Being a choir again
Institutional Communication Service
4 May 2020
It is important not to forget, in the forced confinement of the past weeks, that we are part of a larger community of citizens. A precious lesson, in this direction, comes from an apparently unexpected field, that of ancient theatre, as explained in this video by Maddalena Giovannelli, professor at the Institute of Italian Studies.
In the Greek tragedy, a fundamental element was in fact the choir: a group of non-professional citizens who were actively involved in the performance. Located in the circular space of the orchestra, at a short distance from the audience, they were called to dance, sing and move in unison. But - even more importantly - those citizens watched the tragedy together, commented on it and sang together their dismay in the face of pain. The drama that is consumed on stage, therefore, does not belong only to the individuals who are experiencing it, but to the whole polis: an entire city that shares it, makes it its own, and through collective singing elaborates it. We, too, in these days, remember that we are not lonely spectators of the drama, but part of a choir.
