Known for its opera singers and works. If you love opera, try to attend at least one performance (buy tickets in advance). The opera season usually lasts from October to April, while in the summer you can visit various outdoor performances.
Best opera houses Italy and a couple of summer opera festivals:
La Scala Theater - Teatro Alla Scala
Address: Piazza Giuseppe Verdi, 10, 43011 Busseto Parma
Verdi Theater in Pisa - Teatro Verdi di Pisa
Address: Piazza Beniamino Gigli, 7, 00187 Roma
Buy tickets online (Italian)
Arena di Verona - Wikiwand Arena di Verona
Although not a theatre, Verona's amphitheater is a fantastic venue for opera performances. The season starts in June.
Address: Piazza Brà, 1, 37121 Verona
Buy tickets online
Puccini Festival - Wikiwand Festival Pucciniano
This opera festival is held in Torre del Lago Puccini in Tuscany, home of the famous opera composer Giacomo Puccini. Festival time: July-August.
Address: Via delle Torbiere, 55049 Viareggio Lucca
Buy tickets online (English, German or Italian)
Sferisterio - Macerata Opera Festival - Sferisterio - Macerata Opera Festival
The Sferiterio Opera Festival is held outdoors in an arena in the town of Macerata in the Marche region. Shows take place in July and August.
Address: Piazza Giuseppe Mazzini, 10, 62100 Macerata
Buy tickets online (English or Italian)
What makes connoisseurs classical music book flights to Europe to attend opera performances? AT European cities the level of the opera is at a high level, the architecture of the theaters is amazing. For everyone who loves this kind of art, we offer an overview of the most significant opera houses in Europe.
La Scala, Milan
The La Scala Opera House opened its doors to visitors in 1778. Today, having booked air tickets to Milan, and going to the most famous opera house, you can listen to the world masterpieces of Bellini, Verdi, Puccini, Donizetti, Rossini. By the way, the capacity of the auditorium is 2,030 spectators, and the cost of tickets varies from 35 to 300 euros. La Scala is unique in that the season opens on December 7 (this is the day of St. Ambrose, the patron saint of Milan) and lasts until November. La Scala has a strict dress code, only a black dress or tuxedo is allowed to enter the theater.
San Carlo, Naples
San Carlo is the largest opera house not only in Italy, but also in Europe. Only theaters in New York and Chicago surpass it in size. The theater began to operate in 1737. It was rebuilt in 1817 after a fire. Incredibly luxurious theater seats 3,283 spectators, ticket prices start from 25 euros. If you decide to book flights to and visit this wonderful city, then be sure to listen to Giuseppe Verdi's Otello at San Carlo - you will get great pleasure.
Covent Garden, London
If you book a ticket to, you can see not only the Tower Bridge and the royal guard, but also royal theater. Opened in 1732 under the leadership of Handel, the theater survived more than 3 fires, and each time it was restored, preserving the exquisite architecture. The exclusivity of the theater lies in the fact that many productions are shown on English language. Tickets cost from 10 to 200 pounds. At Covent Garden, we recommend listening to the opera Norma by Vincenzo Bellini.
Grand Opera, Paris
To appreciate the greatness of the theater, it is enough to list the great composers who performed their works in it: Deelib, Rossini, Meyerbeer. In the most visited theater in the world, tickets cost up to 350 euros, and the capacity of the hall is 1900 spectators. Facade with 7 arches, sculptures of Drama, Music, Poetry and Dance and interior with marble staircases, frescoes by Pils, paintings by Chagall and Baudry. Booking flights to is worth it in order to visit the Grand Opera at least once
Royal Opera, Versailles
The Royal Opera of Versailles is located in a large luxurious palace and is the largest palace theater in the world. Its architectural uniqueness lies in the fact that it is completely constructed of wood, and all marble surfaces are only imitations. The theater hosted premieres of brilliant operas, including Gluck's Iphigenia in Tauris. Now this theater is an obligatory part cultural program for those who have booked flights to Paris. The minimum ticket price is 20 euros.
Vienna State Opera House, Vienna
The Vienna Opera House is a truly royal style and scale. At the opening of the theater they performed Mozart's Don Giovanni. Everything in the opera house is imbued with the spirit of the great Austrian composer: the neo-Renaissance facade of the theater is painted with frescoes based on the opera The Magic Flute. And the most popular artistic director conductor was Gustav Mahler. Every year in February, the Viennese ball is held in the theater. Having booked a ticket to Vienna, be sure to visit the opera house!
Teatro Carlo Felice, Genoa
The Carlo Felice Theater in Genoa is a symbol of the city, for which no money or effort has been spared. For example, the design of the stage was created by Luigi Canonica, who built La Scala. The theater is inextricably linked with the name of Giuseppe Verdi, who held the premieres of his operas for many seasons in a row. And until today, on the poster of the theater you can see creations brilliant composer. If you have booked flights to Genoa, we advise you to listen to the opera "Mary Stuart" by Gaetano Donizetti. By the way, ticket prices are quite democratic and start from 7 euros.
Gran Teatro Liceu, Barcelona
, love opera and pass by the "Grand Teatro Liceo" is simply impossible! The theater is famous for both the classical repertoire and the modern approach of the works. The theater survived an explosion, a big fire, and was restored exactly according to the original drawings. The seats in the auditorium are made of cast iron with red velvet upholstery, and the chandeliers are made of dragon-shaped brass with crystal shades.
Estates Theatre, Prague
The Prague theater is the only one in Europe that has survived almost unchanged. It was in the Estates Theater that Mozart first presented to the world his operas Don Giovanni and Mercy of Titus. Until now, the works of the Austrian classic form the basis of the theatre's repertoire. Among the virtuosos who performed on this stage are Anton Rubinstein, Gustav Mahler, Niccolo Paganini. In addition to opera, ballet and dramatic performances are given here. And the Czech director Milos Forman filmed his film Amadeus here, which brought many Oscars.
