the redeemed sinner, the saved sinner, the first to witness the risen love

Irene Maiorino – actress
Alberto Mina – violin
Miwa Shiozaki – violin
Gaia Orsini – viola
Matteo Scarpelli – cello
Luca Vignali – oboe
Paolo Vivaldi – piano

Original text – Emmanuel Exitu
Original music – Paolo Vivaldi
Video projections – Franco Sorichetti

“Good evening, my name is Mary Magdalene, and I am a whore.”

Thus begins the new, powerful monologue by Emmanuel Exitu, a rising author published by Bompiani and winner of the 2023 Comisso Prize.

The original score is by Paolo Vivaldi, a renowned name in the worlds of film, theater, and television, known for having composed some of the most beautiful soundtracks of the past twenty years.

Beyond the musical dimension, the performance is enriched by video projections curated by Franco Sorichetti, featuring some of the most iconic artworks dedicated to Mary Magdalene by master painters and sculptors of the past: Tintoretto, Caravaggio, Artemisia Gentileschi, Piero della Francesca, Veronese, Guido Reni, Titian, El Greco, Bernini, and many more.

Robert Kiely once said:

“No figure in the Christian pantheon, except for Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and John the Baptist, has inspired, provoked, or confused the imagination of painters more than Magdalene.”

This is a monologue that gives voice — raw and unfiltered — to this female figure, a woman of the streets, once a sinner, transformed forever by her encounter with Christ, and forever imprinted in human history.

She has been immortalized in art by the greatest painters of all time, and in music by master composers; she has inspired hundreds of historical studies, plays, novels, and stories.

A feminine figure that has fascinated believers and non-believers alike for millennia, precisely because of her overwhelming humanity, fragility, and allure — qualities that unite us all.

This text brings her back to the present through multiple flashbacks, showing us a Magdalene who is real, complex, and far from the outdated narrative frameworks that often portray her only as a sinner or only as a saint.

Giving face and voice to this authentic Magdalene is Irene Maiorino, who gained international fame for her role as Lila in the latest season of My Brilliant Friend and is now rising rapidly in both national and international cinema.

Produced by I Concerti nel Parco – World Premiere