The actor Norberto Gonzalo gets into the skin of the protagonist of Stefano by Armando Discépolo whose hardship lies in having been an important musician in his native Italy but who does not achieve success in his Argentine life, with a family in tow, whose version directed by Osmar Núñez is offered in the traditional La Máscara room, in the San Telmo neighborhood .
Originally premiered at the Teatro Cómica -now Lola Membrives-, in Buenos Aires, by the company of Luis Arata in 1928, the piece belongs to the genre “creole grotesque”created by the author and a direct descendant of the sainete, with the difference that the characters are no longer a cohort of immigrants but rather there is among them a first generation of native Argentines and pain and even tragedy occupy the place that before had the humor.
“This is not only Discépolo’s most performed work, but for many it is his masterpiece, integrated into a trilogy completed by ‘Mateo’ and ‘El organito’, the latter also signed by his brother Enrique Santos. Although, of course, without forgetting ‘Mustafá’, ‘Watchmaker’, ‘The continuous movement’, ‘Babilonia’, ‘Muñeca’ and many others”, Gonzalo expressed in dialogue with Télam.
“With Osmar we had just shared a rewarding and successful experience, ‘Orquesta de senoritas’, by Jean Anhouil, in 2016. And he, moreover, who starred as an actor in an excellent version of ‘Relojero’, also by Discépolo, at the Teatro Regio , accepted with the enthusiasm and humility that characterize him.”Norbert Gonzalo
The interpreter confessed to being “a fan of Discépolo forever; and even of both, Enrique and Armando. I have been participating with some pain in their political, literary and personal differences. Although I still believe that the homage and, in part, the recognition, are pending, and I even dared to point it out in my show ‘El Pesca sin Venta’ (2016), where Miguel’s character walked them together in his mateo”.
Télam: How was the decision to mount it at once?
Norberto Gonzalo: One always dreams of a play that one has read or seen and “Stefano”, as an emblem of Discépolo, has always been a dream of mine, but it began to become a possible dream when I saw it starring Raúl Ramos, in 2008. From that character, he managed to convey the incarnation and humanity that I believed in. I was moved by that work and several years later I had the opportunity to tell him about my desires and my fears of doing it, and he had the gesture of pushing me to face it. This is how the idea of this project was born, and that is why I decided to honor him, dedicating it to his memory.
T: How does the name of Osmar Núñez appear in the direction, consecrated as one of our great actors?
NG: Once decided, the first thing that appeared was the need to remove myself from directing. The volume of the character and the project merited an external look, but at the same time it coincided with my criteria of directing from the actor. I proposed it to Osmar Núñez; With him we had just shared a rewarding and successful experience, “Orquesta de senoritas”, by Jean Anhouil, in 2016. And he, moreover, who starred as an actor in an excellent version of “Watchmaker”, also by Discépolo, at the Teatro Regio, He accepted with the enthusiasm and humility that characterize him.
And we set to work: first with the essential research on the time, the political-social situation, immigration and the theatrical genre, the grotesque, that cult that Discépolo bequeathed us and that endures to the present. It was attractive to rediscover the immigrant identity of our ancestors. An almost colorful fact: my home today in San Telmo is just around the corner from where my Genoese grandfather had his coal shop at the beginning of the last century.
T: What was the “color” you looked for for the setting?
NG: The assembly of the artistic and technical teams was decisive in achieving the line and color of the version. Both the convocation of a cast with knowledge and transit through the grotesque, as well as the grays of an oppressive environment, defined by scenery, costumes, music and lighting. The “cocoliche” practiced by the characters of Stéfano, Pastore, and above all, by the protagonist’s parents, contrasts, as the genre requires, with the Spanish provided by Margarita, his wife, and their children Radamés, Ñeca and Stephen.
T: -How was the cast put together?
NG: -It was, in general, Osmar’s responsibility; I only allowed myself to propose Patricio Gonzalo for Radamés -my son in real life, which is a personal added value-, Jorge Paccini for Don Alfonso, the father, and the teacher Gerardo Amarante, for musical composition.
Finally, speaking today about the undeniable validity of Discépolo -and of “Stefano” in particular- surely refers us to the need to return to the sources. To the fight to recover our origins and our identity and the often bastardized ethical and aesthetic language that the Discépolo theatricals of Argentina and the Río de la Plata left us.
“Stefano” completes its cast with Pablo Mariuzzi, Elena Petraglia, Paloma Santos, Lucas Soriano and María Nydia Ursi-Ducówith costumes and scenery of Alexander Matthew Realized by Salvador Aleo, Marina Gonzalez Y Norma Rolandi, artistic assistance of Monica Benavidez and address of Ruth Scheinson.
It is offered at La Máscara, Piedras 736, on Saturdays at 9 pm, with tickets at the box office or by calling 4307-0566 and by www.lamascara-teatro.blogspot.com / Facebook.
