Theater in Italy is very old, dating back to the ancient Roman and Greek times. The concept of theater in Italy is one of movable theater and till today there are traveling theaters in Italy. It is hard to find a theater company that can be said to be stationery in any one town in Italy. Goldoni is considered to be a great in Italian theater who staged some great dramas. In the later half of the 19th century, modern theater started to take roots in Italy. The plot in these dramas revolved around family life with adultery being the central theme. Misunderstandings and lack of communication between husbands and wives dominated the theater scene around this time. It was around this time that another great of Italian theater, Pirandello came on the scene and revolutionized the concept of theater. He introduced characters in dramas that revealed their inner self and took off the mask which had become a bane of Italian theater. He is also credited with a marvelous innovation called theater within theater.
As there were many dialects in Italy and very few could speak proper Italian, it was common to see the theater in local dialects in Italy. No other place but Naples demonstrated this fact more lucidly. The dramas staged by De Fillipo brothers in Naples became very popular which had poor and lower class families of Italy as their central themes. The dramas were full of daily life situations and were greatly appreciated by the audiences of that time. Eduardo at this time wrote dramas that voiced concerns of the oppressed and the downtrodden. The characters came from the edge of the society and the audience found it easy to relate with them.
Giorgio Strehler is the man who is considered to be the father of modern drama in Italy along with Luchino Visconti. He was a great director who revolutionized the theater scene and his influence is still felt in the drama circles of Italy. Some other prominent figures who shot to fame in the 1950’s were Luigi Squarzina, Mario Missiroli, Giancarlo Cobelli and Aldo Trionfo. These were great directors who have left an indelible mark on the theater of Italy. The seventies and eighties saw the towering figures of Luca Ronconi Massimo Castri.
Yhe spirit of theater is still alive and kicking and there are some names that are famous all across Europe for their skills in the field of theater. The most prominent among these are Luca De Fillipo and Dario Fo. Dario also won the Nobel Prize for literature and is still active in the field of theater in Italy. Fo’s dramas have won critical acclaim for their criticism of the political system and he is also critical of the social system in Italy. Among the most famous of Fillipos dramas was a play called Saturday, Sunday and Monday which dealt with the problems faced by common man in Italy. Fillipo translated many plays into Italian and his contribution to theater in Italy can never be forgotten.
Posted in Opera
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Tagged classics, italy, theater
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Opera is a form of art that originated in Italy in the 17th century. A work of drama is presented by singers and musicians. Is a traditional art form in the western world and is usually performed in an opera house in front of an audience. Initially it was meant for the royalties but it did not remain confined to them and soon found way into opera houses. The early history was full of operas which had both comedy and tragedy as their central themes. Most of the famous operas in Italy were actually written by foreigners but the original works of Italian composers like Puccini and Rossini are also famous and still performed at many opera houses of Milan, Italy.
One of the oldest operas is Dafne, which was composed by Jacopo Peri. Dafne is a classic example of Monody which is solo acting and singing of a melodrama. This style of presenting operas dominated the early part of the 17th century. Many Italian composers copied this style and many operas were produced in the later part of the 17th century. Another style that later evolved was polyphonic madrigals where one singer accompanied the rendition of the song on the instruments. The other two genres that became popular were frottola and villanela which were a three part compositions. The top part was an active melody while the lower parts were more supportive in nature. Fully developed monody was a logical step from these genres. The operas used to be funded by the rich and opulent sections of the society and the events where opera used to be performed were weddings, military victories and other celebrations. The operas of this time were lavish affairs. One important form of entertainment around this time was madrigal opera. In this form, many madrigals were stitched together to make up a musical drama.
It was in the 19th century that romantic operas made their appearance on the opera scene in Italy. They added another dimension to the already rich culture of opera. Rossini it was who initiated the romantic period. He was succeeded by Bellini, Donizetti and Verdi. Verdi later charted an altogether different course and his popular opera Nabucco, with its great music and choruses caught the imagination of the people. He also produced some romantic operas later.
There are many impressive opera houses in the city of Milan, Italy. Many of these are today operating as theaters. If you have been to Italy and did not see a live opera performance, you have missed out on a great opportunity to see the cultural wealth of Italy.
Teatro Alla Scala
This famous opera house had been closed for a long time and only reopened in 2004 after major renovation was completed. This is a historic place as many classical operas were performed here in the later part of the 18th century. During the World War I, this opera house got badly damaged but was reopened in 1946 and became popular as the most prominent opera house in Italy.
Posted in Opera
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Tagged la fenice, milan, opera
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