Il Gattopardo

• by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa
• Translated from the Italian by Burkhart Kroeber
• Stage adaptation by Pınar Karabulut and Hannah Schünemann

Schauspielhaus Zürich

Premiere: November 29, 2025

The Sicilian prince Don Fabrizio di Salina is an old-school patriarch—influential, educated, steadfast. Yet the political upheavals of the 19th century throw his prestigious noble family into turmoil: his nephew Tancredi joins the freedom fighter Garibaldi, and in the form of the young Angelica, the bourgeoisie makes its way into his family. How does the new world order influence individual longings? Can a world in which power is bestowed upon individuals truly change? In Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa’s atmospherically dense novel *Il Gattopardo*, setting and narrative, descriptions of place and family psychology merge. Together with the ensemble, Pınar Karabulut creates a large-scale, atmospheric portrait of an era that comes to life in a multidimensional, vivid way through Michela Flück’s impressive set designs, Sara Valentina Giancare’s magnificent costumes, and Daniel Murena’s finely composed soundscapes.

Jury Statement

“Theatrical evenings like Pınar Karabulut’s adaptation of Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa’s *Il Gattopardo* have become rare. Together with set designer Michela Flück and costume designer Sara Valentina Giancare, Karabulut magically brings the aristocratic Sicily of the Risorgimento back to life. The opulence of the sets and costumes, along with the ensemble’s largely uninterrupted psychological interplay, draw the audience deep into the 19th century. They can lose themselves in the beauty of this vanishing world as well as in the melancholic nobility of Prince Don Fabrizio, played by Markus Scheumann. At the same time, however, they can also recognize symptoms of our own turning point in history. Karabulut stays close to Lampedusa’s novel and thus turns his gaze toward our crisis-ridden reality. Scheumann’s final monologue is not merely the touching life summary of a dying man. It is also a warning to fight for the status quo—unlike Don Fabrizio.”

Sascha Westphal for the Theatertreffen Jury

Artistic Team

• Pınar Karabulut – Director
• Michela Flück – Set Design
• Sara Valentina Giancane – Costumes
• Daniel Murena – Music
• Michel Güntert – Lighting
• Hannah Schünemann – Dramaturgy

Cast

• Markus Scheumann – Don Fabrizio, Prince of Salina
• Nicola Gründel – Maria Stella Corbera, Princess of Salina
• Sophia Mercedes Burtscher – Concetta Corbera di Salina
• Peter Knaack – Father Saverio Pirrone
• Mouataz Alshaltouh – Tancredi Falconeri
• David Rothe – Paolo Corbera di Salina, Duke of Querceta / Carlo Cavriaghi, Count of Milan
• Alexander Angeletta – Don Calogero Sedàra
• Mirjam Rast – Angelica Sedàra
• Michael Neuenschwander – Don Ciccio Tumeo
• Pino Simili – Mimi
• Lukas Rathjen – Pastorello / Domenico
• Ronja Melissa Leute – Carolina / Luigi

(In German with English and Italian surtitles)