L’anatra all’arancia with Emilio Solfrizzi at Teatro Quirino, April 20 to May 2, 2027

L'anatra all'arancia with Emilio Solfrizzi: the comedy by William Douglas Home and Marc-Gilbert Sauvajon, known in English as The Secretary Bird, is on at Teatro Quirino Vittorio Gassman in Rome from April 20 to May 2, 2027, starring Emilio Solfrizzi and Irene Ferri and directed by Claudio Greg Gregori, at Via delle Vergini 7, 00187 Rome, in the Trevi district. There are 12 performances, at 21:00, 19:00 or 17:00 depending on the day, with Monday, April 26 off. The theater is a walk from the Barberini and Spagna stops on Metro A. Prices for the different sections are published by the theater in its tickets and subscriptions section, and tickets are sold from the show's page on the Quirino's official website, at the box office on Via delle Vergini or through the theater's phone box office.

Language: performed in Italian. No English version or English surtitles are announced.

L'anatra all'arancia at the Quirino: dates, times and tickets

L'anatra all'arancia, "duck à l'orange", is on at Teatro Quirino from April 20 to May 2, 2027, with 12 performances over two weeks and one day off, Monday, April 26. Times change from day to day: check them before choosing your date.

The first week

Tuesday, April 20 at 21:00, Wednesday the 21st at 21:00, Thursday the 22nd at 17:00, Friday the 23rd at 21:00, Saturday the 24th at 17:00 and Sunday the 25th at 17:00. That's the calendar published by the theater on the show's page. Note: Sunday, April 25 is a national holiday.

The second week

Tuesday, April 27 at 21:00, Wednesday the 28th at 19:00, Thursday the 29th at 17:00, Friday the 30th at 21:00, Saturday, May 1 at 21:00 and the last performance on Sunday, May 2 at 17:00. On Saturday the 24th the show is a matinee, on Saturday, May 1 it's in the evening.

Tickets

The show's page on the Quirino website has an online buy button linked to the theater's box office. For bookings, exchanges and phone purchases the theater lists a remote box office, open Monday to Friday from 10:00 to 13:00 and from 14:00 to 18:00, at 06 6794585 or biglietteria@teatroquirino.com.

The company

The show is presented by Compagnia Moliere. On stage, alongside Emilio Solfrizzi and Irene Ferri, are Ruben Rigillo, Beatrice Schiaffino and Antonella Piccolo. Sets are by Fabiana Di Marco, costumes by Alessandra Benaduce and lighting by Massimo Gresia, with assistant director Claudio Piccolotto and direction by Claudio Greg Gregori.

L'anatra all'arancia: the comedy and its game

L'anatra all'arancia is an English drawing-room comedy adapted into French, written by William Douglas Home and Marc-Gilbert Sauvajon, about a couple on the verge of separation and the game of strategies with which the husband tries to win back his wife. The Quirino's presentation describes it as a classic feuilleton in which the characters move, cool and elegant, across a chessboard full of traps.

A game of chess

According to the show's notes, every move the characters make reveals their emotions and gradually lays them bare: cynicism gives way to fears, bitterness, rivalry and jealousy. In a word, to love, because that's what it's about. The comedy has the rhythm of sharp, seemingly casual lines, but everything is built like a game.

The direction

The presentation stresses the characters' transformation, which happens smoothly thanks to direction made of color and movement, now sinuous, now sudden, always serving a sophisticated story. The stated aim is to make you smile at the pettiness of the human soul, and suggest how to get rid of it.

The quadrangle

The comedy's structure, which Italian audiences also know from the movies, is a quadrangle: husband, wife, her lover, and a young woman the husband brings along. A weekend, a dinner, a carefully prepared dish and a series of misunderstandings in which jealousy blows up every strategy.

L'anatra all'arancia on screen: the 1975 film with Monica Vitti

In Italy L'anatra all'arancia is tied to Luciano Salce's film, released on December 20, 1975 and loosely based on Douglas Home and Sauvajon's play. Monica Vitti won the David di Donatello and the Nastro d'argento for best actress.

