A scenic journey into the heart of Pessoa’s thousand faces, where Robert Wilson orchestrates the vertigo of identities through bursts of light and words.

On the terrace of a Lisbon café, a man watches the clouds. It is Fernando Pessoa — or perhaps one of his alter egos: Álvaro de Campos, Ricardo Reis, Alberto Caeiro… The poet invented several voices for himself to express the complexity of being. Robert Wilson draws inspiration from this plurality in a production conceived in collaboration with the Théâtre de la Ville and the Teatro della Pergola in Florence. The American director brings to the stage the interplay between these figures, between reality and the fictional worlds that Pessoa created. Excerpts from The Shepherd, Faust and The Book of Disquiet resonate in several languages, delivered by performers who bring to life the diversity and musicality of this work. A production that offers a sensitive journey through the writer’s inner world.

DIRECTION, SET DESIGN AND LIGHTING ROBERT WILSON
TEXTS FERNANDO PESSOA
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR CHARLES CHEMIN
DRAMATURGY DARRYL PINCKNEY
COSTUMES JACQUES REYNAUD
ASSOCIATE SET DESIGNER NNICK LAVALLÉE-BENNY
ASSOCIATE LIGHTING DESIGNER MARCELLO LUMACA
SOUND DESIGN AND MUSICAL CONSULTANT NICK SAGAR
MAKE-UP VÉRONIQUE PFLUGER
STAGE ENGINEERING ENRICO MASO
ARTISTIC AND TECHNICAL CO-ORDINATION THAIZ BOZANO
COSTUME DESIGN COLLABORATOR FLAVIA RUGGERI
LITERARY CONSULTANT BERNARDO HAUMONT

FEATURING MARIA DE MEDEIROS, ALINE BELIBI, KLAUS MARTINI, SOFIA MENCI, GIANFRANCO PODDIGHE, YURE ROMÃO OR RODRIGO FERREIRA, JANAÍNA SUAUDEAU

PRODUCTION BY THEATRE DE LA VILLE-PARIS – TEATRO DELLA PERGOLA, FLORENCE.
COPRODUCTION BY TEATRO STABILE DEL FRIULI VENEZIA GIULIA – TEATRO STABILE DI BOLZANO – SÃO LUIZ TEATRO MUNICIPAL DE LISBOA – FESTIVAL D’AUTOMNE À PARIS.
IN COLLABORATION WITH THE THEATRES DE LA VILLE DE LUXEMBOURG.
WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE CALOUSTE GULBENKIAN FOUNDATION – FRENCH DELEGATION AND DANCE REFLECTIONS BY VAN CLEEF & ARPELS.

Premiere on 2 May 2024 at the Teatro della Pergola, Florence (Italy)

LE MONDE

Audiences discovering Robert Wilson’s work for the first time will experience beauty in all its splendour. […] Robert Wilson sets no limits on the imagination.

LE FIGARO

A magnificent invitation to step inside the writer’s teeming mind. For 1 hour and 20 minutes, the stage at the Théâtre de la Ville is transformed into a magical spectacle that leaves you breathless. Robert Wilson’s production transcends borders (here, French, English, Portuguese and Italian are spoken) to become universal, even infinite.

LES ECHOS

[...] The performers deliver the poet’s verses—as enigmatic as they are dazzling—with panache, set to an explosive soundtrack. [...] Robert Wilson highlights the poet’s sublime transience with a brilliant, boisterous and captivating gesture.

LES INROCKUPTIBLES

Great art.