Tra sommi poeti ci si intende: Dante ‘tradotto’ in scena da Leo e Perla

The main focus of this paper is XXXIII Paradiso, a scenic translation of the last canto of the Divine Comedy performed by the actor-authors Leo de Berardinis and Perla Peragallo. The show, created by contaminating the verses of Paradise with interpolations from Hell and jazz music, made its debut in Rome, at Piazza di Siena, on July 31st, 1980, in the setting of the Second International Festival of the Poets; it was then rearranged in mid-September at Teatro in Trastevere. After examining the triple relationship which binds Leo and Dante, the paper focuses on the analysis of XXXIII Paradiso, the first of many theatrical encounters – subsequently occured in Bologna – between the actor and the Florentine poet. The performance is reconstructed using archival sources, press clippings, photographs, and oral testimonies.