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This volume of Twentieth-Century Italian Drama covers the period spanning from the end of the nineteenth century to that immediately following World War II, displaying the rich breadth of Italian theater in the modern age, from the comedic legacy carried on by such writers as Eduardo De Filippo to the delicate tragedy of playwrights like Federigo Tozzi.
Included are seven full-length plays, five one-act plays, one variety sketch, and three futurist sintesi (sketches). Brief introductions preceding each play contextualize the piece within the various movements in Italian theater, and biographies of the editors and translators appear at the end of the volume. An extensive bibliography offers many suggestions for further reading in English.
The playwrights included are Gabriele D'Annunzio, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, Ettore Petrolini, Raffaele Viviani, Pier Maria Rosso di San Secondo, Federigo Tozzi, Massimo Bontempelli, Achille Campanile, Italo Svevo, Luigi Pirandello, Eduardo De Filippo, and Ugo Betti.
List of contents
Gabriele d'Annunzio
A Spring Morning's Dream (1897), by Translated by Anthony Oldcorn
Filippo Tommaso Marinetti
Connecting Vessels (1916), by Translated by Jane House
They Are Coming (1915), by Translated by Victoria Nes Kirby
Feet (1915), by Translated by Victoria Nes Kirby
Ettore Petrolini
Fortunello (1915), by Translated by Jane House
Music for Fortunello
Raffaele Viviani
Via Toleda by Night (1918), by Translated from the Neopolitan-Italian by Martha King
Music for Via Toledo by Night
Pier Maria Rosso di San Secondo
Puppets of Passion (1918), by Translated by Jane House
Federigo Tozzi
The Casting (1919), by Translated by Gisolfi D'Aponte and Jane House
Massimo Bontempelli, by Translated by Anthony Oldcorn
Dea by Dea (1925), by Translated by Anthony Oldcorn
Music for Dea by Dea
Achille Campanile
The Inventor of the Horse (1925), by Translated by Laurence Senelick
Italo Svevo
With Guilded Pen (1926), by Translated by Anthony Oldcorn
Alternative Versions and Dialogue Fragments
Luigi Pirandello
Why? (1892), by Translated by Jane House
Tonight We Improvise (1930), by Translated, with notes, by J. Douglas Campbell and Leonard G. Sbrocchi
Eduardo De Filippo
The Nativity Scene (1931-36), by Translated and adapted from the Neapolitan-Italian by Anthony Molino with Paul F
Alternate Version of Act 3, by Translated by Anthony Molino
Ugo Betti
Crime on Goat Island (1946), by Translated by Henry Reed
Alberto Savinio
Emma B. Widow Jocasta (1949), by Translated by Martha King
Bibliography
Contributors
About the author
Edited by Jane House and Antonio Attisani
Summary
This work explores the best of contemporary Italian theatre, from Luigi Pirandello to Massimo Bontempelli. It covers the period from the end of the 19th century to the aftermath of World War II, and includes a number of translations of plays never before published in English.
