Donna Giovanna, l'ingannatrice di Salerno

Donna Giovanna, the Trickster of Salerno (Italian: Donna Giovanna, l'ingannatrice di Salerno) is a play written by the Italian poet, writer, dramatist, librettist and academic Menotti Lerro. The original title was just Donna Giovanna first published on 2015, performed on 25 November 2017 at the Biblioteca Marucelliana of Florence. The play is considered an innovative feminine and bisexual version of the mythical figure of Don Juan, El Burlador de Sevilla.

Analysis and criticism
The drama has been analyzed by the literary critic Francesco D’Episcopo from The University of Naples Federico II in the volume ''Menotti Lerro. Tra Drammaturgia e Narrativa'' (Genesi: 2019). In addition the play has been the subject of a degree dissertation by a student, Sara Cudia, from the University of Palermo. The same text became later the basis for a critical book about the innovative figure of a female and bisexual Don Juan with the title ''Donna Giovanna di Menotti Lerro. L'innovazione del mito'' (Zona:2020). The Trickster of Salerno, Donna Giovanna, has been quickly perceived by critics as a brilliant character able to replace the outdated famous historical version that was, in fact, losing reasons to exist, due to profound changes occurring in our contemporary society's views of libertinism and seduction. The new figure became popular after some fascinating representations: Florence (Biblioteca Marucelliana) Milan (Teatro Fontana), Naples (Teatro Sancarluccio) Borgo San Lorenzo (Villa Pecori Giraldi) and Vallo della Lucania (Teatro Leo de Berardinis). Furthermore, artists have dedicated operas at the new female libertine.

Characters

 * Donna Giovanna - protagonist (has married a noble man); bored with her husband and men in general, she starts to feel deep attraction to people of the same sex
 * Dario - devoted servant of Donna Giovanna
 * Don Ruggero - Donna Giovanna’s husband, often away for business reasons
 * Concettina - devoted servant of Donna Giovanna; she will discover unsuspected homosexual feelings in herself
 * Brunella - victim of Donna Giovanna, she will commit suicide, feeling ashamed to have been cheated and seduced
 * Arturo - Brunella's husband, he will be manipulated by Donna Giovanna until he dies
 * GB - a rich man
 * Alice - hairdresser seduced by Donna Giovanna
 * Carolina - hairdresser
 * Spettro - ghost with triple identity: Arturo, Brunella, and Donna Giovanna's father

Opera libretto


The play has been also published as a libretto for opera with the title Donna Giovanna, l'ingannatrice di Salerno, with prefaces of Maurizio Cucchi and Enrico Renna. On the 7th of May 2024, the singer Bernardo Lanzetti, ex frontman of Premiata Forneria Marconi, announced at the tgcom24 he is preparing a new work based on Donna Giovanna on music written by the same Lanzetti and Stefano Pantaleoni from the Parma Conservatory Arrigo Boito. On 25 June 2024 Bernardo Lanzetti talked about the Donna Giovanna project on It's Psychedelic Baby! Magazine.

Presentations
The new character was also presented at the Sevilla Public Library, the Biblioteca Nazionale Vittorio Emanuele III, Collegio di Spagna, Instituto Cervantes of Naples, Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Palazzo Sormani, Biblioteca Nazionale di Potenza.