Transfiguration of the present.
There are authors who transform their shows into imaginary representations of life. Imaginary, thus breaks through the limits of the present in an attempt to project us into a different time and place. It is that imaginary realm that we all
need, starting with the younger generations, who are afflicted by a vision of the future that is clouded no matter where they look.

As in The Man in the High Castle (Philip Dick, 1962), just when the ghosts of the past paradoxically take on concreteness, it falls somewhat to man to create alternative dimensions. This is what Marcos Morau does, with a persistent use of the simplest and most fascinating poetic and aesthetic visions. Thus, a man can be a puppet, or vice versa. The wall of reality cracks open and we pass through a portal that leads us into a realm of possibilities and inventions. The use of text, or even graphics and comics, inexhaustibly produces layers of images that overwhelm us. He revisits these layers, show after show, in an unending creative quest.

I have greatly admired Platel and his vision, which I would describe as 'anti-dystopian': those characters, feverish
with social inadequacy, solidify into a representation in which the most human feelings, such as compassion,
allow for salvation. Marcos Morau, too, is an author before he is a choreographer, but he is less interested in
possible salvation than in a transfigured present. His visual poetry is at the peak of a consciously combative
beauty.
Probably Marcuse would say that his imagination aims for liberation. For us, it is enough that he has restored the stage as a place of possibility.

Regarding the choice of Morricone, I would love to be able to say that I approached Morau to ask him to tackle
this other fantastic 'dream-maker.' But that is not the case: it was he who proposed it, and he can tell us why. For
my part, all I want to do is highlight the strategy guiding Aterballetto, which has become a National
Choreographic Center. It is based on the centrality of music, potentially even live, as the driving force of a dance
that is increasingly present on our stages. It emphasizes the importance of demanding performances that are
capable of speaking to everyone. And it embraces the pleasure of making our work more meaningful thanks to
partnerships with important entities that collaborate by opening their stages to dance. For Notte Morricone, I
want to mention them all: Macerata Opera Festival, Fondazione Teatro di Roma, Fondazione I Teatri di Reggio
Emilia, Centro Servizi Culturali Santa Chiara Trento, Centro Teatrale Bresciano, including Ravenna Festival
through the Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini, which is entrusted with the recording of the score, adapted and
transcribed by Maestro Maurizio Billi.
Gigi Cristoforetti
Director of the National Choreographic Center/Aterballetto


Notte Morricone: an ordinary night in the life of a creator.
"I, Ennio Morricone, am dead," wrote the composer before bidding farewell. His music, on the other hand, cannot. And so it is that creators and artists always leave us without leaving us, and so it is that memory ensures that they are kept alive, kept safe. Notte Morricone is my gift, a devout tribute to the beauty he gave to the world. Ennio Morricone could be my father, or my grandfather, I am a direct heir to his legacy, of the films that (whether masterpieces, good, mediocre, or bad) owe him an immeasurable debt.

Before delving into his music, the whistling of his tunes was already a recurring sound in my life. I am the son of parents who grew up with his Once Upon a Time in America, and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. I, among many other things, grew up with his melodies playing in the living room of my home. He may not have known it, but his music was not only the music for those films, it was also the soundtrack of our childhood. Ennio put his creativity, his inspiration, his heterodoxy at the service of the "dream factory", embedding those sounds in our memory, becoming a classic, the embodiment of the intellectual composer, the popular musician, almost a rock star. And it is in that generous act of creating and sharing beauty with us that my imagined world of Morricone begins to take shape. It is not just about working with his music, much less explaining it, since he has already said everything there is to say; it is about composing a new melody that runs parallel to the presence of his music in our lives. Notte Morricone unfolds in the twilight of an ordinary night in the life of a creator, who — alone and dazed in front of his sheets — takes notes and visualizes melodies for films that do not yet exist, bringing stories back to life in the rarefied air of his room. The night will be full of visitors, some musicians, who will respond to his creative call to record his fleeting ideas in a makeshift recording studio. And there, among the sheets and musical notes, a boy will appear, the one who wanted to be a doctor, the tireless chess player, the one who knew he would never play the trumpet like Chet Baker because fate had reserved a better place just for him, a place that would make him an icon for all eternity. And the night will continue to advance, turning his home in a recording studio, in the duality of his free mind and his mind that is creating music for films that would become the music of a century, turning his home into a cinema, where visitors of all kinds will come to watch his films and spend the night with him.

And every night will be a new opportunity to bring the dreams of all the musicians, the children, the lovers and lone cinema-goers to life.

Morricone's music gave sound the things that are left unsaid, those that remain inside. Disassociating his music from the films is a complex and almost suicidal job, but I know that today he would be very happy to know that his music could be emancipated from the cinema and live tonight in a theater.
Marcos Morau
Director and choreographer


“My music does not need crutches”.
«Engaging with the music of Maestro Ennio Morricone has always been an invaluable professional stimulus. Our numerous conversations over time and the privilege of listening to his personal advice have allowed me to grow, and only after years can I truly appreciate the human and artistic greatness of the Maestro. It was during one of these conversations, on the occasion of an upcoming concert, that he told me: “My music does not need crutches”... implying the absolute value of his music which, even though it is functional to the images, possesses an autonomous life, rich in meanings. And through the emotions that his music is able to unleash, the ambitious project Notte Morricone begins, on the contrary, with the music to create 'choreographic images' crafted by Marcos Morau, activating a potential of extraordinary evocative beauty. The excellent contribution of Rosita Piritore in editing the musical material has duly taken into account the Maestro's ideas, with the utmost respect for his music.»
Maurizio Billi
Direction and musical arrangement

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