Toni Servillo

Toni Servillo (Afragola, Naples, 1959) is one of the great names on the Italian and European cultural scene in recent decades. Known internationally for his performances in cinema —especially in La gran belleza or Il Divo—, his theatrical career is even richer and more revealing. Servillo is an exceptional actor, director and reciter who has dedicated a good part of his career to delving into great literary and dramaturgical texts, bringing them to the stage with a unique sensitivity, marked by formal rigor and an extraordinarily expressive voice.

He began his theatrical career in the eighties and in 1987 he founded the company Teatri Uniti together with Mario Martone and other Neapolitan creators, a project that claimed an author’s theatre, demanding and committed to the Italian cultural tradition. Since then, he has starred in and directed numerous reference productions, especially by authors such as Eduardo De Filippo, Carlo Goldoni, Molière, or contemporaries Enzo Moscato and Antonio Tarantino.

Toni Servillo’s theatrical career: between classicism and contemporaneity

Toni Servillo has made the stage his natural space for expression. He has been acclaimed for productions such as Le voci di dentro (by Eduardo De Filippo), Trilogia della villeggiatura (by Goldoni), Sconcerto and Elvira, based on texts by Louis Jouvet, and for recitals that combine literature, music and politics. His acting style, elegant and full of nuances, blends with a subtle stage direction, focused on the word and presence.

One of his most unique fields has been the literary and musical recital. Servillo has offered recitals with texts by Dante, Pasolini, Sciascia, Leopardi and Elsa Morante, often accompanied by first-class musicians and with a diction that transforms the text into pure music. These shows have taken him all over Europe, where he has been considered one of the best interpreters of the spoken word.

Toni Servillo: a prominent presence in European theatre

Servillo’s international career includes his regular participation in the main European festivals, including Temporada Alta, where he has presented several shows such as Tre modi per non morire or Le voci di Dante. His presence has contributed to positioning the festival as a key platform for high-quality European theatre.

With a solid and coherent career, Toni Servillo continues to demonstrate that theatre, when done with truth and passion, can be one of the purest forms of cultural resistance.