Danza&Danza/ Maria Luisa Buzzi
At the AbanoDanza festival between utopias, new heroes and dances in the wind
The kidnapping of Aldo Moro, The Red Brigades, political passion, the revolutionary utopia, the youth of 1978: Luciano Padovani could not have found a more sensitive topic for his new work Stella. ..... It stops at the news, cinematically bringing to the stage the 'family' dimension of the hideout in which Aldo Moro was held for fifty-five long days of captivity before being murdered. Through effective dance and a coherent dramaturgical structure, Padovani tells the love and political passion of the Red Brigades couple, played by the excellent Roberta Piazza and Andrea Rizzo; translates into movement the political fervor and the discussions, the enthusiasm and even the argument that arose between the two at the moment of the most tragic decision: what to do with the hostage. Aldo Moro (Padovani himself) watches the life of his captors sitting with his back to him at the back of the scene: practically immobile for the entire duration of the play, he surprisingly makes a compassionate gesture towards his captors. ........ A courageous work that the AbanoDanza Festival, presented in its national premiere....

Gabriella Mambrini — Corriere dello Spettacolo
At Teatro Bellini, Naturalis Labor’s “Stella” Shines
The Teatro Bellini’s dance season, curated by Manuela Barbato and Emma Cianchi, opened on Saturday evening, with a repeat performance on Sunday. The inaugural production was Stella by the Naturalis Labor company, founded in Vicenza in 1988 and under the artistic direction of Luciano Padovani.
Stella is the symbol of the Red Brigades, and the production is dedicated to the kidnapping of Aldo Moro, one of the most shocking events in Italian history.
“Stella” is a successful production that tells the story of Aldo Moro’s final days in a different way.
Applause goes to the performers Roberta Piazza and Andrea Rizzo, and to choreographer Luciano Padovani.
There was a risk of falling into a passive critique of the kidnapping and of that historical moment. But that did not happen.
The applause was abundant, convinced and sincere. At the end, the choreographer explained that the production was born out of a year-and-a-half-long research project, during which he met several times with an unrepentant former member of the Red Brigades’ Turin column.
This search for historical truth undoubtedly benefited the choreography, which has finally brought the Naturalis Labor company to Naples.
The Teatro Bellini deserves applause for this as well.

Cityweek — October 2025 / Elena Cirillo
At the Bellini, the “Stella” Performance on the Moro Case
.......The title, “Stella”, evokes the symbol of the Red Brigades: the five-pointed star that served as a kind of trademark placed beneath each communiqué and that inspired terror simply by being seen.
On stage, two young dancers, Roberta Piazza and Andrea Rizzo, portray Aldo Moro’s jailers, while Padovani himself, choreographer and director, plays the Christian Democratic leader, the sacrificial victim of ideological extremism.
The curtain rises on a room, presumably a Red Brigades hideout, inhabited by three figures: the two militants and the hostage, seated on a stool with his back to the audience, remaining in semi-darkness throughout.
Translating such a story into dance is no simple task, both because of the dramatic nature of the events and because the form relies exclusively on the dancers’ expressive abilities, particularly their capacity to evoke sensations and emotions.
Roberta Piazza and Andrea Rizzo possess extraordinary skill in bringing to the surface a kaleidoscope of emotions ranging from joy to pain, from carefree happiness to anguish, from cheerfulness to despair.

Padovani’s work is remarkably effective. His artistic sensibility has enabled him to devise a simple stage solution with a powerful emotional impact. The dancer-militants are highly convincing in conveying their conflicting, violent attitudes—though only up to a point—while subtly suggesting that, ultimately, they too were victims of the system.
Speaking to the audience at the end of the performance, the director revealed that, in writing Stella, he sought the advice of a former member of the Red Brigades. Through his accounts, he was able to delve into the minds of the protagonists of the many brutal acts that characterised that historical period, understanding the motivations and complexity of their fanaticism.
Through movements that are interrupted and then resumed, in a constant alternation between slowness and speed, the performers poetically convey the inner turmoil that can overwhelm even those who become perpetrators, making their interpretation extraordinarily intense.
Padovani’s/Moro’s few gestures, passionate and poignant, move the audience because they are so rich in meaning. One example comes when he approaches his sleeping jailers and caresses them, joining them in an embrace, almost as though he were making them more human and encouraging them to let love prevail.
The choreographer has succeeded in his aim of bringing back to our time the story of an era made tragic by extremism and passing it on to younger generations.
Historia magistra vitae—history is the teacher of life.