Scholar, musician, director, composer, playwright. Roberto De Simone was one of the most complex and influential figures of the Italian culture of the second half of the twentieth century.
Born in Naples in 1933dedicated the entire life to the rediscoveryat the reinterpretation and to the enhancement of the Popular Tradition of Campaniarestoring them artistic dignity And intellectual thickness. Graduated in piano at Conservatory of San Pietro a Majellahas established himself how Reference ethnomusicologist in the study of songsof the religious rites and gods expressive languages of the Southwith an approach together philological And creative.
It was among the founders of the new Popular Singing Companya group with which he brought a forgotten repertoireletting him come out of the margins of the folklore to return it to the History of music and theater. His theatrical work “La Gatta Cinderella “three acts he wrote and music of the 1976brought to Spoleto Festival of that year, inspired by the fairy tale of the same name in Lo Cunto de Li Cunti Of Giambattista Basilein which he mixed villanelle, Moresche And tammurriate with the Cultured music of the 18th century Europeanwith texts in Neapolitan.
During his career he held leading roles in cultural institutions: Artistic director of the San Carlo Theaterof Conservatory of Naplesand author of shows that have marked a turning point in way of representing southern identity on the scene.
Among the initiatives that also bring its signature the relaunch of the historical library of the Neapolitan Conservatory. In the 1998 I promoted a large project to enhance the musical heritagewith structured interventions of inventory, restoration And digitizationsupported by dedicated funding. His research has gone through the territories of the cultured and popular musicof ritual theaterof thecultural anthropologycontributing to rewrite the narration of the Southfar from stereotypes and rooted in the historical complexity.
Its works and his thought have been the subject of study and representation in numerous contexts academics And international theatricalsmaking it one of the main ones interpreters of contemporary Mediterranean culture.
After a long illness, De Simone died Sunday evening, around 9.30 pmin his home of Via Foriaassisted by his nephew Alexander. He had been suffering from the Parkinson’s disease and from January had been hospitalized in one health facility. It hasn’t appeared in public for months. Death would have occurred due to respiratory complications.