pretty much shortly
I’m an all-around artist, a cultural operator and mediator, originally from Turin and now based in Vienna. My aim is to create cultural valuable content and present it through an artistic format, favouring hybrid and experimental approaches. I write, translate, design, direct, perform (less and less) and mediate. Most of my projects are carried out through my association Satyrikon, their constants being a deep connection to music and poetry, as well as addressing themes from an explicitly female perspective. I have also never lost my old passion for Ancient Greek myths and motifs, which I am currently reviving with Odysseiai, f.pl., a research initiative on a ‘feminine plural’ of voices emerging from and retelling the Odyssey, which inspires me in a variety of projects.
Right below is a biography in German, Italian and English; this website mostly features my personal projects alongside a list of texts I have written or translated; you can also find my CV as a performer at this link.
bio
de
Roberta Cortese wurde 1970 in Turin geboren. Nach dem humanistischen Gymnasium und zwei Jahren Altphilologie schlug sie ihre künstlerische Laufbahn ein: Sie wechselte das Hauptfach und absolvierte ihr Studium in Literaturwissenschaft mit Schwerpunkt Kunst, während sie Operngesang in Turin und Wien studierte, wo sie im Burgtheater-Ensemble der Peymann-Ära zur Schauspielerin wurde. Sie 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 wirkte in Produktionen zeitgenössischer Dramatik 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 arbeitete mit den Regisseuren Davide Livermore, Walter Le Moli, Lorenzo Fontana, sowie mit den Musikern Andrea Chenna, Marcello Fera, Fabio Biondi; sie startete auch Kooperationen mit dem Multimedia Studio MyBossWas.
Von 2002 bis 2008 war sie Dramaturgin des CineTeatro Baretti in Turin, das sie mitbegründete und damals 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. Eine Zeit lang als Opernregisseurin tätig (u.a. am Piccolo Regio Puccini in Turin und Teatro Rendano in Cosenza), kehrte sie schließlich zum Sprechtheater zurück und gründete 2009 mit Chiarella den Verein Satyrikon, mit dem sie seitdem ihre eigenen Projekte umsetzt.
Seit 2015 lebt sie wieder in Wien und ist grenzüberschreitend und genreübergreifend tätig. Sie wirkte u.a. mit Christoph Marthaler, Laura Mello, echoraum, Kabinetttheater, wiederholt mit MyBossWas und sirene Operntheater. 2021 erwarb sie eine Ausbildung in Kulturvermittlung.
Ihr Herzensprojekt ist Odysseiai f.pl., eine Recherche über zeitgenössische Umschreibungen der Odyssee vonseiten Autorinnen, die sie laufend zur Entwicklung verschiedener Projekte führt.
it
Roberta Cortese nasce a Torino nel 1970. Dopo la maturità classica e due anni di Lettere Antiche, avvia il suo percorso artistico: cambia corso di studi, laureandosi in Materie Letterarie con Indirizzo Artistico all’Università di Torino e parallelamente studia canto lirico a Torino e Vienna, dove si forma infine come attrice nella compagnia del Burgtheater dell’era Peymann. In quegli anni lavora 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 in diverse produzioni di teatro contemporaneo al Teatro Stabile, Teatro Piemonte Europa, Teatro Regio Torino, Teatro Due di Parma, Teatro dell’Acquario di Cosenza, al Festiva 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. Per un periodo lavora come regista lirica (fra gli altri al Piccolo Regio Puccini di Torino e al Teatro Rendano di Cosenza), poi torna a dedicarsi al teatro di parola e nel 2009 fonda con Chiarella l’associazione Satyrikon, con cui da allora si dedica a progetti propri.
Dal 2015 vive di nuovo a Vienna e continua a operare a cavallo tra confini e generi. Ha lavorato tra gli altri con Christoph Marthaler, Laura Mello, echoraum, Kabinetttheater, a più riprese con MyBossWas e sirene Operntheater. Nel 2021 ha conseguito la qualifica di mediatrice artistico-culturale.
Il suo progetto del cuore è Odysseiai f.pl., una ricerca su riscritture contemporanee femminili dell’Odissea che sta portando allo sviluppo di diversi progetti.
en
Roberta Cortese was born in Turin in 1970. Following a high school education in the humanities and two years of Classical Studies, she embarked on her artistic career: she changed her major and graduated in Arts and Literature at the University of Turin, while studying opera singing in Turin and Vienna. Here she finally developed as an actress in the Burgtheater company of the Peymann era. She also worked at Volkstheater Vienna, Schauspielhaus Graz and in the Viennese off-scene, a.o. with directors such as Einar Schleef, Dimiter Gotscheff and Arie Zinger.
In 2001 she went back to Italy, where she performed in contemporary plays 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 Dramaturgin of CineTeatro Baretti in Turin, which she co-founded and which was directed by Davide Livermore. There she began writing and translating theatre plays, 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. After working also as an opera director (a.o. at Piccolo Regio Puccini in Turin and at Teatro Rendano in Cosenza), in 2009 she returned to theatre and, together with Chiarella, founded the association Satyrikon, through which she has been developing her projects ever since.
Since 2015 she has been living in Vienna again, working across borders and genres. She worked a.o. with Christoph Marthaler, Laura Mello, echoraum, Kabinetttheater, and repeatedly with MyBossWas and sirene Operntheater. In 2021 she acquired a qualification in cultural mediation.
Her heart’s project is Odysseiai f.pl., a research project on contemporary women’s rewritings of the Odyssey which has been leading to several different works.