Arturo Brachetti
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Arturo Brachetti (; born 13 October 1957) is an Italian quick-change artist considered the best quick change performer in the world. In the Guinness Book of Records he is described as the quickest and most prolific quick change artist in the world.


Biography

Brachetti was born in
Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...
. His career covers a wide artistic range and has made him an international name. The change from one costume to another is performed in a matter of seconds, often by throwing a sheet up and completely changing costume by the time it falls. In the current show, Brachetti performs 80 characters in one evening. His skills also include shadowgraphy and sand painting. As a child, he frequented a seminary, where he met a young priest, Silvio Mantelli, with the hobby of magic. Spending most of his time in the magical warehouse of the priest, Brachetti learnt all kind of magic tricks. At the age of 15, using costumes borrowed from the seminary's theatre, he invented and performed his first quick-change act, an art introduced to the world by Leopoldo Fregoli (1867-1936). His professional career began in 1978 in France at the parisian cabaret
Paradis Latin The Paradis Latin is a theater at number 28, rue du Cardinal Lemoine, in the Latin Quarter of Paris, in the fifth arrondissement, near Notre-Dame, the Panthéon, and the Tour d'Argent restaurant. The closest métro stations are Cardinal Lemoine a ...
, under the direction of Jean Marie Rivière. This led to a starring role in
André Heller Franz André Heller (; born 22 March 1947 as Francis Charles Georges Jean André Heller-Hueart) is an Austrian artist, author, poet, singer, songwriter and actor. Biography Heller was born in Vienna into a wealthy Jewish family of sweets manufac ...
's German production of "Flic Flac"(1981). From Germany he went to England, appearing at London's
Piccadilly Theatre The Piccadilly Theatre is a West End theatre located at 16 Denman Street, behind Piccadilly Circus and adjacent to the Regent Palace Hotel, in the City of Westminster, London, England. Early years Built by Bertie Crewe and Edward A. Stone ...
starring in the production of "Y" which ran for just over a year (1983–84). He was nominated for the prestigious Society of West End Theatre Award. That same year he performed at "The Covent Garden Christmas Gala" in the presence of the British Royal Family. On his return to Italy, he participated as the guest star in 10 episodes of the television show '' Al paradise'' for the Italian national television
RAI RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many ter ...
(1985). It was after this that he was introduced to the Italian theatre scene. This led to a string of successful theatre productions (M. Butterfly, L'Histoire du Soldat, Varietà, In Principio Arturo, Amami Arturo, Il Mistero dei Bastardi Assassini, I Massibilli, etc.), and television appearances, making him one of the most critically acclaimed young actors of the Italian stage. He also memorably performed as the interval act at the
1991 Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest 1991 was the 36th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Rome, Italy, following the country's victory at the with the song " Insieme: 1992" by Toto Cutugno and was organised by the European ...
in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
. He returned to London to perform in
Tony Harrison Tony Harrison (born 30 April 1937) is an English poet, translator and playwright. He was born in Beeston, Leeds and he received his education in Classics from Leeds Grammar School and Leeds University. He is one of Britain's foremost verse w ...
's production of "Square Rounds" at the National Theatre. In 1989 and 1990 he was also a regular performer on ''
The Best of Magic ''The Best of Magic'' was a British magic show produced by Thames Television for the ITV (TV network), ITV network that aired from 13 September 1989 to 19 September 1990. The show was hosted by Geoffrey Durham, Simon Mayo, and Anthea Turner, with ...
'' for
Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...
. Then off to
Disneyland Paris Disneyland Paris is an entertainment resort in Chessy, Seine-et-Marne, Chessy, France, east of Paris. It encompasses two theme parks, resort hotels, Disney Nature Resorts, a shopping, dining and entertainment complex, and a golf course. Disney ...
where, with Mickey Mouse, he co-hosted the show ''A Night of Magic'', which was transmitted internationally. From 1995, with the Italian production company Compagnia Della Rancia and the director Saverio Marconi, Brachetti continued to concentrate on creating and developing musicals for the Italian audience. His original musical "Fregoli" won the Biglietto D'Oro (Golden Ticket Award) for the best selling show in a season (280,000 tickets). His popularity continued with the production of "Brachetti in Technicolor" and "Midsummer Night's Dream". In the opera field, he played the storyteller in Stravinsky's "
Histoire du soldat ' (''The Soldier's Tale'') is a theatrical work "to be read, played, and danced" () by three actors and one or several dancers, accompanied by a septet of instruments. Conceived by Igor Stravinsky and Swiss writer C. F. Ramuz, the piece was base ...
", "
Peter and the wolf ''Peter and the Wolf'' ( rus, Петя и Bолк, r="Pétya i volk", p=ˈpʲetʲə i volk, links=no) Op. 67, a "symphonic fairy tale for children", is a musical composition written by Sergei Prokofiev in 1936. The narrator tells a children's s ...
"(2011) and "Allegro un po' troppo" (2013). His appearance on a live episode of ''
