Original Script: La Befana vien di notte, con le scarpe tutte rotte
Translation: La Befana comes in the night, with her broken shoes.
Background information: Le Befana is an old, white-haired, wrinkly woman. She would come to only good kids on January 6th, leaving them candies and chocolates. And she would leave bad kids with charcoal in empty socks.
Thoughts about the piece: the story of La Befana is similar to Santa Claus.
Original Script: Tarantella is a dance always performed Italian weddings, festivals, and celebrations. Tarantella was originated from Taranto, a small town in the southern Italy, at around 15th century. The legend of Tarantella is related to a poisonous tarantula spider. A lady was once bitten by the spider, and she fell into a trance. The only solution to save her was the crazy dance performed by other people encircling her. The instruments used in the performance are usually mandolin, guitar, and tambourines. Every beat of the music would have a different effect on the lady, and the people searched for the precise rhythm that could cure the lady by trying different beats and movements.
Original Script: Quem não tem cão, caça com gato.
Translation: those who don’t have a dog, hunt with a cat.
Background information: the original proverb is “caça como gato”, which means “hunts like a cat.” Dogs help people during hunting, but cats are always alone. The original meaning of the proverb is that when you want to do something but cannot find a companion, you should go doing it alone. Now the meaning of the proverb changed slightly and it used to indicate that when you cannot find the necessary means to do what you need, you should try to find other means.
Thoughts about the piece: cats always give people the impression of lonely and independent.
Original Script: There is a legend about the rooster from Barcelos. Barcelos is a small town in Portugal, and one day there was a crime happened in the town but people could not find the criminal. Later a pilgrim on his way to Santiago de Compostela was suspected by the police. He was caught by the police and nobody believe in his innocence. Finally, he was condemned to death by hanging. The pilgrim then argued for his innocence by saying that, “My innocence is as certain as the roasted rooster will crow three times if I should be hung.” Everybody laughed at him because the rooster was roasted and it was dead. However, when the man was to be hung, the roasted rooster stood up and began to crow. People then believed in his innocence and set him free. The rooster from Barcelos later represents honesty and trust in Portugal.
Background information: The rooster from Barcelos is a mascot in Portugal. It is a rooster with lively colors that appears on souvenirs such as the t-shirt, keychain, and tea cups.
Original Script: Nella botte piccola c’è il vino buono
Translation: In the small barrel, there is the good wine.
Background information: This Italian proverb refers to the fact that the finest wine is usually produced in limited quantities. It’s in contrast to the thought that “big” necessarily means “better,” suggesting that the concept of quality often doesn’t coincide with that of quantity.
Thoughts about the piece: Like lots of provers in Italy are related to wine, this one uses wine as a metaphor to talk about people and things in general.