Bavarian state opera, Munich
The State Opera in Bavaria is considered one of the oldest theaters in the world, it was opened as early as 1653! The theater seats 2,100 spectators, and ticket prices start at 11 euros and end at 380 euros. Here were presented the premieres of Wagner - "Tristan and Isolde", "Rheingold", "Valkyrie". Gives 350 performances annually (including ballet). For those who have booked a flight to Munich, must see the Bavarian Opera.
The content of the article
ITALIAN THEATER. The theatrical art of Italy, with its origins, goes back to folk rites and games, to carnivals, cult songs and dances associated with the natural cycle and rural work. The May Games were rich in songs and dramatic action. , held by a blazing fire, symbolizing the sun. From the middle of the 13th century Lauda arises in Umbria (lauda) , a kind of square spectacle, -religious laudatory chants, which gradually acquired a dialogic form. The plots of these performances were mainly gospel scenes - the annunciation, the birth of Christ, the deeds of Christ ... Among the composers of lauds, the Tuscan monk Jacopone da Todi (1230-1306) stood out. His most famous work Lament of the Madonna. Laudas served as the basis for the emergence of sacred performances (sacre rappresentazioni), which were developed in the 14th-15th centuries. (originally also in central Italy), a genre close to mystery, common in the countries of northern Europe. The content of sacred representations was based on the plots of the Old and New Testaments, in which fabulous and realistic motifs were added. Performances were played out on a podium installed in the city square. The scene was built according to the accepted canon - at the bottom is “hell” (the open mouth of the dragon), at the top is “paradise”, and between them are other scenes of action - “Mountain”, “Desert”, “ Royal Palace" etc. One of the most famous authors of this genre was Feo Belcari - Representation of Abraham and Isaac (1449), Saint John in the wilderness(1470) and others. The ruler of Florence, Lorenzo Medici, also composed sacred representations.
In 1480, the young court poet and connoisseur of antiquity, Angelo Poliziano (1454–1494), commissioned by Cardinal Francesco Gonzaga, wrote a pastoral drama on the plot ancient Greek myth The legend of Orpheus. This was the first example of an appeal to the images of the ancient world. With a play by Poliziano, permeated with a bright, cheerful feeling, an interest in mythological plays and, in general, a fascination with antiquity begins.
The Italian literary drama, with which the history of the Renaissance Western European dramaturgy begins, was based in its aesthetics on the experience of ancient drama. The comedies of Plautus and Terence determined for the Italian humanist playwrights the themes of their works, the composition of the characters and the compositional structure. Great importance had performances of Latin comedies by schoolchildren and students, in particular in Rome under the direction of Pomponio Leto in the 1470s. Using traditional plots, they introduced new characters, modern colors and assessments into their compositions. They made real life the content of their plays, and the characters of their contemporary man. The first comedian of modern times was the great poet of the late Italian Renaissance, Ludovico Ariosto. His plays are full of realistic pictures, sharp satirical sketches. He became the founder of the Italian national comedy. From him comes the development of comedy in two directions - purely entertaining ( calandria Cardinal Bibiena, 1513) and a satirical one presented by Pietro Aretino ( court manners, 1534, Philosopher, 1546), Giordano Bruno ( Candlestick, 1582) and Niccolo Machiavelli, who created the best comedy of the era - mandrake(1514). In general, however, the dramatic writings of the Italian comedians were imperfect. It is no coincidence that the whole direction was called "Scholarly Comedy" (commedia erudita).
Simultaneously with literary comedy, tragedy also appears. The Italian tragedy did not bring great success. Many plays of this genre were composed, they contained horror stories, criminal passions and incredible cruelties. They have been called "tragedies of horror". The most successful work of the genre - Sofonisba G. Trissino, written in blank verse (1515). Trissino experience gained further development far outside of Italy. The tragedy of P. Aretino also had certain advantages. Horace (1546).
The third - the most successful and lively - genre of Italian literary drama of the 16th century. became a pastoral, which quickly became widespread at the courts of Europe (). The genre has acquired an aristocratic character. His birthplace is Ferrara. famous poem J.Sannazzaro Arcadia(1504), glorifying rural life and nature as "a corner for relaxation", marked the beginning of the direction. The most famous works of the pastoral genre are Aminta Torquato Tasso (1573), a work full of true poetry and Renaissance simplicity, and faithful shepherd D.-B. Guarini (1585), which is distinguished by the complexity of both intrigue and poetic language, therefore it is referred to as mannerism.
The separation of literary drama from the audience did not contribute to the development of the theatre. Stage art was born on the square - in the performances of medieval buffoons (giullari), heirs of mimes ancient rome, in funny farcical performances. Farce (farsa) is finally formed in the 15th century. and acquires all the signs of a popular idea - effectiveness, buffoonery, everyday concreteness, satirical free-thinking The events of real life, becoming the theme of a farce, turned into an anecdote. In a vivid, grotesque manner, the farce ridiculed the vices of people and society. The farce had a great influence on the development of the European theater, and in Italy it contributed to the creation of a special kind of stage art - improvised comedy.
Until the middle of the 16th century. there was no professional theater in Italy. In Venice, which was ahead in the creation of all kinds of spectacles, already at the turn of the 15th-16th centuries. there were several amateur theatrical communities. They were attended by artisans and people from the educated strata of society. Gradually, groups of semi-professionals began to emerge from such an environment. The most significant stage in the birth of the professional theater is associated with the actor and playwright Angelo Beolco, nicknamed Ruzzante (1500–1542), whose work paved the way for the emergence of the commedia dell'arte. his plays, Anconitanka, Mosqueta, Dialogues included in the repertoire Italian theater and at present.
