In the 1950s, Strehler directed several plays by
Bertolt Brecht with whom he would become close friends, sharing political beliefs. In 1956, Brecht attended a production of his
The Threepenny Opera. Back in Berlin, he wrote, "thank you for the excellent performance of my Threepenny Opera which you have realized with a great director. Fire and freshness, ease and precision distinguish this performance from many others I have seen... it would be a joy and an honor for me if your theater could perform... at the Berliner Ensemble's Theater... which witnessed the first performance of this work." His love for
William Shakespeare (
Coriolanus,
The Tempest,
King Lear,
Twelfth Night,
Macbeth),
Luigi Pirandello (
Enrico IV), and
Anton Chekhov (
The Cherry Orchard,
Platonov) was unmistakable; he always returned to Goldoni repeating the same plays decades later. He created the role of
theatre director (regista was actually coined in 1929) in Italy all by himself. Until he came, plays were for the most part still put on by travelling companies that were a microcosm unto themselves. They directed themselves. They had never heard of a director. He also gave prominence to Italian authors, though few in number. Strehler used to say that "Italian theatre has produced few important dramatic authors –
Niccolò Machiavelli,
Carlo Goldoni,
Luigi Pirandello – but an enormous number of actors. Between 1500 and 1700, every self-respecting court in Europe had to have a company of Italian actors." Soon after the arrival of
Ornella Vanoni at the Piccolo Teatro in Milan in 1953, Strehler began cooperating with her. He suggested that she start singing "Canzoni della Mala" such as Ma Mi..., which established her career. Strehler originally had not intended to become an actor. He had enrolled in the law school at the
University of Milan, planning to become a criminal lawyer. He said, "a profession as I imagined it was very close to the theater". But then war came, and it changed everything. He influenced three generations of actors and inspired many around the world. His influence in the English-speaking world is less felt since he spoke little English and did not direct many plays in this language. However, he was given the
Légion d'honneur by the French government and was named director of the "
Union of the Theatres of Europe" in Paris in 1985, the first Pan-European theatre project. He was president of the jury at the
Cannes Film Festival in 1982. In 1990 he was the recipient of the
Europe Theatre Prize. The visual impact of his productions always concerned Strehler. The stage designers
Luciano Damiani and later
Ezio Frigerio closely collaborated with Strehler for many years, both for theatrical and operatic productions. He died in
Lugano, Switzerland. The funeral in Milan was attended with great participation of citizens and politicians, with Italian President
Oscar Luigi Scalfaro eulogizing him as "a great artistic and humane personality who honoured the country". His ashes were deposited in the cemetery of
Trieste. ==Opera productions==