“I, the son of Zeus, have come to this land of the Thebans; I, Dyonisus, […] having taken a mortal form instead of a god’s, I am here at the fountains of Dirke and the water of Ismenus. […] I have come to this Hellene city first, having already set those others land to dance and established my mysteries there, so that I might be a deity manifest among men. In this land of Hellas, I have first excited Thebes to my cry, fitting a fawn-skin to my body and taking a thyrsus in my hand, a weapon of ivy.” Euripide, Le Baccanti

The (piece) generates from a specific analysis of Euripides’ Bacchae, by isolating the choral sections of the tragedy. The work narrates the return of Dyonisus, god of ecstasy, to a Greece disrespectful towards his divine essence. Revenge is close and is spread over the length of the play: playing the part of the scapegoats are the Theban women, first victims, then executioners, shaken trough the acts of a vengeful god. In Citerone the bacchaes are interpreted by two performers, synthesis of the Greek chorus. The project aims to represent the origins of the ancient Greek tragedy: the dithyramb, a hymn full of poetry and dance. This is the beginning, this is the prologue of western theatre; the choreography is meant to be a body chant in honor of Dionysus.

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