By 1570, the main artistic components of the new theater were determined: masks, dialects, improvisation, buffoonery. The name commedia dell'arte, which meant "professional theater", was also established. The name "comedy of masks" is of later origin. The characters of this theater, the so-called. constant types (tipi fissi) or masks. The most popular masks were Pantalone, a Venetian merchant, the Doctor, a Bolognese lawyer who played the roles of the zanni servants Brigella, Harlequin and Pulcinella, as well as the Captain, Tartaglia, Servette's maid and two pairs of Lovers. Each mask has its own traditional costume and spoke in her dialect, only the Lovers did not wear masks and spoke in the correct Italian. The actors played their plays according to the script, improvising the text in the course of the play. The performances always had a lot of lazzi and buffoonery. Usually the commedia dell'arte actor played only his mask all his life. The most famous troupes are Gelosi (1568), Confidenti (1574) and Fedeli (1601). There were many great actors among the performers - Isabella Andreini, Francesco Andreini, Domenico Biancolelli, Niccolo Barbieri, Tristano Martinelli, Flaminio Scala, Tiberio Fiorilli and others. The art of the mask theater was very popular not only in Italy, but also abroad, they were admired as in the upper strata of society, and the common people. The comedy of masks had a great influence on the formation of national theaters in Europe. The decline of the commedia dell'arte began in the second half of the 17th century, and by the end of the 18th century. she ceases to exist.
The development of tragedy, comedy, pastoral demanded a special building for their performance. A new type of indoor theater building with a box stage, auditorium and tiers was created in Italy based on the study of ancient architecture. At the same time in the Italian theater of the 17th century. successful searches were made in the field of stage design (in particular, promising scenery was created), theatrical machinery was developed and improved. Both in the 12th and 13th centuries. theaters were built throughout the country, the so-called. Italian (all "italiana), which then spread throughout Europe ().
Despite economic and political backwardness, Italy was rich and diverse. theater life. By the 18th century Italy possessed the best musical theater in the world, in which two types were distinguished - serious opera and comic opera (opera buff). There was a puppet theater, performances of commedia dell'arte were given everywhere. However, the reform of the drama theater has been brewing for a long time. In the Age of Enlightenment, impromptu comedy no longer met the requirements of the times. A new, serious, literary theater was needed. The comedy of masks could not exist in its former form, but its achievements had to be preserved and carefully transferred to new theater. This was done by Carlo Goldoni. He carried out the reform carefully. He began to introduce fully written and literary texts of individual roles and dialogues into his plays, and the Venetian public accepted his innovation with enthusiasm. He first applied this method in comedy Momolo, soul of society(1738). Goldoni created a theater of characters, abandoning masks, the script, and, in general, improvisation. The characters of his theater lost their conditional content and became living people - people of their era and their country, Italy of the 18th century. Goldoni carried out his reform in a fierce struggle with opponents. Second half of the 18th century entered the history of Italy as the time of theatrical wars. He was opposed by the abbe Chiari, a mediocre playwright and therefore not dangerous, but his main opponent, equal to him in talent, was Carlo Gozzi. Gozzi came to the defense of the theater of masks, setting the task of reviving the tradition of impromptu comedy. And at some stage it seemed that he succeeded. And although Goldoni left room for improvisation in his comedies, and Gozzi himself eventually recorded almost all of his dramatic works, their dispute was cruel and uncompromising. Since the main nerve of the confrontation between the two great Venetians is in the incompatibility of their social positions, in different views of the world and man.
Goldoni in his works was a spokesman for the ideas of the third estate, a defender of its ideals and morality. The whole dramaturgy of Goldoni is belittled with the spirit of reasonable egoism and practicality - moral values bourgeoisie. Against the propaganda from the scene of such views in the first place and spoke Gozzi. He wrote ten poetic tales for the theater, the so-called. fiaba (fiaba / fairy tale). The success of Gozzi's theatrical tales was overwhelming. And to their recent favorite Goldoni, the Venetian public unexpectedly quickly cooled off. Exhausted by the struggle, Goldoni conceded defeat and left Venice. But this did not change anything in the fate of the Italian stage - the reform of the national theater had already been completed by that time. And the theater of Italy followed this path.
From the end of the 18th century in Italy, the era of the Risorgimento begins - the struggle for national independence, for the political unification of the country and bourgeois transformations - which lasted almost a century. Tragedy becomes the most important genre in the theatre. The greatest author of tragedies was Vittorio Alfieri. The birth of the Italian repertory tragedy is connected with his name. He created a tragedy of civilian content almost single-handedly. A passionate patriot who dreamed of the liberation of his homeland, Alfieri opposed tyranny. All his tragedies are imbued with the heroic pathos of the struggle for freedom.
The era of the Risorgimento brought to life a new artistic direction- romanticism. Formally, its appearance coincided with the restoration of Austrian domination. The head and ideologist of Romanticism was the writer Alessandro Manzoni. The originality of theatrical romanticism in Italy in its political and national-patriotic orientation. Classicism was considered an expression of the Austrian orientation, a direction that meant not only conservatism, but also a foreign yoke, and romanticism united the opposition. Almost all the creators of the Italian theater in their lives followed the ideals that they proclaimed: they were true martyrs of the idea - they fought on the barricades, were in prisons, endured hardship, lived in exile for a long time. Among them are G. Modena, S. Pellico, T. Salvini, E. Rossi, A. Ristori, P. Ferrari and others.
