PaGAGnini

The show

Four musicians walk on stage to perform great works from the classical repertoire. Soon the conventions of the concert start to unravel: rivalries, mishaps, dancing and a growing bond with the audience.

Created by Yllana in 2007, PaGAGnini combines the precision of a string quartet with the gestural humour that made the company known around the world. The instruments take on new roles, and any musical passage can turn into an unexpected scene.

The music travels from Paganini, Sarasate, Falla, Pachelbel, Boccherini and Vivaldi to U2 and Serge Gainsbourg. It is all played live, with the rigour of classically trained musicians.

The humour comes from gesture and from the relationship between the four performers. The audience is drawn into the game from the start and even ends up on stage. The few spoken lines can be delivered in Portuguese.

In 2008, at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, it won the ThreeWeeks Editors’ Award. Since then it has played the Comedy Arts Festival in Moers, the Piccolo Teatro Strehler in Milan and the Royal Opera House Muscat, among many other venues and festivals.