Who was Antonella, to whom Ingrid Bergman dedicated an autograph in Barcelona?

Barcelona"For Antonella. Jeanne's souvenir". Signed, Ingrid Bergman. Original dedication on a promotional photo published by the Gran Teatro del Liceo. Handwritten sometime in Barcelona between December 21, 1954, and January 3, 1955. Found more than seventy years later, in April 2025. Who was the things? tour. But, whatever it is, it tells a story. Joan of Arc at the stake, With music by Arthur Honneger, lyrics by Paul Claudel, and stage direction by Roberto Rossellini. A historic performance that brought the Hollywood star to Barcelona at a very special moment in her life, marked by her marriage to Rossellini and the radical change of direction this meant for her career and life. Bergman became the muse of her husband, a master of Italian neorealism, and together they challenged the extremely narrow morality of the time. Why? Not only because they were married when they began their relationship, and this led to no small amount of indignation from Hollywood to the Vatican, but because together they embarked on the adventure of Joan of Arc, a character who in herself is a direct torpedo against conventions, dogmas, and prohibitions.

Bergman had already played Joan of Arc in the film directed by Victor Flemming in 1948, which is precisely the year in which Bergman sent an enthusiastic letter to the newly discovered Italian filmmaker. Rome, open city and did not hesitate to send a letter to Rossellini offering to work with him if he thought it appropriate. Said and done, the following year she became the protagonist of Stromboli And during the filming of the movie, they began their relationship. "Adultery," said the press of the time, a harsh word, a relentless accusation. But they didn't back down. A true personal adventure. Bergman had just become one of the key stars of 1940s Hollywood. From Casablanca to the three films with Hitchcock (Remember, Earthbound and tormented) and the three consecutive nominations for the Oscar with the desired award obtained by Gas lamp In 1945, there was no one like her, the Swedish actress who had left Nazi-infested Europe—they say Goebbels personally offered her the chance to star in Third Reich propaganda films—to end up in Hollywood in the late 1930s, where her arrival was lightning fast. Greta Garbo's successor? They both shared Swedish origins and melodramas eluded them like gloves. Garbo at Metro (she retired of her own volition in 1940) and Bergman at Warner Bros. became the true queens of big-studio Hollywood.

Garbo was a true outsider, he didn't want to owe anything or anyone, when he had had enough, he looked back at Bergman, in his own way too. Joan of Arc had provided her with one of her Oscar nominations and such an impressive character was a perfect match for the combative and counter-current spirit of the actress When Rossellini –with whom she starred in films such as Stromboli, Europe 51 and Travel in Italy–wanted to stage the musical by Honneger and Claudel, who better than his muse to reprise the role of the 15th-century peasant woman who helps the French army rise up against British rule during the Hundred Years' War? A myth of French culture that allowed Bergman to shine on the stages he also graced, including that of the Gran Teatre del Liceu.

Bergman's reflection on his stay in Barcelona, ​​​​probably in an interview or memorial volume, and which is included in the blog, is very curious and interesting. Barcelona. The actress displays a sum of ambivalent and paradoxical sensations: "Our life in Barcelona was an unforgettable experience. It wasn't exactly the most pleasant month of my life because everything in Spain starts and ends so late, and in the theater [the Liceu] everything was covered in dirt and dust. We didn't understand what was happening to the light bulbs until Roberto went to change them. There were curtains and everything, but they were covered in dust. The door wouldn't close. The bathroom stank so much I couldn't get in. In the mornings I couldn't even open my eyes. I had to go to a famous ophthalmologist every day, and on opening night I was like an owl because I couldn't put on makeup. God bless him. Bergman also recalls the great difficulties in being able to rehearse with any peace of mind due to the intermittent attendance of the musicians and members of the heart and ballet, as well as the technical precariousness because the electricians couldn't focus solely on their set-up. "The Barcelona opera house was enormous and had been filled to capacity. The audience seemed to like it. It showed how generous their heart was, because they cheered us on enthusiastically. But for me, it was an agonizing experience."

It's shocking to think that sixty-four years after Ingrid Bergman's visit to a Barcelona theater, it was her daughter, Isabella Rossellini, who followed the same fate. In March 2018, the star of Blue Velvet, Wild at Heart and the recent Conclave –for which she received her first Oscar nomination– visited the Akadèmia theatre to present the show Link Link Circus. Isabella was only two years old when her parents enjoyed and made her enjoy her first and only high school experience. It's beautiful to remember events that have left their mark. Cities and their history are also told and should be explained through the personalities—stars, queens, and commoners—who have visited them. And through an autographed photo that has life and memory.