THE VOYAGE OF THE BLACK MADONNA written and directed by Alessandra Belloni, premiered at the Cathedral of St John the Divine in 1991. This unique and impeccably researched theater and dance work blends healing chants, dances and drumming in honor of the Black Madonna, created from authentic traditions of Southern Italy and Spain, along with original compositions.
Belloni and her troupe of dancers, actors, and musicians, all specialists in Southern Italian traditions, take audiences on an enchanting journey of discovery of the seven Black Madonnas, known as the "Seven Sisters" in Southern Italy. This trip into traditional legends, miracles and history, transports audiences to a time and place where an unbroken and ancient tradition continues today with processions, drumming rituals, chanting and sensual dancing in honor of the Black Madonna, who is considered the most important of the seven sisters. She continues to be venerated on a high sacred mountain, which pilgrims still climb barefoot while chanting and drumming in her honor. Following the Neapolitan tradition, the company will perform the chant for the Black Madonna of Montevergine, followed by the Tammoriata drumming and sensual dance. The healing power of medieval prayers to the Madonna originated in the Middle Ages, during the Black Death Plague, and was believed to release people from their overpowering fears of death and the annihilation of their way of life.