The hero of romanticism is a strong personality, a fighter for justice and freedom, and not so much personal freedom as universal freedom - the freedom of the Motherland. The task of the time was to rally all Italians in the struggle for a common cause. Therefore, social problems fade into the background and go unnoticed. Questions of the actual form of the Italian romantics were also much less interested. On the one hand, they denied the strict rules of classicism, proclaiming their adherence to free forms, on the other hand, in their work, the romantics were still very dependent on classicist aesthetics. The main source of inspiration for romantic playwrights is history and mythology; the plots were interpreted from the point of view of today, so the performances usually took on a sharp political overtones. The best tragedies are Kai Gracchus V.Monti (1800), Arminia I. Pindemonte (1804), ajax W. Foscolo (1811), Count of Carmagnoll(1820) and Adelgiz(1822) A. Manzoni, Giovanni da Procida(1830) and Arnold Brescian(1843) D. B. Nicollini, Pia de Tolomei(1836) K. Marenko. The plays are largely based on classicist models, but full of political allusions and tyrannical pathos. The greatest success fell to the lot of the tragedy of Silvio Pellico Francesca da Rimini (1815).
Heroic tragedy in the second half of the century gives way to melodrama. Along with comedy, melodrama enjoyed great success with the audience. The first playwright was Paolo Giacometti (1816–1882), who wrote about 80 works for the theatre. His best plays: Elizabeth, Queen of England (1853), Judith(1858) and one of the most repertory melodramas of the 19th century. Civil death(1861). The dramaturgy of Giacometti is already completely freed from classicism, his plays freely combine the features of comedy and tragedy, they have realistically outlined characters, they have roles, so the theaters willingly took them to be staged. Paolo Ferrari (1822–1889), a prolific playwright and successor to the traditions of Carlo Goldoni, also stood out among comedians. His plays did not leave the stage until the end of the century. His best comedy Goldoni and his sixteen new comedies(1853) continues to be performed in Italy.
In the 1870s, in a victorious and united Italy, a new artistic movement emerged, verismo. The theorists of verismo, Luigi Capuana and Giovanni Verga, argued that the artist should depict only facts, show life without embellishment, he should be impartial and refrain from his assessments and comments. Most playwrights followed these rules very strictly, and perhaps this is what deprived their creations of true life. The best works belong to the pen of D. Verga (1840–1922), he more often than others violated the prescriptions of the theory. Two of his plays rural honor(1884) and She-wolf(1896) are included in the repertoire of Italian theaters at the present time. The plays are masterfully done. By genre, these are tragedies from folk life. They are distinguished by a powerful dramatic nerve, rigor and restraint of expressive means. In 1889 P. Mascagni wrote an opera rural honor.
At the end of the 19th century a playwright appears, whose fame crosses the borders of Italy. Gabriele D "Annunzio wrote a dozen and a half plays, which he called tragedies. All of them were translated into European languages. At the turn of the century, D" Annunzio was a very popular playwright. His dramaturgy is usually referred to as symbolism and neo-romanticism, although it also has features of neoclassicism. Verist motifs in it are combined with aestheticism.
In general, however, the achievements of dramaturgy were more than modest; Italian 19th century remained in the history of the theater as a century of acting. High tragedy did not produce great works in dramaturgy. But tragic theme nevertheless sounded in the theater, was heard and received world recognition. It happened in the opera (Giuseppe Verdi) and in the art of the great Italian tragedians. Their appearance was preceded by theatrical reform.
The type of actor close to classicism remained in the Italian theater for quite a long time: performing arts remained in captivity of declamation, rhetoric, canonical postures and gestures. The stage art reform, equal in importance to the reform of Carlo Goldoni, was carried out in the middle of the century by the brilliant actor and theater director Gustavo Modena (1803-1861). In many ways, he was ahead of his time. Modena brought a man to the stage with all his features, natural speech, "without varnishing, without cothurneys." He created a new style of acting, the main features of which were simplicity and truth. In his theater, war was declared on the premiership, there was a tendency to move away from a rigid role, for the first time the question arose of an acting ensemble. The influence of Gustavo Modena on his contemporaries was enormous.
Adelaide Ristori (1822-1906) was not a student of Modena, but considered herself close to his school. The first great tragic actress whose art was recognized outside of Italy, she was a true heroine of her time, expressing its patriotic revolutionary pathos. In the history of the theater, she remained the performer of several tragic roles: Francesca ( Francesca da Rimini Pellico), Mirra ( Myrrh Alfieri), Lady Macbeth ( Macbeth Shakespeare), Medea ( Medea Legure), Mary Stuart ( Mary Stuart Schiller). Ristori was attracted by characters strong, solid, heroic, full of great passions. The actress called her style realistic, suggesting the term "colorful realism", referring to "Italian ardor", "fiery expression of passions".
The opposite of Ristori was Clementine Cazzola (1832-1868), a romantic actress who created images of the finest lyricism and psychological depth, she was able to complex characters. She confronted Ristori, who always brought to the surface the main character trait of the character. In the Italian theater, Cazzola is considered the forerunner of E. Duse. Her best roles include Pia ( Pia de Tolomei Marenko), Marguerite Gauthier ( lady with camellias Dumas), Adrienne Lecouvreur ( Adriene Lecouvrere Scribe), as well as the role of Desdemona ( Othello Shakespeare), which she played together with her husband, T. Salvini, the great tragedian.
Tommaso Salvini, a student of G. Modena and L. Domeniconi, one of the most prominent representatives of stage classicism. The actor is interested not in an ordinary person, but in a hero whose life is given to a high goal. He put the beautiful above the mundane truth. He raised the image of man high. His art organically combined the great and the ordinary, the heroic and the everyday. He masterfully knew how to control the attention of the public. He was an actor of powerful temperament, balanced by a strong will. The image of Othello ( Othello Shakespeare) - the highest creation of Salvini, "a monument, a monument, a law for all time" (Stanislavsky). Othello he played all his life. The best works of the actor also include the main roles in plays. Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth Shakespeare, as well as the role of Corrado in the play Civil death Giacometti.
