Notes on Ifigenia, Liberata at the Piccolo Teatro

Authors

  • Marco Duranti University of Verona

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.13136/sjtds.v3i1.127

Keywords:

Iphigenia, Rifici, Dematté, Euripides, Girard, sacrifice

Abstract

The Ifigenia, liberata (Iphigenia, Freed), written by Carmelo Rifici and Angela Dematté and performed at the Piccolo Teatro Strehler in Milan from 27 April to 7 May 2017, is a challenging theatrical experiment on Euripides’ Iphigenia in Aulis. This piece illustrates how the conceptual premises of the play are to be found in René Girard’s theorization of human violence. In this light, Iphigenia’s sacrifice becomes the means to placate the mimetic rivalries among the Greek warriors and eventually pursue the expedition against Troy. But Rifici and Dematté were also inspired by the Italian scholar Giuseppe Fornari, who argues that in Iphigenia in Aulis Euripides exposed the cruelty of the sacrifice and its sordid motivations, while being unable to oppose to it a new ethics. These stances intriguingly materialize in the re-working of the Euripidean play through the interaction of words, stage setting, and filmic images.

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Published

2019-04-13

Issue

Section

Special Section