Daniele Finzi Pasca

Daniele Finzi Pasca was born in Lugano in 1964 in a family of photographers. He spent his childhood in the family photo laboratory, used by his gather, grandfather and great-grandfather before him. Daniele was introduced to the circus world through gymnastics, and he set foot onstage for the first time under the guidance of a clown named Fery. In 1983 Daniele left for India where he worked for a volunteer programme helping the terminally ill. Upon his return to Switzerland, together with his brother Marco and Maria Bonzanigo he founded the Teatro Sunil, its productions combining acting, buffonade and dance. The founders call this theatre technique “theatre of the caress.”

Finzi Pasca was sentenced to a brief term of imprisonment for acting as a conscientious objector. While in jail he put the final touch to Icaro, a monologue conceived for a single spectator. Performed by Pasca himself over seven hundred times in six languages over the past twenty years, Icaro has delighted audiences throughout the world. In this early work one can already observe the company’s emergent style and aesthetics.

He has created and directed twenty shows for the Teatro Sunil that have been performed in twenty countries. All of his productions depict a profound sense of humanity and playfulness. They include Rituale, Viaggio al confine, Dialoghi col sonno, Percossi obbligati, Giacobbe, 1337, Aitestas and Visitatio (the latter co-produced with Montreal’s Carbone 14 theatre). In 2003 he wrote and directed Te amo (co-production with Poramor Producciones and the Teatro Sunil).

For the Cirque Éloize Daniele Finzi Pasca has created Nomade – At Night, the Sky is Endless (2002) and Rain – Comme une pluie dans tes yeux (2003). The latter show brought him a New York Drama Desk Award in the category “Best Director”.

In 2005 he wrote and directed the Cirque du Soleil’s show Corteo. To date it has been seen by over three million spectators throughout the world.

Pasca also directed the closing ceremony of the Turin XX Winter Olympic Games (2006), for which he received the 2006 Swiss Award in the Show Business category.

In 2007 he wrote Nebbia, co-produced by the Cirque Éloize and the Teatro Sunil.

Casagrande has published a short-story anthology entitled Come Acqua allo specchio as well as the script of Viaggio al confine.

In 2008 he received the Swiss Theatre Prize and was nominated for the XIII Europe Theatre Prize.

In 2009 he co-founded the  Inlevitas production company with Julie Hamelin, which creates and develops artistic projects including opera, acrobatic theatre and cinema. Invelitas’ first project was the opera L’Amour de loin, staged in July 2009 for the English National Opera, also staged in Belgium in 2010 and Toronto in 2012. The company also participated in the publication of Facundo Ponce de León’s book Daniele Finzi Pasca: Theatre of the Caress, written by in 2009.

The Moscow International Chekhov Theatre Festival commissioned him to stage Donka – a Letter to Chekhov to his own script. The premiere took place on 29 January 2010, at the Mossoviet Theatre in Moscow. Daniele is currently writing an opera dedicated to Mazu, the sea goddess, as well as his first film script, Piazza San Michele, produced by Julie Hamelin. 2011 sees a production of the opera Aida at the Concert Hall of the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg and 2012 will see a production of Carmina Burana under the direction of Valery Gergiev to mark the opening of the theatre’s second stage. Other projects are underway, namely a version of Leoncavallo’s I pagliacci at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples and a revival of the show Dialoghi col sonno.

In 2011 he founded the Finzi Pasca Company along with Maria Bonzanigo, Hugo Gargiulo, Julie Hamelin and Antonio Vergamini, combining the Teatro Sunil and the  Inlevitas production company.