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Malclès at La Scala
by Vittoria Crespi Morbio.
Essay by Vittoria Crespi Morbio, Souvenir de Paris / Souvenir de Paris.
Appendices: biographical notice; catalogue of the works; chronology of stage designs by Janine Malclès.
Collection «Performing Artists at La Scala».
Amici della Scala – Umberto Allemandi & C., Turin 2006.
Italian edition, pp.103.
La Scala right after the war was steeped in an air of Paris: Poulenc was a frequent guest, the repertory welcomed titles by Ravel or Saint-Saëns, and Milan was thronged with directors and scenographers following the prestigious tradition of the French theatre.
A son of the Midi, Jean-Denis Malclès (Paris 1912–2002) in fact embodied the Parisian spirit like few others.
His productions, from L’heure espagnole by Ravel to Les mamelles de Tirésias by Poulenc (but he had started with the tribute to the great actress of the Comédie Française, Adriana Lecouvreur), sparkled with chic and joie de vivre, the “craft” fashioning them being at once light and substantial.