In 1980 for the Festival of Montepulciano Pollicino by Henze and Di Leva is born, a joyful encounter between a place, its inhabitants and special music.
Originating from a precise pedagogical intent and at the same time from the foundational identity of a community, since then this Pollicino has been translated and represented in several countries.

Henze, Di Leva, the Grimm, Collodi, and Perrault, together with the children of Montepulciano are the creators of a fairy tale in which theatre, music, and the experience of life narrate the arduous passage which leads childhood to adolescence.

The version in Rome represented the occasion for the encountering of two casts of exceptional children; their energy and positivity brought concrete benefits in the moments of learning and of staging development.
Thanks to their skills, the story of Pollicino alternated expressive moments of cruelty, amazement, surprise, joy, for a story in which poverty transposes into despair to then finally find innocence.

Dear children,

The old man who composed many years ago the music of your Pollicino, writes to you with the secret plan to let you experience a real treat in listening and studying my music and that of many other authors of today.
I wish you, first of all, a lot of fun.
I’ll ask the “union of the ogres” to allow me to visit to see your performance, that I hope will be full of colours, pain, love, and pleasure! 

Many greetings
Hans Werner Henze
Rome, 2001