Francesco Algaroti and Francesco Milizia PDF
Francesco Algaroti and Francesco Milizia PDF
Francesco Algaroti and Francesco Milizia PDF
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In the early part of the eighteenth century, in Venice, Carlo Lodoli, a scholar-
priest, established an early argument for functionalism in art with his call for a general
reform of the architectural design practices of his day. There has been much debate, in
light of the French hegemony in theories of art during the period, as to the originality of
Lodoli's concepts. Among Lodoli's many disciples stand two, Francesco Algarotti(l712-
64) and Francesco Milizia (1725-98), both of whom became famous for their
treatises published throughout the middle of the century. The similarities in, and far-
reaching success of their treatises, argues for the existence and importance of a school
The purpose of this thesis is to examine the ways in which Algarotti and Milizia
applied a new functionalist artistic criticism to what they perceived as one of their
society's oldest and most important institutions: the theatre. Both men viewed the
society and, in their respective treatises, Saggio sopra I'opera in musica(1755)and Del
Teatro(f772),they brought their architecturally conceived sense of order to bear on
analyses of the theatre as a physical space and as an event. This thesis analyzes
Algarotti's and Milizia's dissection of the theatre event and their creation of rules meant
to guide the process of design and production thereby returning the practice of theatre
List of Illustrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Chapter I:
Algarotti and Architectural Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Chapter II:
Algarotti: Theories of Drama in the Opera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Chapter Ill:
Francesco Milizia and Theories of Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Chapter IV:
Milizia and Dramatic Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Appendix:
Translation of Francesco Milizia's Treatise
on Theatre, including illustrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Subject Page
century, Emst Cassirer in his The Philosophy of the Enlightenment refers to the period
a s the "age of criticism." This well-known work, of course, addresses the literary
discourse of the period and its relation to philoscphy. Much research has been
published since which examines the new critical stance which was applied in debates
raging across all of the arts, including painting, sculpture, architecture and theatre. A
sense of the interdependence of these arts with philosophy had permeated the
question of the place of the arts in society at the time, bringing together different
threads with the intention of intertwining them within the unity of nature.
There is, first the fundamental propensity of the century toward a clear
and sure ordering of details, toward formal unification and strict logical
concentration. The various threads which in the course of the centuries
had been spun by literary criticism and aesthetic contemplation are to be
woven together into one fabric. The material offered in such abundance
by poetics, hetoric, and the theory of the fine arts is now to be ordered
and arranged from unified points of view . . . A correlation is now sought
1
between the context of philosophy and that of art; and an affinity is
maintained which appears at first to be dimly felt for the expression in
precise and definite concepts.*
The expressive quality of Baroque art, as presented in the rationalistic debates of the
late seventeenth and early eighteenth century, was anathema to an ordering of the arts
and society in accordance, not only with the laws of nature, but with the classical ideals
of good taste which were to be firmly established by the 1760's with the publication of
W inckelmann's Geschichte der Kunst des Alterfhums (History of Ancient Ad). With
regard to the playful nature of Baroque style in general, I refer to the abandonment of
verisimilitude across the arts in an attempt to produce the marvelous in design. For the
power of an entire generation of architects associated with the rationalist theories of Fra
3 ~ o En'ksen,
y Contexts of Baroque, p.8.
model of society. They lived "in an age of repression, which was fearful,
even when it was practiced by enlightened despots." The reform of
architecture gave them a field of practical activity in which rationality, the
desire for a hannony of thought (of rational thought in particular) with
action was possible, without fear of prosecution. The aim of such
reforming activity was a better, a more consequent. a purer architecture:
and society, some of them hoped, would somehow follow the model
which had been operated in building. Such ideas certainly inspired some
of Lodoli's followers?
to be sold in the bookshops of Paris. The book became an immediate success? In the
preface to their introduction to an English translation of the Essai, Wolfgang and Anni
Hermann explain the reasons for the far reaching success and the contributions that
this work made in the history of westem architectural theory. This one work, among
many, has kept the author's name alive until the present day. The Herrnanns point out
that many critics consider much of the work borrowed from an earlier treatise by J.L.
de Cordemoy, the Nouveau traite de toute /'architecture. Even if this were true, the
original observations in the Essai argue for the dominance of French theory in the
eighteenth century artistic debate. Laugier is lauded by the Hermanns over Cordemoy
5"lt was reviewed in all the important journals of the day and by all the leading literary critics."
Marc-Antoine Laugier, An Essay on Architecture, Trans. Wolfgang and Anni Herrnann, xi.
