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Tito Schipa, the tenor who left Lecce to enchant New York

This project was born from the desire to rediscover and tell, with new languages, the figure of an artist who has marked the history of bel canto. Through comics, narration and music, we want to bring young audiences closer to Tito Schipa, making an extraordinary story that is too often forgotten current.

Puglia in the World

How the idea was born
The idea for the project was born from the awareness that time can erase or at least blur the memory of characters or traditions that have contributed to making our land famous. Telling the new generations about these events and protagonists means keeping memories alive, offering the right perspective on the events that have marked their path. The goal is to make opera singing fascinating and rediscover a character of historical importance, an integral part of world history, who took his first steps right from Lecce.
Why in comic form?
The art of comics, once considered a “children’s reading”, has now gained full legitimacy as a form of universal narration. It has established itself as a rapid and effective means, capable of responding to the need for immediacy in an era that seems to take away time for reflection. The comics format was chosen to bring the new generations closer to the figure of a historical figure of importance for the Apulian territory. Among the objectives of the project, there is also that of creating a bridge towards a musical genre often perceived as distant from young people: bel canto.
Why Tito Schipa
The activity undertaken was the creation of a presentation text dedicated to a character from our land who achieved international success. The choice fell on the tenor Tito Schipa, born in Lecce in 1888 and famous above all in New York, where he achieved his greatest successes and where he passed away in 1965. It is a historical period that today we struggle even to imagine: an era in which technology had not yet eliminated waiting times and distances. Tito Schipa became a great protagonist in an era in which distances were real and goals even more difficult to achieve.
Why a story in two languages (English and Italian)
Transforming the life of a real character into a comic and making the work international thanks to the double translation has the aim of making this protagonist known also to the younger generations, who are not indifferent to the past, but often ignore it because the news appear "not current" or told in forms that are not very engaging, perceived as "ancient". The intent is to go beyond the borders of Puglia and revive in New York the success that Tito Schipa has amply deserved.
Beyond the Comic: Story and Video Clip
addition to the comic, a text has been associated that tells the story of the tenor's rise to success. To complete the project, a video clip has also been created, designed to renew Tito Schipa's image and make him interesting for a young audience. The video clip includes a cover arrangement of a Tito Schipa song dedicated to our territory.

Discover Tito Schipaform
in illustrated form

start reading

Puglia in the World

Made with Next Generation EU PNRR Transizione Digitale Organismi Culturali e Creativi

Progetto TOCC0002171 COR 15905731 CUP C37J23000260008

  • Comic story
    Marcello Durante
  • Cover and illustrations
    Francesca Maiorano
  • Project conception
    Simona D'Amanzo
  • Project
    Formitalia Srl - Lecce
  • Translations
    Elisabetta Pasanisi
  • Tale
    Marcello Durante e Arianna Corsini
  • Comic book story editing
    Arianna Corsini
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