Great national debut in Cesena for Lazarus, a musical theater work defined as David Bowie's farewell gift to the world. The work was written by the artist shortly before his death in 2016, together with the Irish playwright Enda Walsh. Critics and fans, together with the album Blackstar, consider it the artistic testament of the great English artist. These days Lazarus is on stage at the Teatro Bonci in Cesena, for the first time in Italy, in a production by Emilia Romagna Teatro directed by Valter Malosti, curator of the Italian version with Walsh himself.
Lazarus
The role of the protagonist Newton is entrusted to one of the leading names in the Italian music, Manuel Agnelli, songwriter and historical frontman of the Afterhours. Agnelli is joined by the singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Casadilego (Elisa Coclite), by the choreographer and dancer Michela Lucenti and by a very rich cast of other performers and musicians. The opera, first performed at the New York Theater Workshop in Manhattan, is the unhappy story of the interstellar migrant Newton, forced to stay on Earth. “For Bowie – explains the director – Lazarus is not only the figure of a migrant, but he represents a bit of all the different, those who are forced to move not only physically from one country to another but also to try to be accepted from society".
A long tour in the theaters
“For me Bowie is everything – adds Manuel Agnelli – I listened to him since I was a kid. I sadly turned 57 two days ago, and for a rock artist to do new things at this age is a full circle, a dream come true". The show includes many of Bowie's most famous songs, especially those from the artist's last period. In the lineup also four specially written unpublished works, including the masterpiece that gives the title to the work. After Cesena, the show will also be held in the ERT offices in Modena and Bologna and will continue with a long tour in theaters.
(Photo Lazarus Musical/aew.manuelagnelli)
