Fabio Cherstich
Country: Italy
Emilia Romagna Teatro Fondazione
Biography
Director and set designer for theatre and opera, Fabio Cherstich has worked in numerous theaters including the Marinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, the Teatro Massimo in Palermo, the Teatro dell’Opera in Rome, and the Opera de Marseille. He is the creator and director of the Operacamion opera-on-the-road project, described by the “New York Times” as a unique project capable of returning opera to its origins. He teaches the aesthetics of theatrical direction at the Scuola d’arte drammatica Paolo Grassi in Milan and at the International University of Languages and Media (IULM) in Milan. Always interested in contemporary art, with a particular focus on the New York underground scene of the ’80s and ’90s, since 2019, he has been the curator of the Larry Stanton Estate.
Portfolio & Latest Theatre Performances :
https://www.fabiocherstich.com/en/
Theater and opera director and set designer, Fabio Cherstich has worked in Europe’s most important theaters: Marinsky Theater in St Peterburg, Teatro Massimo in Palermo, Teatro dell’Opera in Rome and l’Opèra in Marseilles. He conceived and directed the on-the-road opera project OperaCamion defined by the New York Times as “a unique project capable fo restoring to opera its popular roots. He teaches at the Scuola di Teatro Paolo Grassi and at the IULM in Milan. Curator of the Larry Stanton Estate since 2019, he has always been interested in contemporary art.
A Visual Diary
A Journey into the 1980s New York Queer Art Scene
Concept of the Performance:
In a project born from many trips to the United States, Fabio Cherstich – a highly acclaimed theater and opera director and set designer known for his ability to blend different languages – rediscovers the forgotten stories of New York’s queer scene in the 1980s, hybridizing visual and textual content, archival documents, and his own personal biography. The extraordinary lives of the three underground artists Patrick Angus, Larry Stanton, and Darrell Ellis, the fears surrounding the first AIDS deaths, and the reflections of a community are brought to light through an archive of mostly unpublished materials.
Artistic Statement
Over the past decade, alongside my work as a theater and opera director, I have deeply explored the Queer art scene that flourished in 1980s Manhattan, New York City. This research has brought to light the work and stories of many artists whose lives were tragically cut short by AIDS.
I have chosen to begin with Patrick Angus, Larry Stanton, and Darrell Ellis in an experimental series of intimate lecture-performances that blend my theatrical background with my passion for storytelling and visual art. Through these performances, I share these remarkable lives—too long forgotten—using my private archives of photos and recordings. On stage, their stories unfold through voices, images, and the words of those who preserve their memory.
This project is born from a personal need to narrate the stories of present-day friends in dialogue with the spectres of the past—ghosts who have irrevocably shaped my life’s journey.
Trailer
