In Less Than Five Minutes, Get To Know Stage Director MariaLuisa Bafunno

In Less Than Five Minutes, Get To Know Stage Director MariaLuisa Bafunno By Alan Neilson(Photo: Mariapia Ballarino) Recently OperaWire attended a performance of “Farinelli: The Voice That Remains,” a one-man show by soprano Nicolò Balducci. It was quite a splendid piece of music theater, which wove a path between opera, spoken theater, and recital. Behind the scenes was Marialuisa Bafunno, who was responsible for the concept, stage direction, and spoken text. Such was the quality of the presentation that OperaWire had to find out more about this talented director. OperaWire: Where in Italy were you born? Marialuisa Bafunno: Andria, Puglia. OW: Who is the most important cultural figure from your region? MB: Frederick II. He is not from Puglia but spent many years of his life here. OW: Why is he important to you? MB: I live close to his castle, and he is closely identified with the region. As a child, our teachers told us lots of stories about him. He was a very enlightened ruler, a man of learning. OW: What was the first opera you saw live? MB: It was the sheer scale of the performance, and the music was so powerful. OW: When did you decide to follow a career as a stage director? MB: I was studying scenography at the Academy of Fine Arts in Milan, and I did my internship at the Teatro alla Scala. I realized almost immediately that I wanted to direct opera. OW: Why did it appeal more than spoken theater? MB: I was attracted by the voices and the music. They allow you to enter the story from different perspectives. It also allows the audience to connect to the story on a deeper level. OW: What is your favorite opera? MB: “Turandot.” It was the first opera I ever worked on. OW: You have just finished directing a one-man show about the famous 18th-century castrato Farinelli, for which you also wrote the script. What attracted you to Farinelli as a subject? MB: His life story is a contradiction that moves between the perfection he presented to the world and the suffering he experienced in his private life. OW: What two adjectives would you use to describe Farinelli? MLB: Glitzy, Broken. OW: Why did you want Nicolò Balducci for the role of Farinelli? MB: It is the perfect repertoire for him. Also, I saw in him certain parallels with Farinelli. OW: Would you consider pursuing a career as a librettist? MB: I would love to. OW: Do you have a subject in mind? MB: I would like to write a libretto about Pippa Bacca, who was killed in Turkey while hitchhiking from Milan to Jerusalem dressed as a bride as part of an artistic performance. OW: If you could invite three people, living or dead, real or fictional, to a dinner party, at least one of whom had to have a connection with opera, who would they be? MB: Maria Callas, Freddy Mercury, and Peter Brooke. OW: What is the best book you have read? MLB: “Siddhartha” by Herman Hesse OW: Which director has had the biggest influence on your directorial style? MB: Katie Mitchell. OW: Did you or do you have a favorite pet? MB: A Parrott called Aristide. It was not kept in a cage but flew around the house and spent most of the time on my shoulder. OW: Which opera are you scheduled to direct next? MB: Donizetti’s “L’Elisir d’Amore” in Livorno. OW: What is your favorite piece of non-classical music? MB: “Dog Days Are Over” by Florence and the Machine. OW: When was the last time you went to the cinema, and what did you see? MB: Recently, I went to see “The Odyssey,” but I didn’t like it. OW: If you had not been a director, what career do you think you would have followed? MB: International tour guide for exotic locations. OW: Which opera would you most like to direct? MB: Mozart’s “Don Giovanni.” OW: What is it you like about “Don Giovanni”? MB: He is an extreme version of an alpha male with all their problems, such as narcissism, toxic masculinity, hunger for power, and the need to conquer and consume. I would love to explore this through his character.