The film's plot

In the film Lisa and Livio are a well-off couple in crisis. She's in love with Jean-Claude, a rich, attractive Frenchman, and he, instead of reacting, suggests a last weekend at their seaside villa, inviting the rival too. Lisa can't stop Livio from bringing along Patty, his secretary and lover. Livio cooks his specialty, duck à l'orange, the dish of their honeymoon.

Piticarmo

In the film Livio's personal touch is piticarmo, a supposed aphrodisiac spice that flavors the dinner and the misunderstandings. It's one of the details moviegoers remember best, and it makes the comedy's title much more than the name of a recipe.

Rome and Punta Ala

The film was shot in Rome and in Punta Ala, for the seaside scenes. The stage, of course, does without the sea: everything plays out indoors, with the dinner at the center.

The authors of L'anatra all'arancia: Douglas Home and Sauvajon

L'anatra all'arancia bears the names of two very different authors: William Douglas Home, a British playwright and politician born in Edinburgh on June 3, 1912 and died in Winchester in 1992, and Marc-Gilbert Sauvajon, a French director, screenwriter and playwright born in Valence in 1909 and died in Montpellier in 1985.

William Douglas Home

The third son of the 13th Earl of Home, Douglas Home studied history at Eton and New College, Oxford. During World War II he stood several times as an independent, opposed to the policy of Germany's unconditional surrender, and after the war he ran with the Liberal Party. Theater, though, was his path: he wrote his first play at 14.

Marc-Gilbert Sauvajon

Sauvajon studied law in Lyon and Paris, ran a daily paper in Valence and founded another, before turning to theater and film. He began writing for the stage in 1936, favoring light comedy, won the Prix Courteline in 1959 and in 1976 received the grand prize of the Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques.

Two traditions

The result is a comedy that brings together two traditions: British irony and the verve of French boulevard theater. It's the register that Claudio Greg Gregori's direction, according to the presentation, aims to render with elegance.

Emilio Solfrizzi, from Apulian comedy to major theater

Emilio Solfrizzi is an actor and comedian born in Bari on April 5, 1962. After graduating from Liceo classico Domenico Cirillo and earning a degree from DAMS in Bologna, in 1985 he formed the comedy duo Toti e Tata with fellow student Antonio Stornaiolo, very popular in Apulia and Basilicata in the early 1990s.

Toti e Tata

In 1988 Toti e Tata founded the cabaret theater La dolce vita in Bari and began working with writer Gennaro Nunziante, with whom they made stage shows and TV programs for almost a decade. In the 1995 and 1996 season Solfrizzi reached the wider public on Striscia la notizia, as the servile reporter Lino Linguetta. The duo split in 1998, when Solfrizzi moved to Rome.

Film

He made his screen debut in 1995 with Carlo Vanzina's Selvaggi, followed by Cristina Comencini's Matrimoni and Liberate i pesci!, Enzo Monteleone's Ormai è fatta! and El Alamein, Silvio Soldini's Agata e la tempesta, Sergio Rubini's La terra, Fausto Brizzi's Maschi contro femmine, Rubini's Mi rifaccio vivo and Paolo Genovese's Sei mai stata sulla Luna?.

Television

On TV he starred in Sei forte, maestro, in Avvocato Guerrieri, based on Gianrico Carofiglio's novels, in Tutti pazzi per amore on Rai 1 from 2008 to 2012, in Mi ricordo Anna Frank, as Anne Frank's father, and as police commissioner Calabresi in Gli anni spezzati.

Theater

In 2012 Solfrizzi returned to the stage with Michael Frayn's Benefactors, Due di noi in Italian, paired with Lunetta Savino, for three seasons. In 2015 he opened in Georges Feydeau's Sarto per signora, directed by Valerio Binasco, and in 2017 he took on Molière with Il borghese gentiluomo, directed by Armando Pugliese. With Stornaiolo he still stages Il cotto e il crudo.

