The Italian Cultural Institute of Copenhagen presents a new version of the exhibition “Tre secoli di ispirazione italiana nel teatro danese. Da Ludvig Holberg a Dario Fo” (“Three Centuries of Italian Inspiration in Danish Theatre. From Ludvig Holberg to Dario Fo”), already on display last spring at the National Library in Rome.
Transferred to the Italian Cultural Institute, the exhibition – curated by Bent Holm and Anette Hansen – will open on 5 September and feature material from Bertel Thorvaldsen’s Roman collections and original masks from the Italian “commedia dell’arte” (Italian comedy).
Since its foundation in the early 1700s, Danish theatre has been inspired by the reckless comedy of the Italian commedia dell’arte and its masks and soon Italian artists provided valuable inspiration for the development of Danish theatre culture. Since then, Italy has become a favourite destination for Danish artists. It is no coincidence that the Danish national ballet is called “Napoli”.
More recently, the strong bond between the Italian and Danish theatres was strengthened by Dario Fo, whose latest work was inspired by “Jeppe på Bjerget” by Ludvig Holberg, considered to be the founder of modern Danish literature.
