This analysis proposes a recostruction of the repertoires and practices of the Academy of Uniti founded in 1608 by Giuseppe Cesari (known as Cavaliere d´Arpino) in his palace in Corso street in Rome. Thanks to a collection of published texts and a recently discovered unpublished manuscripts of theatre of the Cavaliere, we could reconstruct artistic company staff, the roles of the characters in the play and the work of the set up. The repertoire is characterized by a massive, funny and ridiculous “improvvisa“ texture, and by a set of texts (comedies, tragic-comedies, woodland fables and a sacred little work) which were improvisations of amateurs during the theatrical process. The proximity or familiarity of the Uniti’s Academy with Humourist’s Academy reveals that Giuseppe Cesari and his closest collaborators, including the playwright Matteo Pagani, assumed a renowned role in the experimentations of early 17th-century in Rome. Giuseppe Cesari’s production, risen by the fusion of several arts and languages, had a pioneering function, which influenced (from Gian Lorenzo Bernini to Salvator Rosa) almost all the artists of his time. As it well known, these famous artists constantly accompanied the practice of art with the practice of the scenes: they acted, played, curated set-ups and scenography, wrote or asked other to write texts, transformed their own homes or ateliers into open public theatres. From these artists and from the Academies founded by them, the Baroque experimental way developed and found its identity. The legacy, represented by this special type of dramaturgy "of the laugh”, is one of the most distinguishing qualities of the 17th century’s Roman culture.
L’intervento propone una ricostruzione del repertorio e delle pratiche dell’Accademia degli Uniti, fondata nel 1608 da Giuseppe Cesari, detto il Cavalier d’Arpino, presso il palazzo romano del pittore, in via del Corso. Un corredo di testi editi e manoscritti inediti di recentissima acquisizione, tutti riferiti al teatro del Cavaliere, ha permesso di risalire all’organico della compagnia, ai ruoli interpretati, ai caratteri e alle modalità degli allestimenti. Il repertorio di cui si propone l’analisi è contraddistinto da una forte tessitura improvvisa, buffa e ridicola, e da un insieme di testi consuntivi (commedie, tragicommedie, favole boscherecce e un’ operina sacra) formatisi nel corso del processo teatrale attraverso le improvvisazioni degli attori dilettanti. La contiguità dell’esperienza dell’Accademia degli Uniti con quella dell’Accademia degli Umoristi indica che Giuseppe Cesari, assieme ai suoi più stretti collaboratori, tra cui il drammaturgo Matteo Pagani, assunse un ruolo di spicco nelle sperimentazioni della Roma del primo Seicento; ai suoi allestimenti, nati dalla fusione di più arti e linguaggi, possiamo attribuire una funzione pionieristica, che arriva per contagio a coinvolgere, passando per Gian Lorenzo Bernini e Salvator Rosa, quasi tutti gli artisti dell’epoca. Com’è noto, questi artisti di fama accompagnarono costantemente la pratica dell’arte alla pratica delle scene, recitando, suonando, curando allestimenti, progettando macchine, scrivendo o facendosi scrivere testi, aprendo al pubblico teatri privati, in casa propria o nel proprio atelier. Da questi pittori e dalle Accademie da loro fondate si sviluppa e prende consistenza la vena sperimentale che disegna il Barocco. L’ingente patrimonio rappresentato da questo particolarissimo tipo di drammaturgia “del riso” è uno dei tratti identitari di maggior spicco della cultura romana del Seicento.
From the brush to the scene. Practices and dramaturgy of Cavalier d’Arpino’s Uniti Academy (1608) (In corso di stampa) / Molinari, Isabella. - (2020). (Intervento presentato al convegno III EASTAP Conference (European Association for the Study of Theatre and Performance),Creating for the stage and other space: questioning practices and theories, 27 febbraio - 1 marzo 2020, Bologna, Teatro Arena del Sole/DamsLab tenutosi a Bologna).
From the brush to the scene. Practices and dramaturgy of Cavalier d’Arpino’s Uniti Academy (1608) (In corso di stampa)
Isabella Molinari
2020
Abstract
This analysis proposes a recostruction of the repertoires and practices of the Academy of Uniti founded in 1608 by Giuseppe Cesari (known as Cavaliere d´Arpino) in his palace in Corso street in Rome. Thanks to a collection of published texts and a recently discovered unpublished manuscripts of theatre of the Cavaliere, we could reconstruct artistic company staff, the roles of the characters in the play and the work of the set up. The repertoire is characterized by a massive, funny and ridiculous “improvvisa“ texture, and by a set of texts (comedies, tragic-comedies, woodland fables and a sacred little work) which were improvisations of amateurs during the theatrical process. The proximity or familiarity of the Uniti’s Academy with Humourist’s Academy reveals that Giuseppe Cesari and his closest collaborators, including the playwright Matteo Pagani, assumed a renowned role in the experimentations of early 17th-century in Rome. Giuseppe Cesari’s production, risen by the fusion of several arts and languages, had a pioneering function, which influenced (from Gian Lorenzo Bernini to Salvator Rosa) almost all the artists of his time. As it well known, these famous artists constantly accompanied the practice of art with the practice of the scenes: they acted, played, curated set-ups and scenography, wrote or asked other to write texts, transformed their own homes or ateliers into open public theatres. From these artists and from the Academies founded by them, the Baroque experimental way developed and found its identity. The legacy, represented by this special type of dramaturgy "of the laugh”, is one of the most distinguishing qualities of the 17th century’s Roman culture.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.