Irene Ferri and the rest of the cast

Irene Ferri is a Roman actress, born on March 29, 1972, who started as a TV host in 1993 with A tutto Disney and studied acting at the Centro sperimentale di cinematografia between 1994 and 1996. She made her stage debut in 2006 with Il Maestro e Marta.

Irene Ferri on television

Audiences know her mainly from TV series: Questa casa non è un albergo, Le ragioni del cuore, Sospetti 2, Grandi domani, Fuoriclasse with Luciana Littizzetto, Che Dio ci aiuti with Elena Sofia Ricci, Sorelle, Immaturi, Pezzi unici with Sergio Castellitto and Fosca Innocenti. In 1999 she cohosted Solletico with Mauro Serio.

Ruben Rigillo

Ruben Rigillo, from Rome, son of actor Mariano Rigillo, debuted in 1993 alongside his father in Raffaele Viviani's Osteria di campagna. On TV he played carabiniere Sergio Castrilli in Il maresciallo Rocca, and worked on Un caso di coscienza, CentoVetrine, Caravaggio and Don Matteo.

Beatrice Schiaffino and Antonella Piccolo

Beatrice Schiaffino and Antonella Piccolo complete the cast. The theater's page doesn't list who plays whom: finding out is part of the evening.

A curious fact about L'anatra all'arancia with Emilio Solfrizzi at Teatro Quirino, April 20 to May 2, 2027

The nicest curious fact concerns the two leads. Emilio Solfrizzi and Irene Ferri have already worked together on TV: both were in the cast of Tutti pazzi per amore, the Rai 1 series in which Solfrizzi starred and Ferri played Rosa Salerno. At the Quirino they meet again, 15 years later, as a couple waging war through strategy.

The second curious fact concerns one of the authors. William Douglas Home, the British playwright born in Edinburgh in 1912, was the younger brother of Sir Alec Douglas-Home, UK prime minister between 1963 and 1964. He wrote his first play at 14, at Eton, where his schoolmates staged it.

The third concerns the other author. Marc-Gilbert Sauvajon, born in Valence in 1909, was a journalist before he was a playwright, worked on about 60 films and sat on the jury of the 1947 Cannes Film Festival. The comedy thus bears the names of a Scottish aristocrat and a French journalist: a crossover that explains a lot about its tone, between English understatement and Parisian verve.

Finally, for those who remember Salce's film: Monica Vitti won the David di Donatello and the Nastro d'argento for that role. Irene Ferri takes on a demanding legacy.

Teatro Quirino Vittorio Gassman, the venue

Teatro Quirino is a horseshoe hall with two balconies and a gallery, seating 852, in the Trevi district. Since 2015 it has been run by Quirino srl, with Guglielmo Ferro as artistic director.

A wooden theater

The first Quirino was commissioned in 1871 by Prince Maffeo Barberini Colonna di Sciarra, within the grounds of Palazzo Sciarra, with an entrance from Via del Corso and an extension reaching almost to the Trevi Fountain. Designed by Giulio De Angelis with Francesco Marra, it was built entirely of wood and, according to tradition, put up in a single day. The name recalls the Quirinal and the god Quirinus.

The rebuilding

In 1882 the opening of a street between Via del Corso and the Trevi Fountain forced its dismantling. De Angelis rebuilt it in masonry a few meters away, horseshoe-shaped, with two tiers of boxes and cast iron columns in neoclassical style.

Piacentini

In 1914 Marcello Piacentini added a third tier of boxes and a retractable roof, and in 1954 he returned to the theater with cantilevered tiers and the canopy still visible over the entrance. The full profile of the venue is on our page about Teatro Quirino.

Something nobody tells you about L'anatra all'arancia with Emilio Solfrizzi at Teatro Quirino, April 20 to May 2, 2027

What you won't read in the presentations is that the show times change almost every day, and that two dates fall on holidays: Sunday, April 25, Liberation Day, at 17:00, and Saturday, May 1, Labor Day, at 21:00. On spring long weekends Rome fills up with visitors and the historic center is crowded: if you choose those dates, allow more time to get there and to find a table afterward.

