The great magic of the circus pays homage to Chekhov in a show of visions, delicate equilibriums, dancers, acrobats and jugglers.
Acclaimed worldwide for many years, Donka – A Letter to Chekhov is a delicate and poetic homage, an entertaining and mesmerizing tribute to the great Russian author and doctor Anton Chekhov, to the beauty of his words and to his humanity. A flow of dream-like, almost magical images carries the spectator to a world made of elegant acrobatic compositions, fragile equilibriums, juggling, dance and acting… that recall long-forgotten emotions.
The show opened the celebrations for Anton Chekov’s 150th birth anniversary in Moscow in January 2010.
“I decided to discover Chekhov looking for particulars and details, both in his life and in the pages of his writings, and not only that. I thought of giving shape to the silences contained in the notes of his diaries and of creating images from his annotations.
I come from a theatre deeply impregnated with the language of clowns, of jugglers, of the delicate and magical world of acrobats. That is how I decided to recall Chekhov and to do it I surrounded myself with the same accomplices as always, creators with whom I have worked for years and with whom I share not only the same sense of aesthetics and way of thinking of the theatre, but also the passionate way of defending our imaginary world.”
Daniele Finzi Pasca, September 2009
Daniele Finzi Pasca
Writer, Director, Lighting Designer and Choreographer
Maria Bonzanigo
Musical Composer, Orchestrations, Sound Designer and Choreographer
Antonio Vergamini
Director of Creation
Hugo Gargiulo
Set and Prop Designer
Julie Hamelin Finzi
Creative Associate
Giovanna Buzzi
Costume Designer
Roberto Vitalini for bashiba.com
Video Designer
Chiqui Barbé
Make-up Designer and Prop Collaborator
Daniel Cyr
Cyr Wheel Inventor
Facundo Ponce de León
Researcher and Assistant Director
Geneviève Dupéré
Artistic Coordinator
Alexis Bowles
Lighting Co-designer and Production Director
Current Cast: Andrée-Anne Gingras-Roy, Beatriz Sayad, David Menes, Félix Salas, Francesco Lanciotti, James Kingsford-Smith, Jess Gardolin, Marco Paoletti, Melissa Vettore, Micol Veglia, Rolando Tarquini and Stéphane Gentilini
Original Cast: Moira Albertalli, Karen Bernal, Helena Bittencourt, Andrée-Anne Gingras-Roy, David Menes, Félix Salas, Beatriz Sayad and Rolando Tarquini
Allegra Spernanzoni Stage and Tour Manager, Artistic Coordinator, Assistant Director for Tours and Projects
Patrizia Capellari Tour Manager
Pietro Maspero Head of Lighting
Jens Leclerc Human Rigging Manager
Nicolò Baggio Onstage Technical Manager
Fabio Lecce Co-sound Designer and Sound Technician
Alessandro Napoli Sound Technician
Production Team
Production Director: Alexis Bowles
Tecnical Coordinator: Marzio Picchetti
Project Managers: Anna Casari and Marc-André Goyer
Visual Design, Photography and Communications: Viviana Cangialosi
International Representation: Chiqui Barbé, Sarai Gomez and Tanja Milosevic
Accountant: Amal Meroni
Assistant Scenographer: Matteo Verlicchi
Technician: Pietro Maspero
Communication and Promotion: Samuele Ponzio
Editing, Public Relations and Fundraising: Claudia Lafranchi Cattaneo
Archives Manager: Marco Finzi Pasca
Administrative and Accounting Consultant: Lorenzo Ortelli
Costume Workshop
Sartoria SlowCOSTume
