Gardone Operetta Night: Santonastaso Performs at Vittoriale

Details of the show and atmosphere

Concluding the first of two sections dedicated to operetta in the summer program at Vittoriale di Gardone Riviera (the second is scheduled for August), tonight, Sunday, at 9:15 PM, the company led by Pippo Santonastaso presents “Varieté d’operetta,” a true variety show alternating arias from the most famous musical comedies (“La vedova allegra,” “Cin Cin Là,” “Il paese dei campanelli,” “Sogno di un valzer,” “Scugnizza,” etc.) with stories and anecdotes told and sung by Santonastaso himself and other company members.

Entrance costs 40,000 lire (reduced 34,000) for the numbered seats and 30,000 lire (26,000) for the gallery. Information at 0365-296519. Tickets purchased before 7 PM on the day of the show are entitled to a 10% presale discount. The other evening, during the performance of “Il paese dei campanelli,” the famous operetta by Carlo Lombardo and Virgilio Ranzato, only 400 spectators were present at Teatro del Vittoriale.

Audience reactions and results

Strange because, usually, when an operetta, regardless of how well-known or obscure, is staged at the Gardone amphitheater, audiences flock in large numbers. Instead, the other night, Pippo Santonastaso and his company had to contend with an unusual and quite unwelcoming setting: a half-full audience and a bleacher more empty than filled.

Perhaps this is also why the show did not “take off” as it should have and deserved. In fact, while Santonastaso’s troupe mainly thrives on the energy of the “little” comedian (who confessed to being 1.62 meters tall, pardon, short), it is also true that the company’s singers did not perform poorly, at least no worse than other colleagues who have appeared at Vittoriale.

All, more or less, did their honest part. Likewise, the orchestra led by Massimo Pauselli and the eight dancers, six young women and two young men, who, perhaps, could use a few more smiles (come on, we’re at operetta, not a funeral…).

Final reactions and invitation to participation

Despite this, as we said, the other evening the… Campanelli sounded, but not as much as they could and should have. As a result, the audience was more enthusiastic during the encore that Santonastaso allowed at the end of the operetta.

After reminding everyone of the upcoming evening appointments and exchanging a few jokes with those present, the comedian went down into the audience, inviting the crowd to sing along with the actors two of the most famous operetta arias: “Luna, tu non sai dirmi cos’è” and “Tu che m’hai preso il cuor.”