The second thing concerns the matinees. The 17:00 shows, on Thursday, Saturday the 24th and the Sundays, suit those who don't like getting home late. For a light comedy, in our opinion, they're also the most enjoyable: you come out at 19:00, with spring light on the Trevi Fountain, and the evening is still ahead of you.

The third is that on Wednesday, April 28 the show is at 19:00, an unusual time, meant for those who want dinner afterward without a late night. It's the handiest date if you work and live outside the center.

My tip for L'anatra all'arancia with Emilio Solfrizzi at Teatro Quirino, April 20 to May 2, 2027

My first tip is to choose the date before the seat. With 12 performances at different times, the difference between a Thursday matinee and a Saturday evening is big: in our opinion the first is more intimate, the second has the livelier weekend atmosphere.

The second concerns seats. The Quirino is a horseshoe hall, and for a comedy of lines and glances the center orchestra and the front boxes of the first tiers are the best positions. From the side boxes you see the hall well but the stage less. If in doubt, the theater's remote box office is the place to ask.

The third is to rewatch Salce's film a few days before, or not at all. If you remember it well, you'll enjoy spotting the differences between the play and its film version, and if you've never seen it, you can enjoy the misunderstandings without knowing how it ends.

The fourth is to arrive early and take a stroll. The Quirino is a few meters from the Trevi Fountain: seeing it before the show, at a less crowded hour, is a good way to start the evening.

How to get to Teatro Quirino

Teatro Quirino, at Via delle Vergini 7, is in the Trevi district between Via del Corso and the Trevi Fountain, in the historic center, and can be reached on foot from the Barberini and Spagna stops on Metro A.

By metro

From the Barberini stop, walk down Via del Tritone toward Via del Corso, and at the Trevi Fountain turn into the district's little streets to Via delle Vergini. From Spagna, cross the Tridente to Via del Corso: the route is longer, but it passes through some of the center's loveliest streets.

By bus

Many lines run along Via del Tritone and Via del Corso or stop around Piazza Venezia. The fastest combination depends on where you start: the ATAC journey planner shows it in real time.

By car and taxi

The historic center is a limited traffic zone. If you come by car, leave it outside the ZTL and continue on foot or by public transit. For a matinee with older people, a taxi to the start of Via delle Vergini is the most comfortable choice.

Another well-known fact, yet one rarely mentioned

It's well known that L'anatra all'arancia is a classic of light comedy, and less often remembered that the 1975 Italian film is only loosely based on the play. Italian audiences associate the title with Monica Vitti, the seaside villa and the speedboat at the end, while Douglas Home and Sauvajon's play, in the Quirino's reading, is a game played on the lines, within four walls.

So if you go to the Quirino you're not seeing the film brought to the stage: you're seeing the text the film started from, at its theatrical scale. The show's presentation in fact speaks of a feuilleton and a chessboard, two images pointing to the precise construction of the text more than to the film's outdoor scenes.

The second rarely mentioned fact concerns the Quirino's second name. Today the theater carries, alongside its historic name, that of Vittorio Gassman. It's a tribute visible on posters and tickets, but few spectators connect it to the hall's history.

Tickets for L'anatra all'arancia at the Quirino

Tickets for L'anatra all'arancia at Teatro Quirino are sold online from the show's page on the official website, at the box office at Via delle Vergini 7 or by phone through the theater's remote box office, at 06 6794585.

Prices

Prices for the different sections, orchestra, boxes and gallery, are published by the theater in the tickets and subscriptions section for the 2026 and 2027 season. The Quirino also offers subscriptions and a Quirino Card: if you plan to see several shows in the season, they're worth considering.

Exchanges

The remote box office also handles date exchanges: with 12 performances on the calendar, it's a useful option if something comes up. Call on weekdays, during the listed hours.

Buying safely

Buy only on the theater's official channels. Tickets resold by third parties on unauthorized platforms may not be valid.

