Istituto: Institute of Theatre and Opera

Over the past century a vast public has venerated and preserved the memory of Eleonora Duse. She has been cherished like an object of cult, her story passed down from parent to child, blending history and legend in fervid approximation. Numerous biographies and magazine articles have been published about her, and numerous exhibitions held on her throughout the world.
The Cini Foundation, which is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary in 2001, has witnessed this constant interest in the ‘divina’ Eleonora first hand. Possessing the largest archives of the actress’ letters and documents, it has granted biographers and scholars the assurance of finding material for their research in the archives at San Giorgio. The latter contain hundreds of letters, written by Eleonora or sent to her from all over the world by important personalities in literature and theatre or unknown admirers, and various documents including personal papers, memoirs and photographs of her tournées in Europe and the Americas. The memory of the intimate Eleonora is preserved in her correspondence with her first great love, Arrigo Boito, poet and dramatist, and in the letters to her daughter Enrichetta, written in a unique blend of Italian and French which intertwines maternal tenderness and poetry. It was actually Enrichetta’s daughter, a nun who took on the name of Sister Mary of St Mark, who donated this exceptional collection to the Cini Foundation in 1968. The archives has since been enriched by subsequent donations and now comprises a wealth of material including part of the actress’ wardrobe and a precious Cartier watch, engraved with two ‘D’s’, perhaps a gift to D’Annunzio.

Venice, Island of San Giorgio Maggiore
30 September 2001 – 6 January 2002

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tel. +39 041 5205558 – +39 041 2710280
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e-mail: stampa@cini.it

The exhibition has been organised by the Italian Cultural Institute of Zagreb and the Institute of Literature, Theatre and Opera at the Giorgio Cini Foundation. It will remain open through mid-November and displays a wide selection from the Duse Collection at the Foundation in Venice, which conserves bequests made by the actress’ granddaughter Sister Mary of St Mark and other scholars and admirers of the actress.
Among the elements on display are ten of the actress’ costume-gowns made by prestigious designers such as Mariano Fortuny, Paul Poiret, Worth and S. Bellom; forty original photographs dated between 1885 and 1921, taken by important photographers of the times such as Mario Nunes Vais, Paul Audouard, Giuseppe Primoli, Aimà Dupont, Gio. Batta Sciutto and by the actress herself of Gabriele D’Annunzio. There are also objects that once belonged to Duse, such as passaports, coin purses, silver cigarette cases and matchbox holders, glasses, gloves, personal agendas, as well as annotated scripts, autograph letters and books dedicated to D’Annunzio.
The exhibition installation makes use of several pieces from the exhibition Divina Eleonora held at the Giorgio Cini Foundation in 2001: mannequins resembling the actress, elements from stage set designs and various large-scale photographs. The exhibition is accompanied by a small catalogue, which contains essays by Croatian scholars of theatre such as Nikola Batusichas and has been published through the efforts of Miroslav Gasparivic, MUO director, in accordance with Flavio Andreis, director of the Italian Cultural Institute.

Zagreb, Museum of Arts & Crafts (MUO)
28 September – 31 October 2004

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Institute of Literature, Theatre and Opera
tel.+39 041 2710234 – fax +39 041 2710215
e-mail: iltm@cini.it