ABOUT ME
pretty much shortly
Born in Turin and based in Vienna, I’m a multidisciplinary artist and cultural operator: dramaturge and translator, opera and theatre director, often set and costume designer. My background includes music studies and a long career as an actress and a singer.
Through my association Satyrikon I develop performative immersive projects that blend music, poetry, and visual storytelling, often addressing issues from a distinctly female perspective. I also have never let go of my old passion for Ancient Greek myth, and with Odysseiai, f.pl. – a research initiative exploring a ‘feminine plural’ of voices retelling the Odyssey – I explore new narrative forms across stage, film, and installation.
You will find my extensive biography in English, German, and Italian right below. Further down the page are some portraits. The other sections in the menu provide more information on specific fields of work.
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Roberta Cortese was born in Turin in 1970. After classical secondary school, two years of Classical Studies and an early musical training, she studied Musical Dramaturgy at the University of Turin and opera singing in Turin and Vienna. Here she developed as an actress in the Burgtheater company of the Peymann era, also acting at Volkstheater Vienna, Schauspielhaus Graz and in the Viennese off-scene, a.o. with directors Einar Schleef, Dimiter Gotscheff and Arie Zinger.
In 2001 she went back to Italy, where she performed at Teatro Stabile, Teatro Piemonte Europa, Teatro Regio in Turin, Teatro Due in Parma, Teatro dell’Acquario Cosenza, Festival delle Colline Torinesi and Spoleto Festival. She collaborated with directors Davide Livermore, Walter Le Moli, Lorenzo Fontana, as well as musicians Andrea Chenna, Marcello Fera, and Fabio Biondi, and started working with the multimedia studio MyBossWas.
From 2002 to 2008 she was dramaturge of CineTeatro Baretti in Turin, which she co-founded and was directed by Davide Livermore. There she began writing and translating, facilitating the premieres of numerous works by foreign authors, particularly Elfriede Jelinek. Her plays – some of which co-written with her husband, Luigi Chiarella – were staged at CineTeatro Baretti, Teatro Stabile di Torino and Spoleto Festival.
From 2005 to 2009 she worked as an opera director, a.o. at Teatro Piccolo Regio Puccini in Turin and at Teatro Rendano in Cosenza, increasingly taking on costume and stage design. In 2009 she founded with Chiarella Satyrikon. Ever since, she developes projects at the intersection of music theatre, poetry and scenic installation.
Since 2015 she has been living in Vienna again. She worked a.o. with Christoph Marthaler, Laura Mello, echoraum, Kabinetttheater, and repeatedly with MyBossWas and sirene Operntheater. She also acquired a qualification in cultural mediation.
Since 2021 she’s been working on the umbrella project Odysseiai f.pl., whose latest result is the short film Odissea in sei sonetti. Her most recent theatrical project is Entehrt at the Odeon / im Spitzer, the Austrian premiere of Saverio La Ruina’s monologue Dissonorata, as a narrative installation.
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Roberta Cortese nasce a Torino nel 1970. Dopo la maturità classica, due anni di Lettere Antiche e una prima formazione musicale, studia Drammaturgia Musicale all’Università di Torino e canto lirico a Torino e Vienna. Lì si forma come attrice nella compagnia del Burgtheater dell’era Peymann,i lavorando anche al Volkstheater di Vienna, al Schauspielhaus di Graz e nella scena-off viennese, con registi come Einar Schleef, Dimiter Gotscheff e Arie Zinger.
Nel 2001 torna in Italia, dove lavora come attrice al Teatro Stabile, Teatro Piemonte Europa, Teatro Regio Torino, Teatro Due di Parma, Teatro dell’Acquario di Cosenza, al Festival delle Colline Torinesi e al Festival dei Due Mondi di Spoleto. Collabora coi registi Davide Livermore, Walter Le Moli, Lorenzo Fontana; con i musicisti Andrea Chenna, Marcello Fera, Fabio Biondi; iniziano le sue collaborazioni con lo studio MyBossWas.