The right photo to take at L'anatra all'arancia with Emilio Solfrizzi at Teatro Quirino, April 20 to May 2, 2027

The right photo is taken at the Quirino's entrance, under the canopy Marcello Piacentini designed in 1954, with the show poster and the names of Solfrizzi and Ferri. It's the image of a theater that has been part of the district for more than 150 years and has kept its 20th-century entrance on a narrow street in the center.

The second photo is inside, before the start: the horseshoe hall, with its boxes and balconies rising upward, seen from the orchestra. Photos and filming aren't allowed during the show, but before the lights go down, a shot of the hall is the best keepsake of an evening at the Quirino.

The third is the Trevi Fountain, a few dozen meters away. After a matinee, in late April light, or after an evening show, with the fountain lit up: either way, it's the photo that closes the evening.

The Trevi district around the Quirino

Teatro Quirino is in the Trevi district, between Via del Corso and the Quirinal Hill: within a few minutes on foot you reach the Trevi Fountain, the Quirinal, Piazza Colonna and Galleria Alberto Sordi.

The Trevi Fountain

The Trevi Fountain is a few dozen meters from the theater, so close that the first Quirino, in 1871, reached almost to its basin. Facing the fountain is the church of Santi Vincenzo e Anastasio a Trevi.

The Quirinal

Climbing the district's little streets you reach the square of the Quirinal Palace. Opposite are the Scuderie del Quirinale, home to major exhibitions: a visit before the matinee makes a good plan for a spring day.

Via del Corso and Piazza Colonna

Heading down toward Via del Corso you pass Palazzo Sciarra, within whose grounds the first theater was born, and a little farther north Piazza Colonna. Opposite opens Galleria Alberto Sordi.

Some important events that happened here in history

The history of Teatro Quirino spans more than 150 years of Rome as capital. In 1871 Prince Maffeo Barberini Colonna di Sciarra had a wooden theater built within the grounds of Palazzo Sciarra, designed by Giulio De Angelis and Francesco Marra, with a popular repertoire of Pulcinella farces and operettas. Rome had just become capital of the Kingdom.

In 1882 the theater was dismantled to open a street between Via del Corso and the Trevi Fountain and rebuilt in masonry a few meters away. In 1898 the interiors were decorated with drapes, velvets and gilded stuccos and the repertoire opened up to opera and ballet: in June 1899 maestro Antonino Palminteri conducted Verdi's I Lombardi and Puccini's Manon Lescaut there.

In 1914 Marcello Piacentini added the third tier of boxes and the retractable roof. From 1946 the theater was run by the Ente Teatrale Italiano, which also had its offices there, and in 1954 Piacentini returned with a radical renovation, after which the theater reopened on October 13, 1955.

In 2009 management passed to Geppy Gleijeses's Gitiesse Artisti Riuniti, and in 2015 to Quirino srl, with Guglielmo Ferro as artistic director. Today the Quirino alternates its own productions with visiting companies from all over Italy, like Compagnia Moliere, which stages L'anatra all'arancia.

Who has passed through L'anatra all'arancia with Emilio Solfrizzi at Teatro Quirino, April 20 to May 2, 2027

First of all, Teatro Quirino has seen the men who built and transformed it: Prince Maffeo Barberini Colonna di Sciarra, who commissioned it in 1871, Giulio De Angelis, who designed it twice, in wood and in masonry, and Marcello Piacentini, who renovated it in 1914 and redesigned it in 1954. On the podium, in June 1899, stood Antonino Palminteri, with Verdi and Puccini.

The theater now bears the name of Vittorio Gassman, and recent directors include Geppy Gleijeses and Guglielmo Ferro. In the same season very different titles come through the Quirino, from L'inconveniente with Milena Vukotic to L'uomo, la bestia e la virtù with Vanessa Gravina.

