“THEMy dream is to live on art and only on art. I’m not interested in becoming a star». She is pragmatic and determined Sofia Casellithirty years old and a dazzling smile. Yet, for her, the legend is at hand: is about to wear the imperial velvets and the tiara of the mysterious Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevnaheir to the dynasty of the last Tsar Nicholas II, miraculously survived (in fiction, not in reality) the extermination of the entire imperial Romanov family at the hands of the Bolsheviks of the Russian Revolution in 1918.
Sofia, who we have already seen as Pia de’ Tolomei, in The Divine Comedy Opera Musical, will be the protagonist of brand new musical Anastasiadirected by Federico Bellone together with Chiara Vecchi, author of the choreography, will debut in preview from 11 to 15 December at the Politeama Rossetti in Trieste and world premiere on Christmas Day, at the Arcimboldi Theater in Milan (will remain on stage until January 12th). Based on the 1997 animated film of the same name which also inspired the 2017 Broadway stage version, Anastasia – The musical is produced by Broadway Italy.
Sofia Caselli, the interview with the actress of Anastasia – The musical
A gift to unwrap under the tree for Sofia That conquest Like this what defines his dream rolethe role of dreams, poised between the Fox cartoon and the 1956 film by Anatole Litvak with Ingrid Bergman and Yul Brinner, whose story revolved around the young Anja, an orphan who pretends to be the missing princess to claim her inheritance.
There is ambiguity in the film: we root for Bergman but we don’t know if she knowingly gets involved in the scam.
«Even in the musical it is not clear whether Anja is the heir to the throne, also because she suffers from amnesia and her memory comes back in flashes… She is a desperate girl who grew up in an orphanage. She just remembers that someone in the past told her: “Let’s meet in Paris.” She goes to Paris where she meets two swindlers, enticed by the reward promised by her grandmother to find her granddaughter: they educate her and make her believe she is Anastasia. Up to the main scene of the revealing meeting with the grandmother thanks to a detail: in the film with Bergman it is the coughing when Anja is nervous, the musical instead follows in the wake of the cartoon and focuses on the music box that plays the song Anastasia little girl. In reality this was not the case: the remains of Anastasia’s body were found.”
How did you prepare for the role?
«The difficulty is singing and dancing when you start to get out of breath. So I run, practice calisthenics, muscle maintenance and yoga for breathing. I now have a wealth of knowledge that I draw on when I doubt myself. The training for Anastasia is focused on the voice: I sing and act a lot, I dance the waltz and some lively dances with two of the main characters, the tricksters Dimitri and Vladimir, played by Cristian Catto and Nico Di Crescenzofantastic colleagues. Anja ends up falling in love with Dimitri.”
Sofia Caselli at the press conference of “Anastasia – The musical” at the TAM Arcimboldi theater in Milan (IPA).
How do you deal with stage fright?
«I wouldn’t call it fear: rather, excess of emotion. When I stop having that “friccicore”, as we say in Rome, I will have to stop with this job. When negative thoughts prevail, I listen to the inner voice that whispers to me “You are here for a reason, you have worked hard, you know where you come from, you know how much you have tried, there is no reason to get upset”».
The musical requires a triple talent: singing, dancing and acting. And at a super professional level, as the English and Americans taught us. Which of the talents prevails in you?
«The first discipline I approached as a child was singing. At four years old, with two pigtails on my head, I “debut” in a little theater in the Laurentina area, in southern Rome. The song was Your girlfriend always by Irene Grandi, I blissfully sang the refrain “But let yourself go”. In my earliest memories I sing on the sofa or imitate opera singers.”
Examples in the family?
«My parents have always been passionate about theatre, music, art, without having done anything artistic in life: I found myself immersed in that world since I was a child. And then there was, on my father’s side, Aunt Maria, a lyric soprano in pectore who warned me: “Sofia, don’t be like me who got on stage and didn’t have the courage to make a career out of it.” Fear and shame blocked her. She passed away at the age of 99 with that regret.”
What is the distance between talent and success?
«To establish yourself requires a lot of stubbornness and the desire to get involved, even when you get a few no’s. Not just from a work point of view. It is a life choice, not just a career choice, because the profession in this environment involves many sacrifices. You have to choose how to invest and manage your money to cover lean periods or the costs of attending auditions abroad, between Germany and England. I bang my head all the time until I get what I want, I’m stubborn in a positive and negative way. It is my cross.”
She studied in England, where she graduated in “Musical theatre” at the University Center of Colchester, specializing inInternational College of Musical Theatreperformed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, lived in London. How much does the awareness of having an international background help?
«When I moved I had a school level of English and it was an extra difficulty. Many times I was afraid to say: “Oh God, I’m leaving now”. I was more terrified of not doing this job, rather than facing it… My biggest fear is that something will prevent me from living this job to the full, whether it’s due to health, family or pandemic problems.”
In the report “Young people and the choice to move abroad” produced by the Nordest Foundation we read that between 2011 and 2023, 550 thousand Italians between the ages of 18 and 34 left the country to move abroad. She took flight, but decided to return.
«It depends on the work you do. Today I am based in Italy, but I am someone who gets bored quickly and I do more auditions outside than here. I go where work takes me, I have no problem packing my bags.”
And love?
«An important relationship ended after which I had no opportunity, nor interest, to look for another one. I didn’t really look for it. I’m open to what life brings me.”
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