Bizarra Backstage

“Bizarra” is the first theatre-soap in the world. The Argentine dramatist Rafael Spregelburd wrote it in 2003. He set the saga in Merlo, a suburb located in the greater Buenos Aires urban area, during the crisis in 2001. The author was able to narrate many different aspects of the crisis through the story of two twin-sisters, one adopted by a rich family and the other one by a poor family. The Italian director Manuela Cherubini translated the opera and directed it in Italy. The scene was still set in Merlo but Cherubini introduced many regional elements to refer the opera to the Italian politic and life. She tried to come near to the current Italian situation because there are many similarities between Argentine in 2001 and Italy at the present. A part of the Portuguese and the Swedish language (for few original characters), she used different Italian dialects to best portray and individualize the over 50 characters. The opera won the “Ubu Prize”, the most important award of the Italian Theatre.