Naturalism's Legacy in the Mid-Twentieth-Century Italian Actor

In 1929, in his well-known book, Silvio D’Amico declared the decline of the "grand actor", who was replaced by what he considered as his degeneration: the mattatore. In 2009, Andrea Mancini affirmed the return of that amazing nineteenth-century acting phenomenon, which he identified in the first generation of actors trained at National Academy of Dramatic Art. But apart from those who attended the Academy, during the first half of Twentieth Century the Italian theatre produced many other skilful performers who might be equally considered as the “grand actor’s” heirs. The paper will further investigate whether such an inheritance exists and if traces of the prior naturalistic tradition, that some “grand actors” had embodied, can be found in the craft of the leading Italian artists at the beginning of last century.Through the analysis of their attitudes and techniques, signs of continuity or rupture with the past will be indentified in order to outline the possible developments of the pr

In 1929, in his well-known book, Silvio D’Amico declared the decline of the "grand actor", who was replaced by what he considered as his degeneration: the mattatore. In 2009, Andrea Mancini, echoing back to D’Amico’s book title, affirmed the return of that amazing nineteenth-century acting phenomenon, which he identified in the first generation of actors trained at National Academy of Dramatic Art. But apart from those who attended the Academy, during the first half of Twentieth Century the Italian theatre produced many other skilful performers who might be equally considered as the “grand actor’s” heirs. The paper will further investigate whether such an inheritance exists and if traces of the prior naturalistic tradition, that some “grand actors” had embodied, can be found in the craft of the leading Italian artists at the beginning of last century. Through the analysis of their attitudes and techniques, signs of continuity or rupture with the past will be indentified in order to outline the possible developments of the previous practice.