The Italian Mission. Stories of a Generation of Directors in Brazilian Theater. São Paulo: Perspectiva, 2014. Preface by Tânia Brandão.

Abstract

This testimony recounts theater director Alessandra Vannucci's research on Italian directors (Celi, Jacobbi, Salce, Bollini, Ratto, and d'Aversa) who emigrated to Brazil in the 1950s. The author describes how she rescued archives scattered between two continents, exploring trunks, photographs, and forgotten documents. These artists were protagonists of Brazilian theatrical modernization, especially at the Teatro Brasileiro de Comédia (TBC) in São Paulo. The text examines the contradictions of theatrical "Renovation": the tension between imported modernity and the search for national authenticity, the generational conflict against traditional theater, and the ambiguities of cosmopolitanism.