Calisto: Scenic Conceptions in the Seventeenth Century

and Today

Jonathan Glixon

University of KentuckyGresham College, London

September 22, 2008

Torelli: Courtyard sets from

Bellerofonte and Venere gelosa

Tessin: drawing showing

decreasing size of flats

Krumlov Theatre (1766): Garden Scene

Krumlov Theatre (1766): Hall Scene

Teatro SS. Giovanni e

Paolo, detail of plan

(1691-93)

Teatro SS. Giovanni e

Paolo, detail of plan

(1691-93)

Torelli, Set for Bellerofonte, Act I, Scene 1

Torelli, Set for Bellerofonte, Act III, Scene 8

Krumlov Theatre (1766): Sets and slots in stage

Fano Theatre (18th century): Cross-section with flats and trolleys

Krumlov Theatre: Trolleys on tracks

Krumlov Theatre: Scene-changing mechanism

Scenery for Calisto LIBRETTOThe Grotto of Eternity

Arid Wilderness

ForestThe Peak of Mount Liceo

The Plain of Erimanto

The Fountains of Ladone

The Empyrean

Scenery for Calisto LIBRETTOThe Grotto of Eternity

Arid Wilderness

ForestThe Peak of Mount Liceo

The Plain of Erimanto

The Fountains of Ladone

The Empyrean

ACCOUNT BOOKthe grotto of eternity

the arid wilderness with the fountain,

the peaks of Mt. Liceo,

the plain of Erimanto

the fountains of Ladone

Scenery for Calisto LIBRETTOThe Grotto of Eternity

Arid Wilderness

ForestThe Peak of Mount Liceo

The Plain of Erimanto

The Fountains of Ladone

The Empyrean

ACCOUNT BOOKthe grotto of eternity, with a

backdropthe arid wilderness with the

fountain, with backdrop

the peaks of Mt. Liceo, with backdrop

the plain of Erimanto

the fountains of Ladone with open backdrop

Scenery for Calisto LIBRETTOThe Grotto of Eternity

Arid Wilderness

ForestThe Peak of Mount Liceo

The Plain of Erimanto

The Fountains of Ladone

The Empyrean

ACCOUNT BOOKthe grotto of eternity, with a

backdropthe arid wilderness with the

fountain, with backdrop

the peaks of Mt. Liceo, with backdrop

the plain of Erimanto without backdrop

the fountains of Ladone with open backdrop

Scenery for Calisto LIBRETTOThe Grotto of Eternity

Arid Wilderness

ForestThe Peak of Mount Liceo

The Plain of Erimanto

The Fountains of Ladone

The Empyrean

ACCOUNT BOOKthe grotto of eternity, with a

backdropthe arid wilderness with the

fountain, with backdrop, and without backdrop

the peaks of Mt. Liceo, with backdrop and without backdrop

the plain of Erimanto without backdrop

the fountains of Ladone with open backdrop

Scenery for Calisto LIBRETTOThe Grotto of Eternity

Arid Wilderness

ForestThe Peak of Mount Liceo

The Plain of Erimanto

The Fountains of Ladone

The Empyrean

ACCOUNT BOOKthe grotto of eternity, with a

backdropthe arid wilderness with the

fountain, with backdrop, and without backdrop

the peaks of Mt. Liceo, with backdrop and without backdrop

the plain of Erimanto without backdrop

the fountains of Ladone with open backdrop

The Empyrean, of clouds above and below

Apotheosis from Germanico sul Reno

(1676)

• The “meraviglioso” was a central concept in Baroque poetry and theatre

• «opere musicali con meravigliose mutationi di scena, comparse maestose e ricchissime, machine e voli mirabilis; vedendosi per ordinario risplendenti cieli, citadi, mari, reggie, palazzi, boscaglie, foreste ed altre vaghe e dilettevoli apparenze»¹

• (“Musical works with marvellous changes of scene, majestic and sumptuous vehicles, wonderful machines and flights; splendid skies, towns, seas, kingdoms, palaces, woods, forests and various other delightful apparitions presented as everyday sights”).[1]

•[1] Francesco Sansovino, Venetia Città Nobilissima et Singolare, Venice 1663, p. 397.

• do modern stagings of Seicento operas and of baroque operas in general still retain that dimension of the “meraviglioso”?

Example 1

• Busenello-Cavalli’s Didone

• Venice, La Fenice theatre

• September 2006

• The production was conducted by Fabio Biondi and staged by the Design Department of Venice University [IUAV].

• Design for Juno in Didone

Venice, La Fenice Theatre, 13 September 2005

• Sketches for the character of Dido in Didone

Venice, La Fenice Theatre, 13 September 2005

Didone, Act 1, scene 3

Venice, La Fenice Theatre, 13 September 2005

Didone, Act 2, scene 9

Didone, Act 2, scene 9Didone, Act 3, scene 7

The gods have informed Enea that he must leave Dido

• static images vs. images in motion

• painting vs. cinema

• Slow vs. fast

Example 2

• Gli amori di Apollo e Dafne

• Fano, Teatro della Fortuna

• Festival barocco 1998

• Director: Pier Luigi Pizzi

• Conductor: Alessandro de Marchi

• Gli amori di Apollo e Dafne

• The transformation of Daphne into a bay tree

Fano, La Fortuna Theatre, 1998

• Gianlorenzo Bernini

• Apollo e Dafne

Fano, La Fortuna Theatre, 1998

Example 3

• Calisto by Giovanni Faustini and Francesco Cavalli

• Brussels, Theatre La Monnaie

• 1996

• Director: Herbert Wernicke

• Conductor: René Jacobs

Example 4

• La favola d’Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi

• Kent Opera

• 1976

• Director: Jonathan Miller

From Jonathan Miller, Subsequent performances. 1986

From Jonathan Miller, From Jonathan Miller, Subsequent performances. 1986Subsequent performances. 1986

From Jonathan Miller, From Jonathan Miller, Subsequent performances. 1986Subsequent performances. 1986

From Jonathan Miller, Subsequent performances. 1986

Barcelona, Liceu, Deflo/SavallBarcelona, Liceu, Deflo/Savall

Example 4

• Giulio Cesare by Handel

• Bologna, Comunale Theatre

• 2003

• Director: Luca Ronconi

• Conductor: Rinaldo Alessandrini

Elizabeth Taylor at the opera

• Centrality of the words versus pantomime acting

• «.... cette action dramatique doit cependant pouvoir être comprise par les yeux comme l’action d’un ballet»

• (»...the dramatic action of a grand opera should be understood through vision, as is that of a ballet»).[1]

•[1] Véron, Mémoires, III, 352 (1853).

• Do modern stagings of Baroque operas still retain the dimension of Meraviglioso?

• How is possible to put together historically oriented performances and size of modern theaters?

• How can we put together historic reconstruction and modern audience different perception ?– Listening habits

• Centrality of the words vs. pantomime acting– Visual habits

• Static images vs. images in motion – New Value system

• Absence of the gods• Happy ending vs. Fidelity to literary sources

• How can we create a modern equivalent?

Un modellino di scena di Carlo Centolavigna per

Mefistofele