Word: menotti
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1960-1969
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Composer-Impresario Gian Carlo Menotti had never directed a straight play before, but this was one challenge he could not resist. It was the first Ital ian production of Jean Anouilh's Medea, with volcanic Film Actress Anna Magnani (Open City, The Rose Tattoo) in the title role. Menotti realized all along, though, that working with Magnani is "like working with fire. It might burn down the whole house if you let it go, but if you put water on it, the fire might go out. You must keep the fire burning without destroying the theater...
...Jason, who takes up with Glauce, daughter of King Creon of Corinth; in retribution, Medea kills her two children by Jason, and murders both Glauce and Creon. Magnani's view was that Medea had got the short end of the stick, that Jason was a no-good porco. Menotti did not quite see it that way. "Jason's story is like every Italian man's," he explained. "He is just a tired man who wants to get rid of his mistress and settle down...
...pair so tight he was a sight. When Rouben tinted the pants dark brown, Ruggieri went into a rage. "You ruined them!" he cried. "You dyed them!" "I didn't dye them, I painted them!" huffed Rouben. "I'm a painter, not a dyer!" Moaned Director Menotti: "Why is it that an Englishman is always adjusting his tie, a Frenchman is always checking his pocket for his wallet, and Italians are always showing themselves off in tight pants...
Magnani, undaunted, beamed: "What do you think of the team of Menotti and Magnani on Broadway?" Well, maybe - but for now, Menotti was looking for a little peace and quiet. Said he: "I'm going back home to my dog in Mount Kisco, New York...
Gian Carlo Menotti's opera about the poor, crippled boy who generously offers his crutch to the "Child" in Bethlehem...