Department of French and Italian

Teatro italiano del Seicento e del Settecento [Italian theatre of the 17th- and 18th-century] This course will examine the Italian theatre of the early modern period, from the rise of the Commedia dell'Arte in the mid 1500s to its decline in the 1700s. We will discuss the theoretical and practical implications of the improvisational style of theatre pioneered by the Commedia, the impact of the emergence of modern professional theatre, and the development of Baroque theatre as a multimedia experience. While Commedia will remain at the heart of the discourse, we will examine how other styles (like religious and erudite theatre) responded to the next performative landscape. When it comes to the 1700s, we will see how Goldoni attempted to reform the Commedia and replace it with fully-scripted, bourgeois theatre, and how (ironically) his failed project led him to create some of the great masterpieces of Italian theatre. Class discussions will be in English. Reading knowledge of Italian is required.

FRIT-M 504    # 13619           Th         12:00P–2:00P           Prof Marco Arnaudo