The work of another brilliant tragic poet, Ernesto Rossi (1827–1896), already represents a different stage in the development of the performing arts in Italy. He was the most beloved and most consistent student of G. Modena. In each character, Rossi tried to see not an ideal hero, but just a person. The subtlest psychological actor, he skillfully could show the inner world, convey the slightest nuances of the character's character. Shakespeare's tragedies are the basis of Rossi's repertoire, he gave them 40 years of his life and played in them until the last day. These are the main roles in the plays Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, King Lear, Coriolanus, Richard III, Julius Caesar, The Merchant of Venice. He also played in the plays of Dumas, Giacometti, Hugo, Goldoni, Alfieri, Corneille, played in the small tragedies of Pushkin, and Ivan the Terrible in the drama of A.K. Tolstoy. A realist artist, a master of reincarnation, he did not accept verism, although he himself prepared its appearance with all his art.
Verismo, as an artistic phenomenon, was most fully expressed on stage by Ermette Zacconi (1857–1948). Zacconi's repertoire is, above all, a contemporary play. With great success, he played in the works of Ibsen, A.K. Tolstoy, I.S. Turgenev, Giacometti ... His older contemporary Ermette Novelli (1851–1919), an actor of a wide range, a brilliant comedian, was also a major figure. His creative style contained everything from comedy dell'arte to high tragedy and naturalism.
The most important tragic actress of the turn of the century was the legendary Eleonora Duse. The thinnest psychological actress, whose art seemed to be something more than the art of reincarnation.
19th century - the heyday of dialectal culture. greatest development she receives in Sicily, Naples, Piedmont, Venice, Milan. Dialectal theater is the brainchild of the commedia dell'arte, it took a lot from it: the improvisational nature of the game according to a pre-compiled scenario, love for buffoonery, masks. The performances were performed in the local dialect. In the second half of the 19th century dialectal dramaturgy was just beginning to acquire its literary basis. The dialectal theater of that time was primarily an acting theater. The Sicilian Giovanni Grasso (1873-1930), a "primitive tragedian", an actor of spontaneous temperament, a brilliant performer of bloody melodramas, was well known not only in Italy, but also abroad. Northerner Edoardo Ferravilla (1846-1916), a brilliant comic actor, author and performer of his texts, enjoyed great success. Antonio Petito (1822-1876) is the most legendary figure of the Neapolitan theatre, a brilliant improviser who worked in the commedia dell'arte technique, an unsurpassed performer of the Pulcinella mask. His student and follower Eduardo Scarpetta (1853-1925), a brilliant actor, "the king of comedians", the creator of his mask Felice Xoshamocchi, a famous playwright. His best comedy The poor and the nobility (1888).
20th century.
Early 20th century entered the history of performing arts as the time of the theatrical revolution. In Italy, the role of the innovators of the scene was taken over by the Futurists. Their goal is to create the art of the future. Futurists denied academic theater, existing theatrical genres, tried to abandon the actor or reduce his role to a puppet, also to abandon the word, replacing it with plastic compositions and scenography. They considered the traditional theater to be static, believing that in the age of machine civilization, the main thing is movement. prominent figures of Futurism were F.T. Marinetti (1876–1944) and A.J. Bragaglia (1890–1961). Their theatrical manifestos: Variety Theater Manifesto(1913) and Futuristic Synthetic Theater Manifesto(1915) still have not lost their significance. The dramaturgy of the Futurists is mainly the works of Marinetti, called syntheses ( short sketches performed more often without words). Most Interest presents scenography: in the futuristic theater they worked best artists of that time: J. Balla, E. Prampolini (1894–1956), F. Depero (1892–1960). The theater of the Futurists was not successful with the audience: the performances often aroused indignation and often took place with scandals. The role of the futurists became clear later - in the second half of the century: it was then that their ideas were further developed. Together with the so-called. With the "playwrights of the grotesque" and playwrights of the "twilight" the Futurists prepared the appearance of the greatest figure in the theater of the 20th century. L.Pirandello. Of great importance in 1920–1930 was the activity of foreign directors: these are the productions of M. Reinhardt, V.I. (1896–1975), who introduced Italians to Russian theater school and the teachings of Stanislavsky.
Luigi Pirandello began writing for the theater in 1910. In the first plays dedicated to life in Sicily and written in the Sicilian dialect, the influence of verismo is clearly felt. The main themes of his work are illusion and reality, face and mask. He proceeds from the fact that everything in the world is relative, and there is no objective truth.
Other significant actors of the era include Ruggiero Ruggieri (1871–1953), Memo Benassi (1891–1957) and the Gramatika sisters: Irma (1870–1962) and Emma (1875–1965). Of the playwrights, Sem Benelli (1877–1949), author of the repertoire play Dinner of jokes(1909), and Hugo Betti (1892–1953), whose best play Corruption in the Palace of Justice(1949).
Between the two world wars, dialectal theater occupied a significant place in the culture of Italy (although the policy of the fascist state was aimed at suppressing dialects). The Neapolitan theater enjoyed particular success. Since 1932, the Humorous Theater of the De Filippo Brothers began to operate. However, the most important figure of that time was Raffaele Viviani (1888-1950), a man with a “suffering face and sparkling eyes of a vagabond”, the creator of his own theatre, actor and playwright. Viviani's plays tell about the life of ordinary Neapolitans, they contain a lot of music and songs. Some of his best comedies are Toledo street at night(1918), Neapolitan village (1919), fishermen (1924), The last street tramp (1932).
