Brazil is a place close to my heart and an important territory for my work on the voice. In June 2005, as part of the Casa Laboratorio in São Paulo, directed by Cacà Carvalho and Roberto Bacci, I led two seminars for young actors and artists at Sesc Belenzinho.
I have worked with the Casa Laboratorio para as Artes do Teatro in São Paulo, directed by Cacà Carvalho. Since 2011, I have maintained an intensive collaboration with director Gabriel Villela. Other directors I have collaborated with in Brazil include Fernando Neves, José Roberto Jardim and Maria Thais.
The artistic and pedagogical partnership with Ernani Maletta
My fraternal collaboration with musician and educator Ernani Maletta holds a central place in my Brazilian journey. He is the “genie of the lamp” of my relationship with Brazil: we share pedagogical and artistic projects in Italy and Brazil, building a bridge between the two countries through shared research into vocality in theatre and dialogue between artists, schools and cultures.
A partnership also founded on a deep, fraternal friendship, in which exchange nourishes work and creation. In 2017, we founded Associazione APERTA together with actor and playwright Maurizio Donadoni.
For years, a team working under the auspices of Escola de Música Arte Nossa has supported my in-person and online seminars, individual lessons, professional training courses and voice gyms, spaces for vocal practice.
Raisa Campos e Gilmar Iria are the organisational contacts for this work in Brazil.
Over the years, my in-person seminars have taken place in São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro, Fortaleza, Dourados, Campinas and Brasília.
Portugal
Research and encounters in Portugal.
Lisbon · 20 October 2026 · 4 pm
Conversas a meias — À plena voz
Presentation of À plena voz: Diário de bordo sobre as rotas da vocalidade (Editora Javali), by Francesca Della Monica, translated by Ernani Maletta. A conversation with Francesca Della Monica and Helena Rodrigues, lecturer and researcher at Universidade Nova de Lisboa (CESEM).
LAMCI-LEC, room 224 · Colégio Almada Negreiros · Universidade Nova de Lisboa. Organisers: Cláudia Madeira and Miriam Freitas.
Capacity limited to 30 people, admitted in order of arrival. To secure a place, write to msfreitas@fcsh.unl.pt.
My research brings together philosophy, pedagogy and artistic voice practice. Brazil is part of my professional and personal journey. My fraternal collaboration with Ernani Maletta is central to this path. Together, we build an artistic and pedagogical bridge between Italy and Brazil through shared research on the voice in theatre and dialogue between artists, schools and cultures.
My collaborations with Brazilian companies include Grupo Galpão, Clowns de Shakespeare, Os Geraldos, Banda Mirim and Companhia do Tijolo. In the past, I also worked with Os Fofos Encenam. This journey intersects with my partnership with Ernani Maletta and my work with Gabriel Villela. It also includes encounters and collaborations with singers Marina Lima, Laila Garin and Paula Santoro.
For Circus Produções in São Paulo, I recorded the album Ultra Existir.
Research and training
My work with Ernani Maletta develops through dialogue with Brazilian universities, including Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Universidade Federal de São João del-Rei, Unicamp in Campinas and Unesp in São Paulo.
The dialogue between artistic and pedagogical practices opens paths for experimenting with the voice on stage, in relationship and in listening.
To propose an encounter, a workshop or a shared project, you can write to me in Portuguese or Italian.
My collaboration with Gabriel Villela, an artist of extraordinary theatrical imagination and poetic sensitivity, is a treasured encounter in my Brazilian journey. The dialogue with his theatrical universe has opened fertile ground for research into the voice, the text and performers’ expressive possibilities.
A collaboration encompassing vocal dramaturgy, the anthropology of the voice, its spatialisation and work with text and performers.
2011HécubaAnthropology of the voice
2012MacbethVocal conception
2013Os Gigantes da Montanha — Grupo GalpãoAnthropology of the voice, direction and textual analysis
2014Um Réquiem para AntonioVocal spatialisation and anthropology of the voice
2015A TempestadeAnthropology of the voice
2016Peer GyntVocal dramaturgy
2017Boca de OuroVocal spatialisation and anthropology of the voice
2021Cordel do Amor sem Fim — ou A Flor do Chico — Os GeraldosVoice dramaturgy