Dal 2002 al 2008 è Dramaturgin del CineTeatro Baretti di Torino, da lei co-fondato e allora diretto da Davide Livermore. Lì avvia la sua attività di autrice e traduttrice, contribuendo alla realizzazione di numerose prime di autori stranieri, prima fra tutti Elfriede Jelinek. I suoi testi – alcuni scritti assieme al marito Luigi Chiarella – sono andati in scena a CineTeatro Baretti, Teatro Stabile di Torino, Festival dei Due Mondi di Spoleto.
Dal 2005 al 2009 lavora come regista lirica, fra gli altri al Teatro Regio / Piccolo Regio Puccini di Torino e al Teatro Rendano di Cosenza, occupandosi via via anche di scene e costumi. Nel 2009 fonda con Chiarella Satyrikon. Da allora si dedica a progetti propri, spesso ai confini tra teatro musicale, poesia e installazione scenica.
Dal 2015 vive di nuovo a Vienna. Ha collaborato tra gli altri con Christoph Marthaler, Laura Mello, echoraum, Kabinetttheater, a più riprese con MyBossWas e sirene Operntheater. Ha anche conseguito la qualifica di mediatrice artistico-culturale.
Dal 2021 lavora al macroprogetto Odysseiai f.pl., il cui ultimo risultato è il cortometraggio Odissea in sei sonetti. Il suo progetto teatrale più recente è invece Entehrt all’Odeon / im Spitzer, la prima austriaca del monologo Dissonorata di Saverio La Ruina in forma di installazione narrativa.
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Roberta Cortese wurde 1970 in Turin geboren. Nach dem humanistischen Gymnasium und zwei Jahren Altphilologie studierte sie Musikdramaturgie an der Universität Turin und Operngesang in Turin und Wien. Dort wurde sie zur Schauspielerin im im Burgtheater-Ensemble der Peymann-Ära und wirkte auch an Volkstheater Wien, Schauspielhaus Graz und in der Wiener freien Szene, u.a. mit Regisseuren wie Einar Schleef, Dimiter Gotscheff und Arie Zinger.
2001 zog sie nach Italien zurück und spielte an Teatro Stabile, Teatro Piemonte Europa, Teatro Regio in Turin, an Teatro Due Parma, Teatro dell’Acquario Cosenza, Festival delle Colline Torinesi und Spoleto Festival. Sie wirkte mit den Regisseuren Davide Livermore, Walter Le Moli, Lorenzo Fontana und mit den Musikern Andrea Chenna, Marcello Fera, Fabio Biondi; sie startete auch Kooperationen mit dem Studio MyBossWas.
Von 2002 bis 2008 war sie Dramaturgin des CineTeatro Baretti in Turin, das sie mitgründete und von Davide Livermore geleitet wurde. Dort begann sie, als Autorin und Übersetzerin zu wirken und ermöglichte viele Premieren fremder Autor*innen, vor allem Elfriede Jelinek. Ihre Theaterstücke – einige davon zusammen mit Ehemann Luigi Chiarella geschrieben – wurden am CineTeatro Baretti, Teatro Stabile Torino, Spoleto Festival aufgeführt.
Von 2005 bis 2009 war sie als Opernregisseurin tätig, u.a. am Teatro Piccolo Regio Puccini in Turin und Teatro Rendano in Cosenza, nach und nach auch als Ausstatterin. 2009 gründete sie mit Chiarella Satyrikon. Seitdem entwickelt sie Projekte auf der Schnittstelle von Musiktheater, Poesie und szenischer Installation.
Seit 2015 lebt sie wieder in Wien. Sie kooperierte u.a. mit Christoph Marthaler, Laura Mello, echoraum, Kabinetttheater, wiederholt mit MyBossWas und sirene Operntheater. Sie erwarb auch eine Ausbildung in Kulturvermittlung.
Seit 2021 arbeitet sie am Dachprojekt Odysseiai f.pl., dessen letztes Ergebnis der Kurzfilm Odissea in sei sonetti ist. Ihr jüngstes Theaterprojekt ist die Erzählinstallation Entehrt am Odeon / im Spitzer, die österreichische Uraufführung von Saverio La Ruinas Monolog Dissonorata.
