“A truly unique show in a wonderful context: the natural theater of the Gorges. This Inferno perfectly combines Culture, Entertainment and Tourism, and if I, who know this place, was fascinated, I imagine the amazement of travelers from other countries. In fact, they followed the performance with the utmost attention: an excellent staging with very good actors“. Thus Elvira Amata, regional councilor for Tourism and Entertainment, commented on the highly celebrated debut, in the Alcantara Gorges, of the new edition of Dante’s Inferno, the theatrical work which has attracted fifty-three thousand spectators in the last five years, resulting in the show most seen in Sicily, among continuous sold outs.
Including that of this first week of performances of the blockbuster which, produced by Buongiorno Sicilia and Vision Sicily with the dramaturgy and direction of Giovanni Anfuso, is included in the Palco Al-Qantarah festival. And it enjoys the patronage of the MiC, the Ministry of Culture, the Ars, the Department of Entertainment of the Sicilian Region, the Alcantara River Park Authority and the Municipality of Motta Camastra. Sponsors are then Isola Bella Gioielli, Amaro Herbae and Bacco, typical pistachio.
Applause and acclaim characterized both the press preview on 26 July, marked by a strong wind, and the debut the following day. “The Gorges – underlined Anfuso – are located in the territory of the magnificent Alcantara River Park, which, fortunately less than in other areas of Sicily, has suffered from the fires of recent days. The heat also melted the ice, swelling the river, now back to normal. And finally, on Preview day, there was wind. Thus, we realized that fate had given us an extra extraordinary actor for our representation: Alcantara itself and its Nature”.
An avalanche of applause that the audience bestowed on those who worked on this edition, starting with the actors and who, in order of appearance, are Liliana Randi (Narrator), Francesco Bonaccorso (Tourist and Charon) Angelo D’Agosta , (Dante), Salvo Piro (Virgil), Giovanna Mangiù (Francesca da Rimini, Messo dal Cielo), Davide Pandolfo (Ciacco), Luca Fiorino (Farinata degli Uberti), Rosario Minardi (Ulysses), Davide Sbrogiò (Ugolino), Gabriele D’Astoli (Paolo, Diomede, Archbishop Ruggeri). The damned are instead Beatrice Caudullo, Manuela Grimaldi, Marta Marino, Valeria Mazzaglia, Davide Peluso, Alfio Raiti, Lucio Rapisarda, Francesco Rizzo and Gloria Trischitta. The choreography is by Fia Di Stefano, the costumes by Riccardo Cappello, the music by Nello Toscano and the special effects by Alfredo Vaccalluzzo.