A painter, playwright, musician, storyteller and one of the supreme exponents of Modernista bohemianism, Santiago Rusiñol was the author of such emblematic plays for the Catalan stage as L’auca del senyor Esteve, L’hèroe, Els savis de Vilatrista and L’alegria que passa.
Rusiñol was also a hyperactive participant in the gatherings at the tavern Els Quatre Gats, which regularly put on puppet shows. His El titella pròdig (The Prodigal Puppet), which he billed as ‘a comedy for marionettes in one act and four scenes’, was premiered with live actors on 29 January 1911 at the Teatre Romea, and was performed for the first time with puppets at the Sala Reig in Barcelona in the early nineteen twenties.
On the occasion of the exhibition “Picasso vs. Rusiñol“, the Museu Picasso has commissioned a revival of The Prodigal Puppet. The highly acclaimed puppeteer Sebastià Vergés will present a ‘cast’ of traditional Catalan marionettes in period costume, with traditional sets and the music that Rusiñol composed especially for the piece. The lively and ironic dialogue in the Barcelona dialect of Rusiñol’s day is all the more charming for its period flavour.
There will be an unabridged version for adults this coming Sunday, 20 June will.
June 24, 2010
Benvolgut JORDI,
Tot parlant de titelles, crec interessant informar que, dins del Festival d’estiu de Caldetes, s’ha programat l’espectacle “PICASSO POR LOS PELOS”, de la Cia. La mar de marionetas. Aquest espectacle, gratuït, es podrà veure a la FUNDACIÓ PALAU, el diumenge 4 de juliol a les 19 h.
L’obra explica l’amistat real entre Eugenio Arias i Picasso. Arias sempre va ser un nen intel·ligent i molt despert. Va aprendre l’ofici de barber amb el seu oncle, però es va veure obligat a exiliar-se durant la Guerra Civil espanyola. A Vallauris va establir una barberia, on va conèixer Picasso.
Entre tots dos va néixer una amistat que es consolidà amb el temps. Picasso, agraït, va regalar al seu amic moltes obres d’art. Quan Picasso morí, Arias es proposà algun projecte per perpetuar la seva memòria i així va néixer el Museo Picasso de Buitrago de Lozoya
http://www.fundaciopalau.cat/fundacio-palau/ca/festivals/activitat6.html