Iil Marchese Del Grillo

Deutsche Grammophon's reissue of its 1963 recording of La Traviata should be an essential part of the library of anyone who loves the opera because Renata Scotto's Violetta is so beautifully sung and dramatically realized. Scotto was at the beginning of her career, not yet 30, when she made this recording, three years before her acclaimed Madama Butterfly with John Barbirolli. Her voice is wonderfully fresh, with a youthful bloom that makes Violetta's plight especially poignant. She is in complete control; her tone is pure, full, and sweet; and her coloratura is agile, but it's her exceptional ability to act with her voice that makes her Violetta so memorable. This was the role in which she had made her debut when she was 18, and she inhabits it fully. She's entirely believable and inexorably draws the listener into the tragedy that Violetta's life becomes. It's a portrayal so vivid that not all of the rest of the cast can avoid being dwarfed by it.

Con l'ascesa e il successo di Beppe Grillo alle elezioni del 23 e 24 febbraio 2013 è avvenuto qualcosa di inaudito (e non solo in Italia): il prepotente ingresso della rete nella scena politica. Naturalmente, la rete era già una dimensione politica ampiamente sfruttata da anni (si pensi solo alla vittoria elettorale di Obama nel 2008). Ma con Grillo si assiste all'invenzione e al successo di un partito-sito, che considera il movimento un'emanazione del blog beppegrillo.it. Il saggio ricostruisce il fenomeno Grillo a partire dalle sue idee, dalla struttura del suo movimento e dalla sua azione concreta nelle istituzioni.