Hanjo - Lo stratagemma dell’avvocato Manigoldi

Two works by Marcello Panni—*Hanjo* and *Lo stratagemma dell’avvocato Manigoldi*—are brought together in a single diptych for a special event celebrating the inclusion of the art of Italian opera singing on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and marking the 80th anniversary of the Teatro Lirico Sperimentale.

Hanjo, inspired by the modern Noh play of the same name by Yukio Mishima, tells the story of the young geisha Hanako’s obsessive wait for the return of her beloved Yoshio. When he finally returns, Hanako—now held captive by her obsession with waiting fails to recognize him and chooses instead to remain with the painter Jitsuko, who is in love with her.

Lo stratagemma dell’avvocato Manigoldi a farce loosely based on Bruno Corra’s La trovata dell’avvocato Max is set in the 1950s and revolves around a cynical lawyer who turns the defense of a dishonest young man into a game of vested interests and manipulation.