“A little Night Music” by Stephen Sondheim with libretto by Hugh Wheler of 1973 is a musical inspired by the Ingmar Bergman film “Smiles of a Summer Night” of 1955 and it involves the romantic lives of several couples. Its title is a literal English translation of the German name for Mozart's Serenade No. 13, for strings in G major, K 525 “Eine kleine Nachtmusik”.

Its original 1973 Broadway production gained a great success and won six Tony and a New York Critics Circle Award. In 1975 the London version was produced and the English audience, with elegant tastes, appreciated even more the class of the score and libretto, which are based on the feelings of many couples. In London two next revivals in 1989 and in 1995 were produced: in particular the latter, produced by the National Theatre, could count on the exceptional performance of the main character Judy Dench and the addition by Sondheim of a new song, the cynical “My Husband the Pig”. In 1978 also a sumptuous movie version was produced with Elisabeth Taylor as protagonist. The last theater version production, in 2010, is of Broadway: on stage two stars of the stature of Catherine Zeta-Jones (who won the Tony Awards as best actor) and the protagonist of the “Murder, She Wrote”, Angela Lansbury (both were replaced by Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch at the end of the contract).
Sophisticated and full of enchantments, the soundtrack composed by Sondheim intertwines suggestive waltzes, fascinating vocal quartets and lyrics packed of humor and poetry. The exciting aria “Send in the Clowns” soon established itself as a hit and it became a “classic” of the musical and it was recorded by numerous pop and musical singers. But many other pieces are worth to be mentioned, among which the female duet “Every Day a Little Death”, the funny “You Must Meet my Wife” and “A Weekend in the Country”, the lilting “The Miller’s Son” and “Night Waltz”. An increasing melodic reconstruction which - as already revealed - goes over the love stories of several couples, who the destiny had separated and now reunites in a country house for a weekend.

 

 

PRODUCTION & ADAPTATION Sara D'Angelo

ITALIAN LIBRETTO Andrea Ascari

TRANSLATIONS OF THE LYRICS Michael Anzaloni

MUSICAL DIRECTION Eleonora Beddini

CHOREOGRAPHIES Carla Della Vecchia

SCENES Arte Scenica

COSTUMES Arte Scenica, Fabio Cicolani & Silvia Cerpolini

GRAPHIC Stefano Bonsi

ARTISTIC DIRECTION Edoardo Scalzini

EXECUTIVE PRODUCTION "I Duttili"