"Chi soffre speri" and the influence of the Commedia dell'arte on the development of Roman opera
Publisher
The University of Arizona.Rights
Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.Abstract
Chi soffre speri (1637, 1639) was twice produced by the Barberini family as part of the festivities surrounding the yearly Roman Carnival. The opera's music resulted from a collaboration between two composers, Virgilio Mazzocchi and Marco Marazzoli. The librettist for the opera was Giulio Rospigliosi, and Gianlorenzo Bernini designed sets for the 1639 Act II intermedio, La Fiera di Farfa. The extensive influence of the Commedia dell'arte, most evident in the use of masked characters, distinguishes Chi soffre speri from its operatic predecessors. The Commedia borrowings affected the musical and textual style of Chi soffre speri, resulting in a merging of the dramatic traditions of opera and the Commedia dell'arte. The popularity of the Commedia dell'arte in Rome and the city's unique cultivation of a dramatic sub-genre known as the Commedia ridicolosa may help explain why this fusion of opera and the Commedia dell'arte occurred there in the late 1630s.Type
textThesis-Reproduction (electronic)
Degree Name
M.M.Degree Level
mastersDegree Program
Graduate CollegeMusic and Dance