Paolo Grassi (30 October 1919 – 14 March 1981) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

theatrical

impresario An impresario (from Italian ''impresa'', 'an enterprise or undertaking') is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, Play (theatre), plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film producer, film or ...

Biography

Grassi was born in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, Italy. As a young man, he worked in magazines and discovered a passion for the theater. It led him in 1937 to create a Bertoldissimo (musical work), which he oversaw and directed. He organized the theatre company Ninchi-Dori-Tumiati and founded the avant-garde group Palcoscenico (Stage). Grassi was a

Socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

. During the Second World War, he was conscripted into the army but went over to the

Italian resistance movement The Italian Resistance ( ), or simply ''La'' , consisted of all the Italian resistance groups who fought the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and the fascist collaborationists of the Italian Social Republic during the Second World War in Italy ...

, including working with the socialist newspaper ''Avanti!''. In 1947, with

Giorgio Strehler Giorgio Strehler (; ; 14 August 1921 – 25 December 1997) was an Italian stage director, theatre practitioner, actor, and politician. Strehler was one of the most significant figures in Italian theatre during his lifetime, described by Mel Gu ...

, friend and associate, Grassi founded the

Piccolo Teatro di Milano The Piccolo Teatro di Milano ('Little Theatre of the City of Milan') is a theatre in Milan, Italy. Founded in 1947, it is Italy's first permanent theatre, and a national ''teatro stabile'', or permanent repertory company, and is considered a thea ...

, the first Italian civic theatre. It was later renamed, in his honour, the Teatro Paolo Grassi. In 1964, he purchased the Teatro San Ferdinando with Strehler, renaming it Teatrale Napoletana. From 1972 to 1977 he was superintendent of the

La Scala La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was Santa Maria della Scala, Milan, a church). The premiere performa ...

theatre, while from 1977 to 1980 held the post of president of Italy's state broadcaster

RAI (), commercially styled as since 2000 and known until 1954 as (RAI), is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many terrestrial and subscription television channels a ...

. He later became director of the Electa publishing house. Grassi died in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 1981 following heart surgery and is buried at the

Monumental Cemetery of Milan Monumental may refer to: * In the manner of a monument Places * Monumental Island, Nunavut, Canada * Monumental Island, New Zealand * Monumental (Barcelona Metro), a station in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain * La Monumental, the Plaza Monumental ...

. The Scuola d'arte drammatica Paolo Grassi ("School of Dramatic Arts Paolo Grassi") in

is named in his honour.

References

Bibliography

*''Paolo Grassi''. Lettere 1942–1980, a cura di Guido Vergani, Skira, Milano (2004) *''Quarant’anni di palcoscenico'', a cura di Emilio Pozzi, Mursia, Milano 1977 {{DEFAULTSORT:Grassi, Paolo 1919 births 1981 deaths Italian impresarios Rai (broadcaster) people Businesspeople from Milan Italian theatre directors Burials at the Cimitero Monumentale di Milano Theatre people from Milan Royal Italian Army personnel of World War II Italian resistance movement members