The comedy's history includes important names: William Douglas Home, brother of a British prime minister, Marc-Gilbert Sauvajon, a juror at Cannes in 1947, and, for the film, Luciano Salce and Monica Vitti. Emilio Solfrizzi's career includes Antonio Stornaiolo, Gennaro Nunziante, Lunetta Savino, Valerio Binasco and Armando Pugliese, and Irene Ferri's Luciana Littizzetto, Elena Sofia Ricci and Sergio Castellitto. From April 20 to May 2, Solfrizzi, Ferri, Rigillo, Schiaffino and Piccolo come to the Quirino with their sentimental game of chess.

Where to eat near Teatro Quirino

The Trevi district is full of places to eat, but many cater to the tourists crowding the fountain: to eat well before or after the show, move a few streets away.

Before the matinee

For a light lunch before 17:00, the streets between Via del Corso and the Pantheon have trattorias and bakeries. Better to avoid places with photo menus in the window on the busiest squares.

After the evening show

After the 21:00 performance dinner becomes a post-theater meal: book ahead, especially on the late April long weekends, when the center is packed. After the Wednesday 19:00 show, on the other hand, dinner comes at a normal time.

Accessibility at Teatro Quirino

For access conditions for people with disabilities and dedicated seats, contact the Teatro Quirino box office, at the details published on the official website, which also has a page devoted to accessibility.

Before booking

The Quirino is a historic theater, remodeled several times: ask which sections can be reached without stairs before choosing your seat.

Getting there

The streets of the Trevi district are paved with sampietrini cobblestones and often crowded. If you have difficulty getting around, a taxi to the entrance is the safest choice, especially for holiday matinees.

Frequently asked questions about L'anatra all'arancia at the Quirino

When is L'anatra all'arancia on at Teatro Quirino?

L'anatra all'arancia is on at Teatro Quirino in Rome from April 20 to May 2, 2027, with 12 performances and Monday, April 26 off. Shows are at 21:00, at 19:00 on Wednesday the 28th and at 17:00 on Thursday and at weekend matinees.

Who's in L'anatra all'arancia at the Quirino?

The leads of L'anatra all'arancia at the Quirino are Emilio Solfrizzi and Irene Ferri, with Ruben Rigillo, Beatrice Schiaffino and Antonella Piccolo. It's directed by Claudio Greg Gregori and presented by Compagnia Moliere.

Who wrote L'anatra all'arancia?

L'anatra all'arancia is a comedy by William Douglas Home and Marc-Gilbert Sauvajon, the first a British playwright, the second a French author and screenwriter. In Italy it's also known for Luciano Salce's 1975 film, loosely based on the play.

How much are tickets for L'anatra all'arancia?

Ticket prices for L'anatra all'arancia are published by Teatro Quirino in the tickets and subscriptions section of the official website. For information and bookings there's the remote box office, Monday to Friday, at 06 6794585.

How do you get to Teatro Quirino?

Teatro Quirino, at Via delle Vergini 7, is a few minutes' walk from the Barberini and Spagna stops on Metro A. The historic center is a limited traffic zone: if you come by car, leave it outside.

Is the show the same as the film with Monica Vitti?

No, L'anatra all'arancia at the Quirino stages Douglas Home and Sauvajon's comedy, on which Salce's 1975 film was only loosely based. The story's structure is similar, but on stage everything hinges on the rhythm of the lines.

Are there performances on holidays?

Yes, L'anatra all'arancia is also on Sunday, April 25 at 17:00 and Saturday, May 1 at 21:00, two holidays. On those dates central Rome is very crowded, so plan your arrival and dinner ahead.

Final tip on L'anatra all'arancia at Teatro Quirino

My tip is to choose L'anatra all'arancia for the pleasure of a well-built light comedy, performed by an actor like Emilio Solfrizzi, with 30 years of comedy and major plays behind him. With Irene Ferri, his former TV costar, the pair promises a well-tuned game. In our opinion, pick a matinee, center orchestra, arrive half an hour early to pass by the Trevi Fountain, and come out with spring light still in the sky. An evening of classic theater in Rome's historic center, with nothing more needed.

Article written by the editorial team of Tour Leader Pro, contact them for Private/Corporate/V.I.P. Tours and Experiences.

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