Teatro Manzoni

Dating back to March 1978, when Silvio Berlusconi took over the responsibility to save the historic theatre from the threat of conversion into a supermarket, there have been a wide range of shows at Teatro Manzoni, handing over the direction to theatre-lover Luigi Foscale, whose more than twenty years at the helm assured continuity and consistency of image for the Manzoni, which has always been considered one of the most prestigious venues, and not only in Milan.

The need to counter-balance the intensity of dramatic tragedies with comedies has meant hosting a range of prestigious actors like Tino Buazzelli, Alberto Lionello, Paolo Stoppa, Giancarlo Sbragia, Gian Maria Volonté, Enrico Maria Salerno, Giorgio Albertazzi, Mario Scaccia, Aldo e Carlo Giuffré, Lina Volonghi, Lilla Brignone, Anna Proclemer, Giovanna Ralli while not neglecting the lighter side of theater with performances by Pietro Garinei, Gino Bramieri, Lia Zoppelli, Franca Valeri, Lauretta Masiero, Ombretta Colli, Paola Quattrini, the Kessler twins.

The cornerstone of this period was the difficult production of "Mary Stuart", directed by Zeffirelli, with Valentina Cortese and Rossella Falk. Later, there followed the equally memorable "Macbeth", directed by and starring Vittorio Gassman, with Anna Maria Guarnieri, and "Let's Get Divorced" with Alberto Lionello and Erica Blanc. While in 1979-80 Eduardo de Filippo had accepted the insistent requests of his friend Luigi Foscale, subsequently there were alternate popular appearances by Luca De Filippo, Gigi Proietti, Ugo Tognazzi, Vanoni-Albertazzi, Lavia-Guerritore, Turi Ferro, Carraro-Orsini, Moriconi-De Francovich, Sergio Fantoni, Ivana Monti, Andrea Giordana, Corrado Pani, Luca Barbareschi and Massimo Dapporto, Monica Vitti, Valeria Moriconi, Umberto Orsini and Giuseppe Cederna. Rattling off names like Mariangela Melato, Adriana Asti, Marina Malfatti, Lina Sastri, Turi Ferro, Enrico Montesano, Arturo Brachetti, Lino Capolicchio, Luigi De Filippo, Gianfranco D'Angelo makes it easy to understand who the audience preferred as the 1980s became the 1990s.

Aroldo Tieri and Giuliana Lojodice Franco Branciaroli, Carlo Giuffré, Angela Pagano, Isa Danieli, Luigi and Filippo De Luca and the famous couple Proclemer-Albertazzi were prominent during many theatrical seasons.

Unforgettable memories exist of Alberto Lionello, Ernesto Calindri and Gino Bramieri who gave their final performances on the stage of the Manzoni, Pasolini's "Affabulazione" made memorable by Vittorio Gassman and the farewell performances by Tino Buazzelli, Tino Carraro, Ugo Tognazzi, Enrico Maria Salerno, Turi Ferro, Renzo Montagnani, Lina Volongi, Lilla Brignone.

Also worth highlighting are the talents and successes of the Dorelli Goggi couple, Giuliana De Sio, Nancy Brilli Dapporto and Massimo, Sergio Castellitto, Michele Placido, Marco Columbro Gianfranco Jannuzzo, Maurizio Micheli, Benedicta Boccoli, Claudia Koll and numerous appearances by the Rancia Company

Mrs. Walda Foscale was the artistic director of the theatre in the 2001-02 season, continuing the work of her husband in the same spirit and tradition. Thanks to her, Mariangela Melato, Gianfranco Jannuzzo, Johnny Dorelli, Valeria Moriconi, Enrico Montesano, Giuliana De Sio, Loretta Goggi, Massimo Dapporto, Carlo Giuffré, Adriana Asti, Marco Columbro, Gabriele Lavia and Andrea Giordana returned to perform on the stage of this theatre.

Additionally, in recent years, new key names in Italian theater have been added: from the acclaimed Vincenzo Salemme, Alessandro Gassman and Beppe Fiorello to Maria Amelia Monti, Antonio Catania, Pierfrancesco Favino, Sabrina Ferilli, Luca Barbareschi, Angela Finocchiaro, Vanessa Incontrada, Vittoria Puccini, Ambra Angiolini, Stefania and Amanda Sandrelli and Emilio Solfrizzi, all warmly welcomed by audiences at the Manzoni Theater.

Apart from traditional approaches, theater programming has broadened its horizon to other expressive forms to satisfy the tastes of more heterogeneous audiences. One example is Cabaret, which has hosted some of Italy's the most popular and beloved comedians: Pintus, Giacobazzi, Cevoli, Covatta, Raul Cremona, Paolo Migone, Leonardo Manera, Maurizio Colombi, Gabriele Cirilli and Michele Foresta. There's also Manzoni Derby Cabaret, a comedy talent show with a dinner, wine and show format which for 4 years has lit up Sunday night.

The Manzoni Family series has a detailed mini-musical calendar, aimed at entertaining families with children. Extra Manzoni devotes space to dance, magic, and theatrical sketches of famous people. Finally, there are Monday evenings with Manzoni Culture interviewing prominent figures in literature, theater, journalism, dance and cinema.