The Drew Carey Show ''The Drew Carey Show'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from September 13, 1995 to September 8, 2004. Set in Cleveland, Ohio, the series revolved around the retail office and home life of "everyman" Drew Carey, a fictionalize ...
'' in 1999 gave him a "pick of the day" title on the program
Access Hollywood ''Access Hollywood'', formerly known as ''Access'' from 2017 to 2019, is an American weekday television entertainment news program that premiered on September 9, 1996. It covers events and celebrities in the entertainment industry. It was create ...
. He also played a role in the Warner sitcom
Nikki Nikki may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Nikki (Barbie), a fashion doll in the Barbie toy line * Nikki (comics), a Marvel Comics character * Nikki and Paulo, from the TV series ''Lost'' * Nikki, the mascot of Swapnote * N ...
. In 1999 he presented his new show in
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
, produced by the Just for laughs festival. With his one-man-show "The Man With a Thousand Faces" which featured more than 80 transformations. The show won the Moliere Award in Paris and then the Canadian Olivier Award the same year. After 700 sold-out performances in Paris, the show went on tour in French-speaking countries, Germany and several cities in the USA. In 2003
Jeffery Deaver Jeffery Deaver (born May 6, 1950) is an American mystery and crime writer. He has a bachelor of journalism degree from the University of Missouri and a J.D. degree from Fordham University and originally started working as a journalist. He late ...
named Brachetti in his bestseller The Vanished Man. In Christmas 2004, he was invited to perform in the Élysée Palace in Paris in the presence of President
Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, , ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. Chirac was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988, as well as Ma ...
. In 2006, Brachetti's show reached the proportion of a big musical production with over 1000 performances completed and in excess of 1.5 million tickets sold. Brachetti directed several shows from 1994 onwards. In Germany: "Fantasissimo" and "1000 Nachte" at the Wintergarten Theatre in Berlin; in Italy: "I Corti", "Tel chi el Telun", "Meta fisico metà fa schifo" and the tour of singer
Angelo Branduardi Angelo Branduardi (born 12 February 1950) is an Italian folk/folk rock singer-songwriter and composer who scored relative success in Italy and European countries such as France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands and Greece. Biography Branduardi wa ...
. In 2006 he directed the show ''Anplagghed'' with the Italian comedians Aldo, Giovanni and Giacomo. A film version of the show came out in cinema's in
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
in November 2006. In 2012 the last show by
Aldo, Giovanni & Giacomo Aldo, Giovanni & Giacomo are an Italian trio of comedians, actors, directors and screenwriters, composed of Aldo Baglio (; born 28 September 1958), Giovanni Storti (; born 20 February 1957) and Giacomo Poretti (; born 26 April 1956). Perfo ...
"Ammutta Muddica". In 2008 he created and toured the show "Gran Varietà Brachetti" a big production involving 25 artists and celebrating the world of Music Hall. On 26 October 2009, Just for Laughs presented Brachetti in a new production by Sean Foley titled 'Change' at London's
Garrick Theatre The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, named after the stage actor David Garrick. It opened in 1889 with ''The Profligate'', a play by Arthur Wing Pinero, and another Pinero play, ' ...
due to run through until 3 January 2010. For this show he was nominated for the 2010 " Laurence Olivier Award". From 2008 he presented the One Man Show directed by Serge Denoncourt dedicated to the world of Cinema, playing more than 80 characters. In 2006 he received the diploma Honoris Causa from the Accademia Belle Arti. In December 2011 he received the title of
Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is ...
from the French Ministry of Culture
Frédéric Mitterrand Frédéric Mitterrand (born 21 August 1947) is a French politician who served as Minister of Culture and Communication of France from 2009 to 2012 under President Nicolas Sarkozy. Throughout his career, he has been an actor, screenwriter, tele ...
. In Italy he received the title of Commander in June 2014. In 2013 and 2014 he was a judge in the French TV show ''The Best'' broadcast by TF1. An animated statue of Brachetti, changing costumes every 20 seconds, is displayed at Musée Grevin, the wax museum of Paris,Parigi celebra Arturo Brachetti: l'artista nel museo delle cere Grévin, Affari italiani, 4 dicembre 201

/ref> Prague, Montreux and Montreal.


References


External links


Arturo Brachetti's official web siteBrachetti's record in the Guinness Book web siteInterview with Jeaffrey Deaver

Arturo Brachetti in Vaudeville old&new an encyclopedia of variety performances
by Frank Cullen, Florence Hackman, Donald McNeilly * Arturo Brachetti in Magicpedi

* * Interview (French) with Arturo Brachetti
Dans le repair turinois d'Arturo Brachetti
Le Monde, 28 September 2013
Arturo Brachetti gives London a quick change
The Times, 20 October 2009
Interview (Italian) with Arturo Brachetti about his career
2013
Interview (Italian) with Arturo Brachetti, Brachetti: "La magia è tornare bambini"
Avvenire, 25 March 2013
Interview (in German) with Arturo Brachetti, Hamburg 1981

Interview (Italian) with Corriere della Sera
22 August 2014. {{DEFAULTSORT:Brachetti, Arturo 1957 births Living people Theatre people from Turin Entertainers from Turin Italian magicians