The Greek Gods from Sicily Now Speak English: A Public Reading of the Musical “The Reawakening of the Gods”

Il “Risveglio degli dei,” an immersive musical about Greek myths, written and directed by Marco Savatteri and presented every summer at dawn in the Valley of the Temples of Agrigento (Sicily), debuted in English at Montclair State on March 27, 2026.

After a year of workshops, internships and shows in Sicily that have contributed to build a veritable cultural bridge between the Valley of the Temples and New Jersey, the Greek gods now also speak English! Their first American appearance was offered by an ensemble of talented Musical Theatre and Voice students of our campus, thanks to the impressive translation of one of the 2025 interns, Brianna Coppolino. A truly magical evening that gave the audience moments of introspection and emotion as they listened to the gods interrogating human beings about each others’ fate, with both humor and depth.

Video by Colin Keys

The musical, vocal and choral direction was entrusted to David Farley of the Cali School of Music, joined by Marco Savatteri as visiting director. In five intense days of workshops, Savatteri guided a cast of sixteen students in understanding and interpreting the roles of classical myth, demonstrating how ancient themes can be close to the sensitivity of generation Z.

Members of the Italian cast — Toti Maria Geraci, Davide Maria Incandela, Giulia Tarantino and Matteo Valentini — supported the American students in studying the libretto, accompanying them as their alter egos until the performance on stage. The elegant Leshowitz Auditorium of the Cali School of Music was enriched by select projected images of the musical in Agrigento, immersing the audience in the splendor of the temples and the Mediterranean landscape of Agrigento. In the audience, students, teachers, musicians and local residents experienced ancient and at the same time surprisingly contemporary theatre.

Marco Savatteri commented: “It has never happened to me that one of my works became part of the training program at a foreign university. Sitting in the audience and seeing “The Rewakening of the Gods” translated into English, masterfully sung by 16 young students, with images of our beloved Valley of the Temples behind us, was like seeing a creature grow and move forward along paths never imagined. The joy of seeing the Italian actors excited in front of their ‘American alter egos’ is indescribable. My most sincere gratitude goes to Montclair State University, to Prof. Teresa Fiore, to all the teachers, to the students, and to the Valley of the Temples Park’s director, Mr. Sciarratta, who continues to believe in this musical.”

A CULTURAL BRIDGE BETWEEN SICILY AND THE USA

The project was born in 2024 during Marco Savatteri’s visit to the U.S., when Prof. Fiore (Inserra Chair in Italian and Italian American Studies in the Italian Program) started a conversation with Prof. Lori McCann (Voice) and Prof. Ryan Kasprzak (Musical Theatre), two programs of excellence in the College of the Arts, where the internationalization of the curriculum is encouraged.

The objective of the project is to create a two-way exchange: to offer American students an international professional experience in an island rich in history, art, and natural beauty and to promote the Italian language and culture on campus. In the last two years, Savatteri has conducted workshops on immersive theater and “The Reawakening of the Gods,” while some students have participated in internships in Agrigento at Savatteri Produzioni. The Italian part of the project began with the summer 2025 internship of three Opera and Musical students — Mia Grizzuti, Emma Mason and Brianna Coppolino — who lived for two months in Agrigento spending their time in rehearsals, performances and tours of the area.

THE ENGLISH LIBRETTO

“I have Italian origin on both sides of my family, but my parents did not pass the language. Studying Italian for me has been a way to fill that gap, and this translation a way to connect the rhythm of poetry and music in one work,” Brianna Coppolino explained. The idea of ​​translating the libretto into English was born in connection with her internship and carried out as part of a translation course she took with Prof. Marisa Trubiano (Italian Program) in the Fall 2025.

Prof. Fiore added: “The translation of the libretto embodies the spirit of the project: a bridge between languages, forms of knowledge, places and human experiences. For the Italian Program, supported by the Inserra Chair in Italian and Italian American Studies, the broader international and interdisciplinary project reflects our mission of academic, cultural and social training across borders.Taking students to lesser beaten paths in Italy, in some cases to the areas their ancestors came from, makes their experience even more unique: Sicily is a crossroads of civilization and regardless of one’s ethnic origin, the island quickly becomes home for visitors from all walks of life. Within this ground-breaking intercollege collaboration, my colleagues Lori McCann, Ryan Kasprzak and I in are profoundly indebted to Mr. Inserra for making this special program possible.”

Besides an insightful exchange with the translator on stage, the performance was followed by a conversation with Mia Grizzuti, 2025 intern, who described the unique characteristics of performing in the musical in an archeological site and the transformative experience of being part of a different, yet familiar, culture for two months. And a few days before the performance Marco Savatteri, Prof. Fiore and Prof. McCann were interviewed about the project on Montclair State University’s WMSC FM 90.3 radio, as part of an original program presented in an Italian café, Caffè Classico (listen to the interview).

FUTURE HORIZONS

After the success of the reading, the project now focuses on the 2026 edition internship with Tishaun Turner and Lorenzo Hilliard as interns, within a collaboration with Nexo Sicilia on logistics. Future prospects include an international production of “The Reawakening of the Gods,” in partnership with Montclair State University, the Valley of the Temples Park and Savatteri Produzioni, combining classical tradition and contemporary innovation. A collaboration with the Center for Holistic Integration of the NYC College of Technology (City University of New York) for an immersive staging of the Temples abroad would bring visibility to the UNESCO site thanks to sophisticated visual projection, thus bringing the ancient myths into the present in ever new and modern forms.

Public reading cast

Grant Anderson (Poseidon)
Eoin Betancourt (Dionysus)
Elizabeth Caldon (Echo)
Brianna Coppolino (Trojan mother)
DJ DeJesus (Faun)
Zack Dooley (Orpheus)
Madison Fair (Cassandra)
Mia Grizzuti (Anake)
Noelle Hammond (Medusa)
Lorenzo Hilliard (Narcissus)
Elizabeth Johnson (Aphrodite)
Jaxson Louhisdon (Apollo)
Esther Olmo (Demeter)
Desirae Powell (Athena)
Diogo Ramirez (Ares)
Tishaun Turner (Hermes)