Puppet Master
Marionette reflects on Charleston and Italy Spoleto Festivals through the years
BY L’KAI TAYLOR
Elegantly garbed against a beautifully crafted backdrop, she moves emphatically across the stage. Hands waving high in a panic, “Call the soldiers! Quick,” she exclaims as the accompanying ladies shuffle about in fear.
Singers, dancers, musicians, and performers are the talk of the town during Spoleto USA Arts festival, but little is said of the spectacular wooden dolls, handcrafted to perfection and elaborately clothed. These puppets come to life, reenacting popular fairy tales such as Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, but without the help of the highly skilled puppeteers pulling their strings, they would have nothing to offer.
From production to performance, puppeteer Piero Corbella is central to the success of Compagnia Marionettistica Carlo Colla & Figli. “For us, it’s like coming home to friends,” says Corbella of his long-time experience with Spoleto USA. He recalls being at Spoleto 30 years ago with one of his host families. “I remember them as children running around; now they are doctors!” he exclaims with a chuckle. “In a sense, I got to watch the family grow up.”
As general manager of Compagnia Marionettistica Carlo Colla & Figli, Corbella holds many responsibilities, from pulling strings to organizing shows. He and the other puppeteers have their hands full year round. Corbella is responsible for administration and production.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF PIERO CORBELLA
He organizes shows like this year’s Sleeping Beauty performance. His familiarity with Spoleto’s organizers contributes to the ease of this production. But he says he even enjoys working with new faces.
Corbella has worked with both Spoleto USA and Spoleto Italy. “Two beautiful cities,” he says of Charleston and Italy, recalling the friendships he’s made in both.
Since Spoleto USA is in May, Corbella enjoys interacting with students in Charleston, an experience not available to him during the summer Spoleto performances in Italy. Spoleto was founded in 1958 by Gian Carlo Menotti, who Corbella knew and mourned when he died in 2007.
Corbella has also built a stellar reputation in town. College of Charleston Italian film studies professor Giovanna DeLuca describes his puppet
production as unique, from the hand-sewn costumes to the orchestra music, noting that the company was passed down from a Milan family.
For this Spoleto, Corbella and his fellow puppeteers will present a new production of Sleeping Beauty, this one with music and speaking parts (the 2010 Cinderella only consisted of music). “I’m excited to see the response of the people of Charleston,” Corbella says with a smile of excitement.
As the puppeteers string the marionettes gracefully across the stage with great skill, each movement matching the mood of the scene, Corbella shares this bit of wisdom: “Marionettes speak of human experience, which doesn’t change. The marionettes have changed, but the soul of the marionette remains the same.”