THE MASTER DAVIDE LIVERMORE: HORSES' PERFECT ART

‘In theatre you create debate, as happens in the horse world. It opens consciences and generates community. And the emotion you experience at the theatre is the same as the galloping, elegant and decisive movement of a thoroughbred'.

Several times a director at La Scala and a major opera star, director of numerous theatres in Italy and abroad, Davide Livermore is a prestigious witness to the art and beauty that unite horses, his great passion, and theatre. His ability to mix tradition and innovation has made him one of the most appreciated directors on the international scene, consolidating his reputation as one of the most influential figures in the world of theatre performances.

A family of origin that has lived in close contact with horse racing and the historic Milanese stable of Dormello Olgiata, or that of Avv. D'Alessio and Cumani. A great-great-grandfather was a corporal and from there began the Livermore family history of magic and dreams. A childhood lived in close contact with the whole world that was home. Intimate moments spent in stalls admiring and drawing the sinuous lines of these wonderful animals.

Mr. Livermore, you are an internationally acclaimed figure, which opera are you directing at the moment?

I am in Monte Carlo, at the Théâtre de l'Opéra. I am directing ‘Das Rheingold’, the Rhinegold, the first act of the four musical dramas that make up the tetralogy of Richard Wagner's ‘Ring of the Nibelung’. I will be in the Principality of Munich until 25 February and then on the road again for work. In April I will be in Baden Baden in Germany to direct Puccini's Madama Butterfly.

Maestro, from the theatre stage to the paddock meadow: what do horses arouse in you?

Sensitivity, magic, a princely and poetic soul. The world of horses is made of ups and downs, like life, like theatre. I have owned horses forged by Bruno Grizzetti, trainer and special person, a man of imagination, genius and overwhelming sympathy. Trainer of Fulgentia, a magnificent mare who won a Listed and who is now a broodmare.

Where does the love for these creatures come from?

The magic of a horse's gallop is a unique experience that captivates the senses. Every step of the horse is a heartbeat echoing in the air.

Why is or was dealing with horses a disgrace for many?

This was in Italy, because the Queen of England had a stud farm and was proud of it. A royal stud farm or an ordinary person owning a horse are the same at the starting line (in the 19th century they started in this way) and the stake is relentless for everyone. In our country think the king, who owned horses and it was considered intolerable for many to do so, had to create false colours and name the stable after others.

And what needs to be done to bring glamour back to horse racing?

We have finished telling the world of horses from an ethical and poetic point of view. There is no longer a culture of horse racing. There is much more thinking about taking the spoils home and creating a population of gamblers and speculators. How can you talk about dreams and ethics when the values of an extraordinary man like Federico Tesio have been lost? The people of value are there, but we can no longer get out of self-referentiality. We need technical people, but we also need to create content capable of fascination using national channels. The images of a dancing horse, in a balance and strength that enchants and leaves one breathless, must dazzle, not as a function of play but of ethics.

Could you stage a play about a horse that has performed epic feats?

Why not? Art, whatever form it takes, must be narrated.

Michelangelo Buonarroti said: ‘I saw an angel in the marble and I carved him free’.