Pignasecca and Pignaverde

Director's Notes
The enthusiastic outcome of “Manezzi per maritare una figlia” which over 80 performances entertained and moved an audience of at least 50,000 spectators, could only be a prelude to a new adventure with another great classic from Gilberto Govi's masterly repertoire, Pignasecca e Pignaverde.
I leave the shoes of the submissive “Steva” to step into those of the more sullen Felice Pastorino, a mask that, unlike the previous one, hides, among the unfailing hints of great comedy, dark and intriguing human sides to investigate and portray. In fact, this new Govan character represents the eternal archetype of the miser, around which revolve characters and situations that compose, in the careful observation of reality, that microcosm of the Ligurian style that manifests itself in a sort of precious “period photo”.
It was precisely by leafing through these scenic images that the public participated in our “Manezzi”, in a sort of collective ritual that I want to recreate with this new performance. In Pignasecca e Pignaverde the mask becomes more authentic, with a greater narrative depth, a new challenge for me, for my staging and for the company that accompanies me, professionally impeccable in every role, because the empathy of the group has always been one of the essential resources of Gilberto Govi's theatre. I wanted to dedicate my own personal tribute to him and his art in this new staging too.
Good new collective ritual to all with Pignasecca and Pignaverde!

Tullio Solenghi

Plot
The comedy begins with Signora Matilde reckoning with Lucia, the house servant, for the rest of the shopping. Although the accounts do not add up, the lady glosses over the matter, but her husband, Mr Felice Pastorino, makes an appearance, correcting the accounts and inventing excuses that force Lucia to pull money out of her own pocket to make ends meet.
The family is part of the family, and the husband is a member of the family.
The daughter, Amalia, yet to be married, is also part of the family. Felice would like his daughter to marry his cousin, Alessandro Raffo, a forty-year-old wealthy merchant from Sampierdarena. But Amalia è is against this and even shows contempt for Alessandro. She, in fact, is in love with the young Eugenio, a neighbour who has gone to America to seek his fortune after Felice has refused him his daughter's hand because he is not very wealthy.
Felice announces to his daughter that her cousin Alessandro Raffo is coming for lunch and Amalia confides to her mother all her bitterness about the marriage of convenience her father is forcing her into. The owner of the walls, Isidoro Grondona, enters the house and announces Eugenio’s imminent arrival. Eugenio then enters, who immediately greets Amalia, accompanied by the son of her boss, Manuel Aguirre, a rich Argentinean merchant with a brilliant personality, who has come to Genoa to do some business, for which he immediately asks Felice for advice. As soon as cousin Alessandro arrives, everyone leaves except Felice, while Amalia pretends not to feel well so as not to have lunch with the hated betrothed.
After lunch, Felice and Alessandro discuss the dowry and agree on 200,000 lire. Then Manuel and Eugenio join Felice to discuss the deal: the purchase of a cargo ship, for which they ask Felice's mediation (immediately enticed by the possible profit), given his great experience in the matter. At the end of the business talk, Eugenio asks Felice for Amalia's hand in marriage, which he again refuses, also because it would mean separating from his daughter, who would go to live in Argentina. Manuel asks to speak alone with Felice, to try to convince him to yield, but the latter continues to find a thousand excuses not to give his daughter in marriage to Eugenio. Felice eventually communicates his choice to his daughter and wife, who are saddened. Moreover, he manages to negotiate with his cousin to reduce the dowry to 100,000 lire.
Isidoro informs Felice that his daughter has run away with Eugenio to the Riviera, which makes Felice very worried and annoyed. Manuel appears on the scene, announcing that the affair has been successfully concluded. Isidoro, at this point, reveals to Felice that his daughter è in the flat next door; Manuel says that the “casa Aguirre”, of which Manuel è the heir, will need a trusted person on the spot, so Eugenio can stay and work in Genoa. At this point nothing can stand in the way of the marriage and Felice is delighted to agree, on the condition that the two adjoining flats are joined to make a single flat, and that the owner, Isidoro Grondona, bears the cost of the opening in the wall.