Anne d’Arbeloff
Paris, June 16th, 1925 - Rome, October 15th, 2022
Anne d’Arbeloff, a young American of Franco-Russian origin, passionate and charismatic, a journalist, poet, and playwright, arrived in Italy as deputy director and correspondent for the magazine U.N. Gram as part of her project for an international cultural exchange program, supported by Eleanor Roosevelt. She met Gerardo Guerrieri, who interviewed her, and it was love at first sight,, leading her to settle in Italy and to work for the development of relations between the Italian and the American cultural worlds, creating, among other things, a Center for American Theatrical Arts in Italy, together with Franco Zeffirelli.
Endowed with a great intuition and human sensitivity, as well as extraordinary organizational skills, she invented the Teatro Club (later renamed Premio Roma), which she directed with her husband Gerardo from 1957 to 1985, expanding the boundaries of the Center for American Theater Arts to the entire world.
While working together with Gerardo Guerrieri in selecting artists to invite for the Teatro Club festivals, she specialized in the practical and economic realization of the Teatro Club's operation, thanks to her ability to establish and nurture relationships with ministries, institutions, associations, individual art and culture personalities.
About her:
We cannot speak about Gerardo if we do not speak about Anna, because Anna and Gerardo were like one only person. They had separate lives, but there was a level in which they were the same person. The things they accomplished, weren’t what Gerardo accomplished,, but what they accomplished together.
Ellen Stewart, artist, founder of the Cafe’ La Mama, New York
Anna d’Arbeloff is the organizer of the Teatro Club, which showed us many new things, and who invented the theater for youths, doing this with her usual and profound seriousness and practical spirit.
Cesare Zavattini, writer, screenwriter (on Teatro Club Giovani)
To Anne d’Arbeloff, for the exceptional activity which she carried out in many years in the field of cultural exchanges, with exemplary courage, effectiveness and generosity.
Jean Philippe Lecat, French cultural Minister, on conferring the Légion d’Honneur to Anne d’Arbeloff in 1979
For me, the right surname for Anne is Thunderbolt, for her determination, her passion and her deep intuition.
Lily Yeh, Chinese/Native American artist, president and founder of the Village of Arts and Humanities
To Anne Guerrieri, the great friend of my Italian years, whose daughters are beautiful, and whose husband was legendary - But it is you, Anne, who brings a brilliance to every moment, compassion to every task. I love you.
Pat Conroy, writer, in a note written to Anne