Piccolo Teatro (Milan)

The Piccolo Teatro di Milano, since 1991 officially Teatro d'Europa is a theater in Milan.

History

The theater was founded by Giorgio Strehler and Paolo Grassi in Milan cinema and opened on 14 May 1947, Maxim Gorky's The Lower Depths. It was the first " Teatro stable ", namely a stationary state- subsidized theater with a permanent ensemble.

In the repertoire of the early years especially plays of William Shakespeare and Carlo Goldoni, and later Anton Chekhov and Brecht were. The founders aimed at the establishment of an anti- elitist popular theater, which should be accessible to every citizen.

This concept changed for decades barely. Importantly, however, Strehler was the avoidance of pure showmanship at the performances. Rather, the intellectual complexity of the pieces should be taught.

Grassi, who headed the theater alone since 1968, was appointed in 1972 to head the La Scala in Milan. The returned Strehler left repeats the Piccolo Teatro, not least due to a lengthy dispute over a planned new building. In 1986 he founded the Scuola di Teatro as an integral part of the theater. The opening of the new theater in January 1998 did not live chasers. His successors were Luca Ronconi and Sergio Escobar.