Arturo Brachetti
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Arturo Brachetti, born in Turin, Italy on the 13th of October 1957, is an inventive quick-change artist, well-known throughout the world. His extensive career covers a wide artistic range and his versatility, acting, magic, and chinese shadows has made him an international name. The 'change' from one costume (mountie, bee, clown, etc.) to another is performed in a matter of seconds, often by throwing a sheet up and completely changing costume by the time it falls. In the current show Arturo performs 80 characters in one evening set to a very poetic and touching storyline.
As a child, being a shy boy, he used to play with a little puppet theatre every day. His father sent him to a seminary, where he met Father Silvio Mantelli, a young priest with the hobby of magic. Spending most of his time in the magical warehouse of the priest, Brachetti learnt all kind of magic tricks. At the age of 15, using costumes borrowed from the seminary's theatre, he invented and performed his first quick-change act and rediscovered the forgotten art of quick-change, not seen since the death of Leopoldo Fregoli (1936).
His professional career began in 1978 in France at the parisian cabaret, Paradis Latin, then under the direction of Jean Marie Riviére. This led to a starring role in André Heller's triumphant German production of "Flic Flac"(1981). From Germany he went to England, appearing at London's Piccadilly Theatre starring in his own production of "Y" which ran for just over a year (1983-84). He was nominated for the prestigious Society of West End Theatre Award. The same year he performed at "The Covent Garden Christmas Gala" in the presence of the British Royal Family.
On his return to Italy he participated as a guest in 10 episodes of the television show "Al Paradise" for the Italian national television RAI (1985). It was after this that he was introduced to the Italian theatre scene. This led to a string of successful theatre productions (M. Butterfly, L'Histoire du Soldat, Varietà, In Principio Arturo, Amami Arturo, Il Mistero dei Bastardi Assassini, I Massibilli, etc), and television appearances, making him one of the most critically acclaimed young actors of the Italian stage.
He returned to London to perform in Tony Harrison's production of "Square Rounds" at the National Theatre. In 1993/94 was also a co-presenter of 12 TV shows: "The Best of Magic" for Thames Television. Then off to Disneyland-Paris where, with Mickey Mouse, he co-hosted the show "A Night of Magic", which was transmitted internationally.
From 1995, with the Italian production company Compagnia Dell' Arancia and the director Saverio Marconi, Arturo continued to concentrate on creating and developing musicals for the Italian audience. His original musical "Fregoli" won the Biglietto D'Oro (Golden Ticket Award) for the best selling show in a season (280,000 tickets). His popularity continued with the production of "Brachetti in Techincolor" and "Midsummer's Night Dream". In the opera field, he played the starring role in Stravinsky's "L'Histoire du Soldat".
His appearance on a live episode of The Drew Carey Show in 1999 gave him a "pick of the day" tilte on the program "Access Hollywood'. He also played a feature role in the Warner sitcom "Nikki".
In 1999 he presented his new show in Montreal, produced by the "Just for laughs" festival. With his one-man-show "The Man With a Thousand Faces" which featured more than 80 transformations, he won the Moliere Award in Paris (equivalent to the Broadway Tony Award) and then the Canadian Olivier Award. After 700 sold-out performances in Paris the show went on a world tour. In Christmas 2004 he was invited to perform in the Palais de L'Elisée in Paris in the presence of President Chirac and his 600 guests. In the Guinness Book of Records 2006 Brachetti is described the fastest quick change artist in the world. In 2006 Brachetti's show reached the proportion of a big musical production with over 1000 performances completed and in excess of 1.000.000 million tickets sold worldwide.
Arturo Brachetti directed several shows around the world from 1994 onwards. In Germany :"Fantasissimo" and "1000 nachte" at the Wintergarten Theatre in Berlin; in Italy: "I Corti", "Tel chi el Telun", "Meta fisico metà fa schifo" and the tour show of singer Angelo Branduardi. In February 2006 he directed the show "Amplagghed" with italian top comedians Aldo, Giovanni and Giacomo. This show, performed only in 3000 seat venues is the best selling show of the year in Italy. The show, recorded on film, come out in cinema in Italy in November 2006.
