Uan established and competent psychotherapist, but fragile and contradictory in private life. And a sweet but not submissive wife, sure of her choices, solid shoulder of a husband on the front line. Are the two last roles played by Teresa Saponangelo: in the series Vincenzo Malinconico, bankruptcy lawyer, based on the novels of Diego De Silva (from 20 October on RaiUno), is the ex-wife Nives; in Our general (soon on the same network) is Dora Fabbo, first wife of General Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa.
Teresa Saponangelo, 48 years old. Giorgio Armani blazer, Crivelli earrings and ring.
Two different women: one created by the pen of a writer; the other, who died while still young, lived alongside a protagonist of Italian history. The first was imagined with an unstable temperament; the second represented a safe haven for the family. Two intense characters, one more ironic, the other dramaticand a great challenge for the actress who divides herself between theater, considered her first love, cinema, where we recently saw her in It was the hand of God (she was the mother of director Paolo Sorrentino) and TV.
But the beauty of her work, and of life in general, Teresa Saponangelo tells us, is precisely the constant change of situations and experiences. The possibility of surfing, trying to stay on the crest of the wave. And if you slip into the water sometimes, never mind. Who said you always have to feel stable?
Tell us about your latest roles. Who is Nives?
He is a character that I have come to love thanks to the books of De Silva. Ironic books, very masculine, who tell us about the difficulty of finding the right person and carrying on a relationship. They help to reflect lightly, and fiction has kept this figure. Nives is a very competent, even severe psychotherapist. I have known several, I have often found them rigid, judgmental. However, Nives struggles to apply to herself the lines of behavior that she proposes to her patients. You live in contradictions, and this is very human. She tries to win back her ex-husband and in the meantime she gets together with someone else. She then repents, she would like to go back, she understands that her bond with Vincenzo will never break. It often happens in former couples, especially if they have children. A thread always remains, and I can testify to it. I have been separated for some time, but I have a peaceful relationship with my son’s father.
Teresa Saponangelo: “I’m very romantic”
And Dora Fabbo, the first wife of General Dalla Chiesa?
Completely different. A cultured woman, with a degree, who had chosen to dedicate herself to her husband and children and she has never regretted it. A person sweet in ways and firm in beliefs.
Which of the two do you feel closest to?
To Nives. From an emotional point of view I am an unstable person, always on the move, always in love with love, always very romantic. Stability is a matter of character, in itself it is not a model. I don’t think you have to envy couples that last. Maybe the joint is the right one but they are not very passionate, not very curious, immobile. There are so many components that make a couple work or not. If it doesn’t go on, don’t blame yourself.
Teresa Saponangelo with Massimiliano Gallo in Vincenzo Malinconico, unsuccessful lawyer, from 20 October on RaiUno.
He said he always feels in motion. Why so much restlessness?
I have curiosity about life, I am in motion in the affections, in the relationships. I enjoy mixing old friends with recent acquaintances, something interesting can come out of it. I like to discover new worlds, I consider work and life a continuous opportunity for enrichment, and it is this tension that dictates my choices. If there is no personal growth, I am not interested in participating in a project. For example, if I play a painter I can come into close contact with art, with people who live with it and can tell their experiences. If you remain closed in on yourself, satisfied only with your own backyard, what good is it? It also happens to actors.
For real? In a work like his the contaminations between worlds should be continuous.
This is not always the case. If you feel reassured in your comfort zone, you don’t want to leave it. Even art can be asphyxiated if it is not fed with new energies.
You have a lot of energy: how do you alternate theater, cinema, TV?
These are experiences that must proceed in parallel, and it is nice to go from one to the other. I would never give up on theater, which offers important female roles and has a longer time frame. For me, the tour, which creates bonds, is also of great value. And the relationship with the public, different every night, which always allows you to improve.
But success came with It was the hand of God. Why did you define Paolo Sorrentino’s film as a watershed?
Such an important arthouse film, seen all over the world, with an intense role, represented a unique opportunity. I have felt more curiosity about my work, the proposals have increased, even abroad. My life has not been turned upside down, but I have had the confirmation of the path taken.
Teresa Saponangelo: “I commit myself to singing”
When did this journey begin?
At 15, with a theater course. I have to thank my Italian teacher who took us to the cinema in the afternoon, and to the theater in the evening: we saw Truffaut’s films, Lindsay Kemp’s shows, always after school hours, because she preferred it that way. The fact that in Naples my house was adjacent to the Politeama theater, which had a beautiful program, also influenced. I saw Albertazzi, Branciaroli, Melato, I remember The cat Cinderella with Beppe Barra.
And the cinema?
A case. I was following singing lessons, and one day the teacher told me that they were auditioning for a Mario Martone film. He was wrong, it was Stefano Incerti who made his debut with The verifier. I did three auditions and they took me.
Teresa Saponangelo with Sergio Castellitto who plays Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa in Our General, broadcast soon on RaiUno.
Do you still sing?
More than anything else study. Until a few months ago I followed a folk song workshop, for passion and to keep my voice trained. I don’t sing like Serena Rossi, who is very good, but I work hard. As Antonio Capuano, Sorrentino’s teacher, says, a good actor must know how to sing.
He also had some setbacks, such as the “rejection” for The Young Pope. How did you experience it?
Do you know how many an actor does not receive over the course of his career? An infinity. I didn’t break down for The Young Pope, although I would have liked an international experience. I have never had moments of profound despair for the profession. I suffered a lot, however, when as a girl I was not admitted either to the Academy of Dramatic Art, or to the Piccolo in Milan. It seemed to me that attending one of the two schools was the only way to enter this world. It didn’t happen that way. I recovered my training, following quality workshops. And I had magical encounters, with people who believed in me: Antonio Capuano and Gianluca Greco, a director who put me in contact with Rubini, Soldini and Virzì. As for Paolo Sorrentino, we met on the set of Verifierthen we lost sight of each other but a thread remained, thanks also to Antonio Capuano.
Teresa Saponangelo: “Now Rome is off”
She was born in Taranto, but left her for Naples when she was two. Do you still have a link with Puglia?
Sure, very strong. Until last year we spent the summer in a beautiful house in Salento. When I was in school I spent four months with my brother. There were our paternal grandparents, who wanted us with them at least in the summer, since after the death of our father we had moved to Naples.
And how did it go in Naples?
We lived in the heart of the city, behind Piazza Plebiscito, in an area that is both elegant and popular. I went back now for two months, when with the Teatro Stabile we staged the Truffle of Molière, and I found the same atmosphere. At 19 I moved to Rome, it attracted me a lot and I lived well in the early years. Now the city is turned off, mistreated, and the situation of the theaters is dramatic: the Elysée is closed, Argentina police station, India is no longer at the same level as when Mario Martone was there.
A life on the move, not just for work. Did you start traveling again after Covid?
Unfortunately, with the pandemic, home swapping has stopped a bit, which is a fantastic way to vacation. I gave up mine and stayed in the others’; in Copenhagen I was with a freelance journalist; in Marseille by a theater director. I have good memories of Bordeaux and Chamonix. Always with my son Luciano, who is 15 years old. I also love to travel by bike: with my husband we made long crossings in Norway, up and down between the fjords. Exciting but very tiring. Then we were among the castles of the Loire: never a flat stretch. As my next destination I chose the Danube cycle path. This time I want to be quiet. I’m ready! © REPRODUCTION RESERVED
iO Donna © REPRODUCTION RESERVED