THEATRE – CINZIA MELA

© Ph Andrea Rosati

ARIA DELLE PAURE

The Silence of the Night
The voices of the day I fear,
of the great beetle that gnaws at me,
and of the tree stump—
in dreams, I tremble!
I tremble and fear,
fear and tremble,
I see nothing,
I see nothing!

I feel myself falling,
never touching the ground.
I feel myself sliding into the deep dark,
it seems I am swimming.
I fall, without braking,
rolling and slipping, lost for words.
I tremble and fear,
fear and tremble,
I see nothing,
I see nothing!

My senses clouded, flies surround me,
I fear to fly, I fear to vanish.
Fear of fear, for fear,
I cannot resist it.
It takes my breath away,
it makes me retreat, I cannot walk.
I tremble and fear,
fear and tremble,
I see nothing!
I see nothing!

“You must trust in love,” the old man does say,
but how can I trust when I’ve lost my way?
“Sooner or later,
you’ll find what you seek,”
but now is not time,
you must wait, don’t peek.
You will find it, you will find,
but now is not time,
you can’t, cannot find.

THE ART OF HEARING HEARTBEATS
Opera in I act
libretto by Cinzia Mela
based on the novel of the same name by Jan-Philipp Sendker

© Blu Mambor, Mirandolinae 2010

Author, Director, and Organizer, trained in Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and France. Graduated from  DAMS in Bologna (2005) with a thesis in contemporary musical dramaturgy on the opera librettos of Calvino and Berio, she obtained a Master's degree in musical theater directing (2007).
She has written and directed performances in Italy and abroad, including In-Fedra (Potenza, 2004) and Mirandolinae (Prato, 2009). She has adapted narrative works for the stage, such as Barataria (2012) from Cervantes' Don Quijote and Los amores difíciles (2013) from I. Calvino, both presented in Barcelona, as well as theatrical texts for dance, such as The Tempest by W. Shakespeare (2018), with choreography by D. Iannone, at the Bari Danza Festival. In 2010, she directed the world premiere of Deja el amor de lado by J. Sanchis Sinisterra. She has directed repertoire operas, including Madama Butterfly (2019) and Tosca (2018).
She writes about characters for whom the connection between freedom, creativity, social role, and private life is central to their experience, as in A.M.A. (2011), inspired by the life of Anita Garibaldi, Clara (2014), and Alma (2015), both dedicated to two great female musicians and composers. For Op. 64 - Contemporary Opera Company, she wrote the libretto The Art of hearing heartbeats, based on the novel by J. P. Sendker, music by Daniela and Monica Nasti, presented in its world premiere in Milan (2024). She is currently revising her first novel, Big Windows (2025), and preparing the libretto for a melologue dedicated to the life and poetic works of Rose Ausländer (Milan, January 2025).
She has collaborated as a dramaturg with the Accademia dei Filodrammatici in Milan, the Altradanza Company in Bari, the University of Barcelona, El Nuevo Teatro Fronterizo in Madrid, the Institut del Teatre in Barcelona, and the Paganini Conservatory in Genoa.
From 1999 to 2016, she was the artistic director of La Città Invisibile, a company dedicated to the creation and production of performances related to contemporary music, active in Italy and abroad. She created the Valmarecchia Festival (2010-2014), directed the Festival dei Saraceni in Pamparato (2011-2015), and in 2014 the International Chamber Music Festival in Cervo.