The period of Resistance and the first years after the Second World War entered the history of Italy as the second Risorgimento - so decisive and irreversible were the changes that took place in all spheres of life and art. After years social stagnation, everything was in motion and demanded change. And if during the years of the fascist dictatorship the theater literally choked on falsehood, rhetoric and pomposity (such was the line of official art), now it has finally begun to speak human language and turned to a living person. The art of post-war Italy amazed the world with its sincerity. Life as it is, with all its poverty, struggles, victories and defeats, and simple human feelings, came to the screen and stage. After the war, the theater developed in line with neo-realism, one of the most democratic and humanistic art movements of the twentieth century. Dialectal theater takes on a new breath. The Neapolitan Eduardo De Filippo receives national recognition, and his dramaturgy quickly conquers the stages of the world. He called his plays "staged real life." In his sad comedies we are talking about life, about relationships in the family, about morality and the purpose of a person, about the problems of war and peace.
The profession of director, which appeared in the European theater at the turn of the century, was established in Italy only in the second half of the century. The first director in the European sense of the word was Luchino Visconti (1906–1976), a realist artist with a keen sense of beauty, a staunch anti-fascist and humanist who worked both in theater and cinema. In the Visconti theater, the performance is understood as a whole, subject to a single plan, war is declared on the premiership, the actors learn to work in an ensemble. The most significant works of Visconti in the drama theater: Crime and Punishment Dostoevsky (1946), glass menagerie (1946), Streetcar Desire T. Williams (1949), Rosalind, or As You Like It (1948), Troilus and Cressida Shakespeare Orestes Alfieri (1949) innkeeper Goldoni (1952) Three sisters (1952), Uncle Ivan (1956), The Cherry Orchard(1965) Chekhov.
First post-war years in Europe, a movement began for accessible and understandable folk theaters. In Italy, it merged with the struggle for stationary theaters, called Stabile (stabile / permanent). The first Stabile was the Piccolo Teatro in Milan, founded in 1947 by P. Grassi and J. Strehler. Artistic theater in the service of society - this is the task that Piccolo Teatro set itself. In the work of Strehler, several lines of European theatrical culture converged: national tradition commedia dell'arte, art psychological realism and epic theatre.
In the 1960s and 1970s, the European theater was on the rise. A new generation of directors and actors entered the Italian theater. Young people, most acutely feeling the exhaustion of the traditional language of the stage, began to master the new space, work differently with light, sound, and look for new forms of relationship with the audience. In those years, Giancarlo Nanni, Aldo Trionfo, Meme Perlini, Gabriele Lavia, Carlo Cecchi, Carlo Quartucci, Giuliano Vasiliko, Leo De Berardinis worked actively. However, the most significant figures of the generation of the sixties: Roberto De Simone, Luca Ronconi, Carmelo Bene, Dario Fo. All of them have done a lot to enrich the theatrical language, their discoveries are widely used in theatrical practice.
Dario Fo is the most prominent representative of the political theater. Fo is interested in man as a social type, with bright, pointed, exaggerated features, placed in an acute, farcical, paradoxical situation. He makes extensive use of such folk theater techniques as improvisation and buffoonery.
Carmelo Bene (b. 1937) is the recognized head of the Italian avant-garde of the second half of the 20th century. Bene is called a great actor. He himself writes, directs and performs the main roles in his works. His work exists in the inseparable unity of the author, actor and director. Bene is the author of many performances, mainly based on works of world literature and theater: Pinocchio Kallodi (1961) Faust and Marguerite (1966), Salome Wilde (1972) Turkish Mother of God Bene (1973) Romeo and Juliet (1976), Richard Sh (1978), Othello(1979), Manfred Byron (1979) Macbeth (1983), Hamlet(set repeatedly), etc. These are all original compositions by Bene, inspired by famous works and very remotely reminiscent of them. Bene rejects the traditional dramatic form: in his performances there are no events built on the principle of cause and effect, there is no plot and dialogue in the usual sense, the word is sometimes replaced by sound, and the image literally falls apart, becomes an inanimate object or disappears altogether. Requiem for a Man - this is how one could define the main content of his art.
Of the younger ones, who are currently successfully working in the Italian theater, we can name the director Federico Tiezzi (1951), the director and actor Giorgio Barberio Corsetti (1951), the director Mario Martone (1962), who for several years headed the Roman theater " Stable", which put a number of very interesting performances, among which was the hugely successful performance Ten Commandments R. Viviani (2001).
In the second half of the 20th century the Italian theater, having become a director's theater, has not ceased to be a theater of great actors. The best actors of the country have always worked in the performances of the largest directors. This applies to Eduardo de Filippo, and to Giorgio Strehler, and Luchino Visconti, as well as to directors of the sixties who came to the theater on the wave of contestation. The core of the Visconti troupe was the married couple Rina Morelli and Paolo Stoppa, subtle psychological actors who played in all his performances in the drama theater. Vittorio Gassman also had a huge success in the performances of Visconti (especially in the performances Orestes Alfieri and Troilus and Cressida Shakespeare). After leaving Visconti, Gassman played a lot in the classical repertoire; most notable were his performances Othello and Macbeth Shakespeare.
In the long tradition of the Italian theater, the troupe was usually grouped around one great actor (or actress), and the performances were usually staged based on the given premiere. In such a theatrical group, the first actor, the star actor (called divo or mattatore in Italy) was often surrounded by very weak performers.