Assistant Costume Designer: Ambra Schumacher
Dressmaker: Claudia Gariboldi
Music
The orchestra music was recorded by the Sergei Rakhmaninov Symphony Orchestra (Moscow – Russia) at the Mosfilm “Tonstudio” and was conducted by Maestro Sergei Kondrashev
Choir: V. Rybin Vocal Ensemble
Mixing: Alexander Volkov
Internships
Alessandra Rezzonico – CSIA Lugano (scenography), Alessia Cappelletti (costumes), Antonia Foletti (sound), Antonietta Maglione (costumes), Antonio Vettore Catan (graphics & photography), Aurora Tito – CSIA Lugano (scenography), Fabio Picco (technical department) – CPT Trevano, Jerome Roy – CPT Trevano, João Vettore Catan (sound), Juana Gargiulo (photography), Lea Broggini (scenography), Leonardo Tibiletti (scenography & music), Leonardo Finzi (technical department), Ludmilla Papa (costumes), Max Balzan (technical department) – CPT Trevano, Michal Afeworki (costumes), Sanjna Seralvo (production), Sara Da Silva – CSIA Lugano (scenography) and Silvia Fanoni (photography)
Creation former collaborators
Atelier of Théâtre de Vidy, Barbara Bedrina (Assistant to Set Designer), Bluedream, Claude Rodrigue, Claudio D’Avanzo, Fabrizio Arigoni, Geneviève Dupéré, Gilles Richard,Imperial Boots, Lisa Rufini, Laurent Rozencwajg, Marc Laliberté, Marco Grossi, Mario Audello, Miriam Mazza, Nello Sofia, Peroni SpA, Pilar Del Campo, Pompei Shoes, Rocco Talleri, Sebastiano Pedrazzini, Sergio Mariotti, Stephane Boulaz, Trizio Valigeria and Vincenzo Carrino
Many thanks to our former troupe members
The artists Catherine Girard, Helena Bittencourt, Jean-Philippe Cuerrier, Karen Bernal, Moira Albertalli, Sara Calvanelliand Veronica Melis and the technicians Alona Umanskaya, Andrea Caruso Saturnino, Benoît Dubord, Dave Bourdages, Gonzalo Soldi, Guillaume Labelle, Lorant Voros, Maxime Lambert and Pierfranco Sofia
Many thanks to the Chekhov Festivalmembers
Director Valery Shadrin, Galina Kolosova, Natalia Gerasimova, Elena Bogomolova, Irina Druzhinina, Svetlana Kamenikhina, Svetlana Kamenikhina, Svetlana Kamenikhina, Ella Levina, Maria Malkina, Vyacheslav Orlov and Valentina Panfilova
Many thanks to the Théâtre Vidy-Lausanne members
Director René Gonzalez, Barbara Suthoff, Boussaud Deghou, Christian Mayor, Damien Christen, Danielle Jeauffre, Enrique Mendez Ramallo, Esther Zeller, Fabio Gaggetta, Felix Dorsaz, François Plançon, Isabelle Imsand, Jean-Daniel Buri, Jerome Loth, Jerome Vernez, Jules Hox, Lise Rumpf, Marc Moureaux, Mathieu Dorsaz, Michael Romaniszin, Michel Beuchat, Natacha Gerber, Nicolas Widmer, Nouri Montasri, Patrick Oulevay, Rene Zahnd, Roger Monnard, Samuel Marchina, Sarah Turin, Stephane Boulaz, Stephane Janvier, Stephane Sagon, Thierry Tordjmann, Thomas Beimowski and Thuy Lor Van
Sarai Gomez
Tanja Milosevic
A production of Compagnia Finzi Pasca and Chekhov International Theatre Festival
In co-production with Théâtre Vidy – Lausanne
With the support of:
Government of the Russian Federation
Municipality of Moscow
The founders and producers of Compagnia Finzi Pasca:
Antonio Vergamini, Daniele Finzi Pasca, Hugo Gargiulo, Julie Hamelin Finzi and Maria Bonzanigo.
Cornèrcard
Fidinam
Grand Hotel Villa Castagnola
Caffè Chicco d’Oro
City of Lugano
Cantone Ticino
Pro Helvetia
LAC Lugano Arte e Cultura
AIL SA
Claypaky – Official Lighting Supplier
Sintetica – Research Partner
Migros Culture Percentage
Ernst Göhner Stiftung