny Ardant in Davide Livermore's recent film "The Opera - Arias for an Eclipse", acclaimed at the Rome Film Festival in 2024, and much more, will be able to be admired in all her splendor, appreciating her masterful and extraordinary ability to impersonate a role that is both insidious and at the same time much loved by fans, such as that of Rosaura in "The Shrewd Widow", until Sunday 18 January at the Teatro Massimo in Cagliari, during the usual times, and repeated on Monday 19 at the Teatro Comunale in Sassari at 8.30 pm.

In the play, the protagonist, married to an older man, left alone after the death of her husband and finally in control of her own destiny, decides to remarry, but chooses her husband carefully. Among the suitors vying for her hand are three leading figures of European culture and civilization—three aristocrats from Spain, France, and England, respectively, as well as an Italian nobleman—ready to offer her their hearts and fortunes, showering her with gifts in an attempt to win her over. The young and attractive widow, despite her age, reveals herself to be quite worldly and far from naive: she is not enchanted by appearances and is not satisfied with flattery, so she decides to test the four gentlemen and verify the sincerity of their feelings and their fidelity through a stratagem well suited to the customs of the lagoon city and the festive and sumptuous Carnival.

With her on stage, directed by the expert hand of director Giancarlo Marinelli, a sextet of excellent traveling companions: Enrico Bonavera in the role of Harlequin, Giorgio Borghetti, Patrizio Cigliano and Mino Manni (the three foreign suitors, respectively Don Alvaro De Castiglia, Monsieur Le Blau and Milord Runebif), Serena Marinelli (Marionette and also assistant director), and Lorenzo Volpe (the Count of Bosconero).

The deep, cinematic voiceover of Uncle Pantalone is by the legendary Jean Reno, winner of the François Truffaut Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2012 Giffoni Film Festival.

The version of Goldoni's work, curated by the director himself, is enriched by a modern and majestic staging produced by the Molière Company and Teatro Quirino Roma, in collaboration with Richard Caillar, Fimalac Entertainment, Arts Live Entertainment, and the patronage of the Italian Cultural Institute in Paris, with sets by Fabiana Di Marco, marvelous costumes by Stefano Nicolao Atelier Venezia, and projections by Francesco Lopergolo.

“The Wise Widow” represents a transition from masked theatre to character comedy, where the great tradition of the Commedia dell'Arte gives way to a more subtle psychological investigation, which highlights the characters' emotions and moods, in a vivid fresco of diverse humanity.

The show, featuring live performances by Caterina Murino and the protagonists, interviewed by L'Unione Sarda journalist and art critic Alessandra Menesini, will be featured in the traditional "Beyond the Scene" event, scheduled for this evening, Thursday, January 15, at 6:00 pm in the Foyer of Cagliari's Teatro Massimo. Admission is free, subject to availability.

The local diva, surrounded by dozens of fans and admirers, didn't forget to greet the readers of L'Unione Sarda at the end of her performance.

LP

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