Paolo C. Giannini

Paolo C. Giannini
Born	5-8 24 TT Salino, La Rossa
Died	9-6 34 TT Mineria, La Rossa
Occupations	Screenwriter Poet
Works	So Swept the Mountain Wind (18 PC) The Spirit of the Times (22 PC) Il Dux (28 PC)
Spouses	Amadea Gordici (m. 6 PC; div. 17 PC) Daniella Bruna (m. 19 PC; div. 21 PC) Stefano Forte (m. 29 PC)
Children	1

Paolo Coloberto Giannini (5-8 24 TT - 9-6 34 PC) was a Rossan screenwriter and poet, most well-known for his work on the radio opera So Swept the Mountain Wind. A writer of historical, musical dramas, he is recognized as one of the main contributors to the era of post-Denunzian art, often portraying previously mythologized historical episodes in darker and critical lights. Despite the lack of true historical accuracy in most of his works (their plots, while sometimes based on real events, tend to be heavily fictionalized), the rise of his operas has been associated with a shift in relations away from the island's "aristocratic" history.

Writing under the employment of Radio La Rossa, the island's state-owned public broadcaster, his works have served to both popularize the radio opera (favoring musical plots, in contrast with spoken radio dramas) and to rejuvinate the theatre industry following the Denunzian revolt. Although the establishment of the Rossan radiovision in the 50s PC has eventually led to the rise of the motion picture (rather than purely auditory programmes), the opera remains a majorly popular style of art in La Rossa decades after his death.

Biography

A poet by practice for most of his younger years, Paolo C. Giannini had spent the better part of his life in poverty, mostly doing simple odd jobs in order to finance his literary efforts, to little success. Getting caught up in the events of La Denunzia, the poet would end up becoming an early supporter of Alessandra DeGaio, a populist leader in the city-province of Salino and the future Ducissa. Becoming a contributor in crafting early propaganda pieces and slogans, his political efforts would end up in him losing his job, throwing him deeper into poverty. In a retrospective radio interview, he has described the period as "a series of depressive years... Exacerbated by the times that might have been the end of me, were it not for their briefness." In the years of the economic depression, he grew closer with Amadea Gordici, a womens' rights activist and rally organizer in support of DeGaio, whom he had been acquainted with beforehand, and who had helped him regain his footing following his loss of income. Over time, their relationship would become closer, and the two would eventually marry following the success of the revolt. They would have one child together, a son named Coloberto.

The years following Dux Falcone's rise to power saw Giannini appeal to a welfare program saw him accepted, eventually transforming into employment by the popular government that sought to use his writing capabilities in the spread of its messaging, despite Giannini becoming a silent critic of Falcone over time. The Second Calming proved to be an especially turbulent period, as the reveal of the existence of the rest of the archipelago produce a deeply chaotic period in Rossan society. Giannini would become a contributor of the Entrance Commission, as part of a wider effort to establish a shared Rossan national identity made in opposition to all the islands that surrounded it. His wife remained supportive throughout, although their relationship began to grew strenuous as the work required in his writing made him grow distant. The opening of RLR3, a radio station, proved to be the limits of their relationship, however. Having been commissioned to write the dialogue for an opera made specifically for the radio, a technology that the state attempted to expand in utilizing, his wife would divorce him in 17 PC, during the writing stages of So Swept the Mountain Wind, having felt that he did not provide for the household while barely paying attention to his own family. "I could not stop it," Giannini would later state, "as much as it pained me, I could not stop it. But my work was too important. They would not forgive me, that I could understand. But my work was too important." His ex-wife and son had reportedly cut all contact in a few years.

Despite the challenges in his home life, the radio opera proved to be a great commercial success, going on to make over 24.7 million argottos in its live theatrical release. The fame brought to him by the opera led to an amassment of a small wealth from royalties, which he had used to finally establish a luxurious life following a year spent in great poverty. He would come to marry Daniella Bruna, the young soprano that starred in the opera, merely a year after its release, causing a stir in the press due to their professional circumstances and the difference in age. The relationship, regardless, proved strenuous, and the couple would divorce each other merely two years later, in 21 PC. As the deeply inflationary era destroyed great sums of his only recently amassed and poorly managed wealth, he would soon find himself signing another contract with RLR3, leading to the release of The Spirit of the Times, a historical opera set during the days before the Spirit Revolution, following the gradual collapse in order following the Piazza Rossa Massacre. The opera would release in 22 PC.

Leading a free spirited lifestyle, he would slowly begin to establish a dependency on alcohol, which he consumed regularly. Contributing to a number of shorter works throughout his career, his final major release would be Il Dux, a dramatic opera covering the internal politics of the Falcone administration. Despite his idealized status during his early reign, the years following his resignation saw greater critics mounting on him. Although the opera underperformed commercially, his contract had secured his wealth for the rest of his life. He would marry Stefano Forte, a male prostitute he had met in a bar and over time established a relationship with. Despite gay marriage being legalized ten years earlier, the wedding came under the eyes of much public attention, due to both the unconventional identity of Giannini's husband and his own notoriety. In another radio interview, he would state, "He understands me, he understands me like no one has before... I know who he is, which may come as a surprise to the public that constantly reminds me of it... They do not get it, they never will. They cannot. There is nothing they fear more than an outcast..." In addition to the commercial underperformance of his previous film, it is believed that the controversy surrounding the wedding may have contributed to Giannini no longer being called upon to write for the radio. Giannini died following a fall of his balcony, at the age of 57.