Based on the tableaux vivants (living canvases) technique, La Conversione di un Cavallo is a work of great visual impact and yet of extreme simplicity. Before the viewers’ eyes 23 of the best Caravaggio canvasses are composed by the actors’ bodies with the help of some minimal elements only, such as draped fabrics of varied colours and texture and other everyday objects. Just one stream of light brightens up the scene, working as an imaginary frame. The changes are all en plein air and rhythmically punctuated by Mozart, Bach, Vivaldi and Sibelius’ music.

This work was born in 2006, thanks to an educational project by the ‘Luigi Vanvitelli’ Faculty of Architecture.

After its initial showing, its scenic strength was clear, and since then it has seen many different forms. Performed at the Museum of Capodimonte on more than one occasion, ‘Maggio dei Monumenti’ festival for the editionsof 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and all around Italy in museums, galleries and squares.

Ludovica Rambelli was invited by the Academy of Fine Arts in Naples to conduct a workshop on the theme of Tableaux Vivants. Together with Dora De Maio, they put back on stage again the work on Caravaggio. With the same technique, the following year, they also presented the performance Salvi per Miracolo, a work inspired by the votive shrine of Neapolitan devotion. Performers include Andrea Fersula, Serena Ferone, Ivano Ilardi, Laura Lisanti, Kiara Kija, Antonella Mauro, Paolo Salvatore and Claudio Pisani.

Two performances will take place on Thursday  at 7.30pm and 9pm at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Valletta. Tickets are available from www.kultura.mt.