Zeffirelli Award to Placido Domingo, Robert Powell and Marco Bellocchio

He was preparing to direct an unpublished filmRigolettoFranco Zeffirelli. It was the2018the opera would debut in September 2020 at the Royal Opera House in Muscat, Oman. And he, ninety-five years old, his voice reduced to a whisper, was proud to present her to journalists in a meeting in Silvio Berlusconi’s villa, which was his residence, in Rome, on the Appia Antica. It would have been a Rigoletto, this time intimate, perhaps a reflection of the Maestro’s withdrawal into himself, but with an edgecinematicin the dilation of the scene capable of then narrowing and entering like a zoom into the characters. A show tinged with melancholy and yet announced with the bravado of his blue eyes, the charismatic smile, the dog on his lap, light trousers and Etro shirt, as he revealed, vain. “I’m old but I don’t give up, I have achieved with work all the results I have achieved”.

It was the last public outing ofZeffirelliwho would pass away seven months later, on 15 June 2019. However, for two years theFoundationwhich bears his name, to perpetuate his teaching and memory. And this Institute, which has its headquarters in yoursFirenzeannounced the first edition ofFranco Zeffirelli Awardan award created together with the Zeffirelli Trust for the International Center for Arts and Entertainment, which will be awarded onFebruary 16next in the background ofSalone dei Cinquecentoof Palazzo Vecchio, a truly “Zeffirillian” setting, like the headquarters of the Foundation itself, the baroque Palazzo San Firenze, originally a convent of the Philippian Fathers, a few steps from Palazzo Vecchio, where – after the awards ceremony in the presence of the mayor Sara Funaro and the governor of Tuscany Eugenio Giani – a gala dinner will be held.

The special prizes: Placido Domingo and Robert Powell

The spotlight will be turned on two faces that have long met Zeffirelli’s gaze. They are theSpecial Prizesof this first edition:Placido Domingo e Robert Powell. The Spanish tenor was among the director’s major collaborators in staging works for both thetheaterthat for thecinema: he was Otello, Don Josè, Turiddu, Calaf, Cavaradossi in memorable productions, and on the big screen the protagonist of “La Traviata” in 1982, alongside Teresa Stratas.

In a partnership that began in 1970, which made him define Zeffirelli as a “complete artist, Renaissance man”. Powell is the actor inextricably linked to Zeffirelli’s imagination for his interpretation ofJesusin the TV drama “Jesus of Nazareth”, from 1977, a symbolic work in the history of world television in which the interpreter embodies the visionhumanisticof the Master.

Awards for direction, scenography and costumes

Alongside the Special Awards, there are those for sectors, awarded by Raimonda Gaetani, president of the Jury, and by Madeline Fontaine, Lindy Hemming, Jean Rabasse, Inbal Weinberg. Recognition for theRegiawill be assigned toMarco Bellocchio(of which the television miniseries “Portobello” on Enzo Tortora, presented at the latest Venice Film Festival, is about to be broadcast) “for a career capable of combining formal rigor, historical depth and constant civil tension”.

Reward forScenographySarah Greenwood and Katie Spencer (seven-time Oscar nominees, including “Atonement”, “Anna Karenina”, “Barbie”), among the most influential scenographic partnerships of thecontemporary cinema. The prize for theCostumeswill be awarded toAnn Roth(Oscar for the films “The English Patient” and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”), capable of “redefining the relationship between dress, character psychology and scenic truth”.

Zeffirelli’s legacy and the foundation’s goals

Pippo Zeffirelli, president of the Foundation, says: “Zeffirelli has left an indelible mark on thevisual cultureof the 20th century and the prize named after him aims to celebrate hisinheritancethrough the recognition of established or emerging personalities who stand out for their quality and artistic rigor”. They will receive a gold-plated statuette, depicting a character taken from one of the works he directed (this year “Il Trovatore”) made by the Paolo Penko jewelery shop in Florence. Caterina D’Amico is the director of theFranco Zeffirelli Museum. He explains: “When we opened the doors of the San Firenze Complex in 2017 we not only inaugurated a museum but atalking archive. Our commitment is to ensure that this heritage does not remain a static memory but a living instrument fornew generationsof set designers, directors and costume designers”. And in fact the Foundation organizes educational courses and guided visits for students from primary school to university, as well as courses for young professionals or aspiring professionals. This is also the meaning of the initiatives surrounding the Award, starting fromFebruary 12birthday of Franco Zeffirelli who was born in 1923: lessons dedicated to his impact on the pitchcinematographic and operaticvisits to the Museum, screenings of his three film operas “Otello”, “Traviata”, “Cavalleria rusticana”,masterclassof the winners.