For several decades (up to the present time), very popular actors Giorgio Albertazzi and Anna Proklemer have performed on the stages of Italian theaters, playing the main roles mainly in plays of the world classical repertoire. Many very famous and beloved by the Italian public actors of different generations worked a lot in the theater, including Anna Magnani, Salvo Rondone, Giancarlo Tedeschi, Alberto Lionello, Luigi Proietti, Valeria Moriconi, Franco Parenti, whose name is now named one of the theaters in Milan. Parenti also worked at the Piccolo Teatro with Giorgio Strehler. Wonderful actors have always played in the Strehler Theater. This is Tino Buazzelli, the famous performer of the role of Galileo in the play Life of Galileo B. Brecht. Tino Carraro, who for many years played the main roles in Shakespeare's plays ( King Lear, Storm), Brecht, Strindberg and others. An outstanding performer female roles in the director's theater was Valentina Cortese, among the peaks, whose work was the role of Ranevskaya in cherry orchard(production 1974). Among the younger ones, Pamela Villoresi stands out, a wonderful performer of female images in the comedies of Carlo Goldoni, in the plays of Lessing, Marivaux, and others. last period actress Andrea Jonasson, who played dramatic roles in productions by Brecht, Lessing, Pirandello and others, became his muse. Two great performers of the Harlequin mask - Marcello Moretti and Ferruccio Soleri in the legendary performance Harlequin based on the comedy Goldoni Servant of two masters.
Luca Ronconi also brings together a group of his actors. These are, first of all, two older actresses Franka Nuti and Marisa Fabbri, who played the main roles in such performances of the director as bacchantes Euripides (1978) ghosts Ibsen, Last days humanity Kraus and others, Mariangela Melato, who played in the best works director such as Furious Roland and orestea. He worked a lot with Ronconi and Massimo de Francovich, among whose major successes is the role of Lear in the play King Lear, as well as the young Massimo Popolicio, a wide-ranging actor who has access to rhythms, both drama and comedy (huge success brought him the role of two brothers in the comedy Goldoni Venetian twins).
It is especially necessary to single out the actors of the Neapolitan school. Among the most famous are the older actors Salvatore de Muto, Toto (Antonio de Curtis), Peppino de Filippo and Pupella Maggio, who worked a lot in the theater of Eduardo de Filippo. Among the younger ones are the actors Mariano Riggillo, Giuseppe Barra, Leopoldo Mastellone and others.
Second half of the 20th century entered the history of the Italian theater as the time of the renaissance of the art of scenography. The best artists have always worked with the best directors in the country. The brightest figures are Luciano Damiani and Ezio Frigerio; their names are on the posters of all the best performances Streler. And also this is Enrico Job, Pier Luigi Pizzi, Gae Aulenti, Margherita Palli.
Maria Skornyakova
I have a trip to Italy, and I could not help but wonder - what about the opera houses? Where to go?
Gave valuable advice amoit.I am posting with her permission.
The season in different theaters in Italy begins in different ways.
I have never been to La Scala and never will. I'll explain why. To enjoy the performance, never buy tickets there at the box. You will not see anything plainly and it is not clear whether you will hear. Tickets to the box cost a lot of money. It would be nice to go to the stalls. But the prices there are outrageous. I watch their poster regularly and see many good performances in the season (sometimes with good directors and conductors and singers). I have decided not to spend crazy money on a trip to this theater (especially since the policy of the current chief conductor is not close to me). So I can't recommend anything about this theater yet :-)
A few years ago, almost by accident, we came across the Teatro Reggio in Parma. I am a big fan of Verdi and there is a Verdi festival every year. Here we actually went to it. Rigoletto with Leo Nucci and Jessica Pratt. The theater is not bad: very beautiful inside and out. interesting history and great directors and singers behind them. Unfortunately, in recent years, their opera season is very short (perennial financial problems): it starts in early January and is limited to 3-4 operas. This year my attention was focused only on Simon Bocanegra in the production of the same De Ana. It is worth looking at the poster and watching what they give in October on annual festival Verdi and starting from January, for a short but season. The theater is not widely known around the world like La Scala or Felice Venetian, but in my opinion it deserves attention. The city of Parma itself is very nice and you can not only go to the theater, but also see the Farnese Theatre, the most beautiful cathedral, the house of Arturo Toscanini, the national gallery and much more. Busseto and Sant'Agata (Verdi's estate) are nearby. But you can only get there by car.
I really like the Teatro Regio in Turin. The theater is historical, but a fire in the early 20th century destroyed the inside of the building. Only one facade remained from the historical one. But inside the theater was renovated and now it is one of the best European halls with excellent acoustics for 1500 seats. It can be seen and heard perfectly from any place in the hall. It's always easy to get tickets and they have one of the longest seasons with 12 operas from September to May. There are many productions and often worthy of attention. The already mentioned masterpiece Don Carlo. There we listened to Onegin with our Ladyuk and Vinogradov. They also went there to listen to Verdi's gala last year with Frittoli and Alvarez. This theater is highly recommended! Turin itself is great! You will combine a trip to the theater with a visit to one of the most beautiful cities in Italy (I love Turin very much and I am sure that you will also appreciate it).
In general, there are a lot of opera houses in Italy: In Genoa, In Lucca, in Florence, in Modena, in Naples. They are in almost every city, even the smallest.
Torre del Lago hosts the annual Puccini Festival. True, this is very specific: the stage is located on the lake and you yourself understand there are nuances: mosquitoes and wind (if in the wrong direction, ducks on the lake will enjoy the sound). The festival goes on all summer. Perhaps it would be interesting to get into it once. Right next to the composer's villa (very interesting to visit!) Last year, Gulegina Santuzza sang there (don't be surprised that Mascagni .. give not only Puccini operas). I really wanted to get in, but it didn't work out. Tickets are not cheap, but again on good composition no pity.
In Pesaro, the Rossini annual festival. To be honest, I haven't gotten around to it yet, but I would like to. Again, I will look at the composition. I can’t say anything about the theater season because I haven’t been there yet. The same goes for Ancona.
The Roman Opera is absolutely gorgeous! Also worth a visit.
Good performers roam the theaters along with good productions :-) Pay attention to the Italian tenor Francesco Meli. I listened to him in Ernani and Verdi's Masquerade Ball (in the Roman Opera and in the Theater of Parma, respectively).
