Galleria Toledo artistic director Laura Angiulli has created a unique spectacle for popular singer Nino D'Angelo, uniting his songs with poetry recited by noted actor Tonino Taiuti to pay homage both to this street kid who made it big and to the city of Naples. This show marks a natural evolution in the career of ever-popular D'Angelo, whose first major artistic recognition came from Miles Davis. Since the texts of his songs and the poetry by him, Enzo Moscato and Rafaele Viviani are largely in Neapolitan dialect, this show is clearly intended for local consumption.
In the mostly successful experimental format that Ms. Angiulli devised to illustrate Mr. D'Angelo's career, reflective poetry and lively song alternate but never combined. The climax of several clips from his '70s Grade-B bad-boy films -- when he sported shoulder-length blonde hair which made a fashion fad throughout Italy -- is Mr. D'Angelo entering holding a blonde wig to wild enthusiasm.
On opening night it was clear that this was not yet a slick show. Mr. D'Angelo's natural manner of telling anecdotes like a polished stand-up comedian seemed at odds with his more rigid manner when singing. Cesare Acetta's lighting always seemed to hit too much or too little, and it was unclear how the attractive scenic elements by Galleria Toledo's second in command, Rosario Squillace, had a more than decorative function.
