“Voi non mi conoscete, ci scommetto!”

Giro a vuoto (1960) di Laura Betti, tra cabaret letterario e riforma della canzone leggera

Abstract

On 27 January 1960, the Teatro Gerolamo in Milan hosted the premiere of Giro a vuoto, a play written, coordinated and performed by Laura Betti, and directed by Filippo Crivelli. Giro a vuoto represented a distinctive experiment at the time. Indeed, the project brought together a number of prominent literary figures of the era, including Calvino, Pasolini, Flaiano, and Arbasino, who served as lyricists, and composers from both the avant-garde and functional music traditions, who set their texts to music. This resulted in the creation of an anthology of "intellectual folk songs" and an artistic performance centred around the charismatic figure of Betti. This paper reconstructs the genesis of Giro a vuoto, with a particular focus on the role played by the singer-performer Laura Betti. Through archival research on musical and textual sources, reception and cultural debate in the periodical press of the period in question, and thanks to first-hand testimony from director Filippo Crivelli (1928-2022), interviewed in February 2021, The focus will be on two key aspects: firstly, the strategic and demiurgic role of the performer Laura Betti, who experienced her artistic consecration with this performance; and secondly, the significance attributed to Giro a vuoto by the intellectuals of the time, who were eager to find new models in order to renovate popular music. Furthermore, the evolution of the show's nature will be examined as it underwent various re-propositions in the subsequent months and years, in disparate contexts and forms.