Volpone

Volpone is a Venetian merchant whose name, translated from Italian, means “cunning fox.” He pretends to be on his deathbed to fool the rogues eager to inherit his estate. Volpone’s crafty servant spreads a rumour that only the bed of a beautiful young woman can cure his weakened master. The greedy but naive Corvino agrees to “lend” his young wife, after being assured that in return he will become the sole heir to the fortune... Juozo Miltinio Drama Theatre looks back at theatre history to revisit legendary productions with a fresh perspective. One such production was the classic comedy “Volpone” by Shakespeare’s contemporary Ben Jonson, interpreted in 1941 by the young director Juozas Miltinis. It is interesting that in that production, Juozas Miltinis himself revelled in the title role of the swindler Volpone. “Volpone” is Jonson’s best-known play, sharply satirising human flaws such as greed, selfishness and enslavement to passion. Its popularity rests on its comic situations and characters, in whom the masks of Italian improvisational comedy, commedia dell’arte, are clearly recognisable. The play was brought to life anew at Juozo Miltinio Drama Theatre by director Aidas Giniotis, Lithuania’s leading expert on commedia dell’arte and a master of comic genres. Perhaps it will seem that, despite technological and other progress, human flaws and weaknesses remain unchanged? The project is funded by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania. In 2021, the production “Volpone” won the Audience Award at the 37th Professional Theatre Festival “Vaidiname žemdirbiams” in Rokiškis. At the 12th Dalia Tamulevičiūtė Professional Theatre Festival in Varėna in 2021, the production’s creative team received three awards. In 2022, at the international COM·MEDIA theatre festival in Alytus, “Volpone” was chosen as the Audience’s Favourite Production.