It is better to follow the movement of artists and go there :-)
In Florence, at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, you can hear a lot of good music and brilliant performers. : in April Matsuev will perform with Zubin Meta. The year before last we listened to an incredible performance of Wagner and Claudio Abbado's Fantastic Symphony by Berlioz.
By the way, in the summer there is an endless series of performances at the Arena di Verona. Until I was there. But I think you might be interested. Good performers often sing there and good directors stage them. It has its own specifics (in the open air), but still. This is an option if you want a good opera in the summer :-)
I also forgot to tell you about the Teatro Comunale in Bologna! There, too, there are wonderful productions with a wonderful composition.
There is no repertory theater in Italy, and there is no troupe as such in the theater, with the exception of the orchestra and the chief conductor of the theater. Therefore, the composition and the actual works should be viewed at the beginning of the season on the theater website. Again, I repeat, but good performers sing in all the theaters I have listed. They sing all over Italy.
There are not many theaters. There are a lot of them and in parallel you can see a lot of things. Another thing is that you have to move around the country. This may not be very convenient: to make a march from Turin to Rome (for example), and then to Bologna. I recently made myself a program for the near future. From the summer there will be The Merry Widow in Turin, a production of the same De Ana! The singers are not the best, but he is (Alesandro Safina...maybe you know him). You can see the exact cast on the theatre's website. This is the end of June-beginning of July. There will be Cosi fan tutte in Bologna. Here the line-up is more interesting: Korchak, Goryacheva, Albergini. Meli will sing at Carmen in Genoa all May. Anita (the one you listened to at the Meta) will be at Carmen in Rome in June. The season is still going on and quite active. Today and April 6 in Parma they sing The Pearl Divers with Korczak in the title role.
Teatro alla Scala(MILAN)
Pearl of the world musical culture. It is hard to imagine a theater with a more brilliant history than the famous La Scala. For more than 300 years of existence, these walls have seen a lot, but they managed to preserve, perhaps, the most important thing for the theater - a unique charm and mystery. The concert season at La Scala lasts from December to June (symphony concerts are held on its stage in autumn). The opening of the season is especially solemn. It is always December 7, the day of St. Ambrose, the patron saint of Milan. Alas, tickets sometimes sell out six months in advance, so book in advance. Approximate ticket price - opera / ballet: parterre 260/150; amphitheater 80-260/125; balcony 40-105/30-80 euros
Amphitheater - Arena di Verona(VERONA)
The ancient Roman amphitheater is famous for its opera and concert performances held in it. Built in the 1st century BC. The largest building made of pink Verona stone is second only to the Roman Colosseum. In ancient times, gladiator fights were held on it, in the Middle Ages - jousting tournaments. In the XVI and XVII centuries. the spectator stands have been completely rebuilt, and the current Arena is a grandiose auditorium for 25 thousand seats, on the stage of which enchanting open-air opera performances are given. It has exceptional building acoustics. Today, there are usually four different stage productions each year between June and August. In mid-July, performances are given almost every day. AT winter months opera and ballet give performances at the Academic Philharmonic.
Approximate cost of tickets for premieres at the Philharmonic: opera/ballet parterre - 90/60 euros; amphitheater opera/ballet — 70/50; box benoir opera / ballet - 60/35; balcony opera/ballet -55/40. The cost of tickets for repeated performances is approximately minus 10 euros. Ticket prices for the Arena: stalls 220 euros, amphitheater 95, balcony 40. Children under 4 years old are not allowed.
San Carlo - Teatro di San Carlo(NAPLES)
The Opera House in Naples was built by order of Charles III to replace the dilapidated theater of San Bartolomeo. Opened in 1737, at that time the theater hall could accommodate up to 3300 spectators, which made the theater the most spacious in the world.
Approximate cost of tickets for premieres: opera/ballet parterre - 170/130 euros; amphitheater opera/ballet — 110/100; box of benoir opera/ballet — 90/50; balcony opera/ballet -60/40. The cost of tickets for repeated performances is approximately minus 10 euros. .
La Phoenix Theater(VENICE)
Heart musical life Venice. An unusual theater with a water jetty and an elegant promenade. The theater, built in 1792, survived two fires and each time, justifying its name, like a Phoenix bird, it was reborn from the ashes. After a last terrifying embrace of flames that almost completely destroyed the theater, the new, restored La Fenice opened its doors to the public on December 14, 2003.
Approximate cost of tickets for premieres: opera/ballet parterre - 190/140 euros; amphitheater opera/ballet — 160/100; box benoir opera / ballet - 110/90; balcony opera/ballet -70/50. The cost of tickets for repeated performances is approximately minus 10 euros.
Opera House - Teatro dell'Opera di Roma(ROME)
One of the largest opera houses in Europe, which can accommodate up to two thousand two hundred music lovers. Opera and ballet performances staged by world stage directors are staged here. It was at the Rome Opera that world premiere Tosca by Puccini, a number of Mascagni's operas, including Rural Honor, Iris, Masks. Amelita Galli-Curci, the owner of the most famous coloratura soprano of the beginning of the last century, the tenors Beniamino Gigli, Enrico Caruso, Tito Skipa, sang on its stage.
In summer, opera performances are held in the open air at the Baths of Caracalla. Once they were known as the eighth wonder of the world. In the summer of 1990, the legendary concert of three tenors - Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti - took place on the ruins of the Baths of Caracalla.
Approximate cost of tickets for premieres: opera/ballet parterre - 160/90 euros; amphitheater opera/ballet — 130/80; box benoir opera / ballet - 60/35; balcony opera/ballet — 35/30. The cost of tickets for repeated performances is approximately minus 20 euros.