-
Cordemoy to set out in the preface, the introduction and the first chapter
in clear and systematic form a precise program of the architecture to
come. He had something to say that needed to be said at that moment.*
This final point is of great importance in the argument that is to come. The Herrnanns
are quite adamant in asserting that the French society of the day was receptive to
Laugier's call for a simpler, more natural artistic f o m as a reaction against the waning
of the rococo7.Laugier's contribution to the history of art then is legitimized by the fact
that "it was written at exactly the right time." Ten years in either direction would have
made the work irrelevant. Certainly ten years later, as the Herrnanns argue, would have
been far too late, for, by then, neoclassicism had established itself as an artistic
I have spoken of Cordemoy and Laugier for a variety of reasons. Firstly, their
publications in France are examples of the debate that began in the late seventeenth
century which was carried throughout the eighteenth with regard to the place of the arts
in society, the place of nature in the arts, and the use of reason in artistic creation.
painting and sculpture (especially as championed by Algarotti and Milizia), the treatises
left behind by these two celebrated architects can be considered repositories of the
cutting edge of French theory of the period in question. Finally, the fact that their ideas
71n his determination to purge and invigorate the tradition of architecture by a return to sources.
he was led to entertain the idea that the basis of all architecture should be envisaged as the rustic hut,
a hut stark and almost natural in its forms. Middleton and Watkin. Neoclassical and 19th Century
Architecture, p.21.
have developed a cult status which is venerated offers an opportunity to append to the
record information indicating that the work of these designers was occurring
Henanns, both in this translation and in their examination of Laugier's work, Laugier
and Eighteenth Century French Theory, place the French contribution to this debate at
the head of the class, a class which included, amongst others, a group of Italians who
saw themselves as a creative force in the trans-national drive to reform their society at
both the social and the artistic level. Amongst these theorists I am isolating two,
Francesco Algarotti and Francesco Milizia, who are, representative of the culmination
of the Italian contribution of thought during the European Enlightenment. Both men
were architecturally trained and, with the rational minds of architects, envisioned
reforms of architectural and genersl artistic practices that gave shape to a more
purposefulfunctioning of the arts and sciences in society. Both brought to bear a critical
approach towards design which, when applied to what they interpreted as the corrupt
and distasteful results of bad practice, dissected the function of the product so that an
appropriate form could be developed. By the 1760's Venturi claims that the most
exciting developments of the Italian Enlightenment had been given the necessary
classicism as an artistic concept and this event is known to have had a major impact
Saggio sopra I'opera in musica which was written by him in 1755, and this work, among
others, is largely the inspiration for Milizia's later treatise, Del Teatro of 1772.
Architectural theory was thriving at this time in the entire peninsula, from north
to south. The existence of long-standing building traditions was encoded in the living
textbook of the clty streets. Into this environment ideas regarding building materials and
functions were given additional weight through the presence of foreign artists. These
men applied new critical approaches to the study of Italian architecture. Aware of their
achievements, Italian theorists developed methods to further analyze both the design
and location of a public building, as defined by Vitruvius, within the urban fabric; the
end result of a long history of urban analysis that began with the Roman street
renovations of Pope Sixtus V. This allowed them to examine the functionality of the
structure itself as it related to the environment and to the customs of the society that
used it. The resultant school of thought, producing the works of Algarotti and Milizia,
In a unique MA thesis which stands as one of very few'' recent analyses of the
issues which informed the architectural debate in the age of Enlightenment. Questions
'O~anno- alter Kruft obselves in his recent History of Ardtitechrral7heorythat "in the eighteenth
century, Italy opened itself up to an international debate for which there had seemed little occasion until
well into the seventeenth century. An account of Italian architectural theory during the Settecento has,
however, not been attempted to date." Hanno-Walter Kruft, A History of Architectural Theory, p. 194.
7
definitive characteristics for beauty, taste or proportion, of giving quantifiable values and
fixed rules for evolving technologies, and of defining the very foundation of building."ll
These questions were made possible by the new move towards empirical observation
established by Sir Isaac Newton, whose work had great impact on all discourse in the
Enlightenment, in which it was argued that the world could indeed be known rationally.
Into this mix was added the work of Fra Carto Lodoli (1690-1761) whose unique
contributions to the world of architectural theory are relevant for the real influence they
had on the development of treatises produced by Algarotti and Milizial*. Lodoli broke
with architectural tradition claiming that the architecture of his time was fundamentally
wrong.
Lodoli's all-encompassing approach was novel in its systematic elimination of all that
was irrational from design. The techniques he applied would later be repeated by his
disciples when envisioning any building for public use. His work, then, speaks against
the Henanns' hypothesis that the architectural discourse of the Italian Enlightenment
should be classified as either totally derivative or incidental to that of the French. The
11
-
Joanne Paul, Of Substantiating Nature, pp. ii iii.
vitality of Lodoli's ideas, infused in the teaching of his functionalist school, in turn
energized the intellectual achievement of two of its primary proponents. It was primarily
through Algarotti that Lodoli's ideas have come down to us, and Milizia is clearly
isolated genius of Lodoli, then, which establishes the uniqueness of the Italian
functionalist contribution to the architectural debate of the eighteenth century, but the
contributions of those who utilized and applied his theories to the changing
Milizia stand out for their abilities to address a social phenomenon, the theatre, in its
entirety as both physical space, and dramatic and social event. They combined the
results of their architectural training with an understanding of the need for reform in the
theatre and, by extension, society of their day. In so doing they create and define the
role of the Architect-Poet, an individual imbued with the talents necessary for a total
reform of the theatre. There had, of course, been previous Italian examples of
architects with poetic aspirations such as Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) the great
architect, sculptor, designer, actor and author of plays such as I due teatri and
created systems that dictated rules for dramatic and architectural reform.
The age of reason had ushered in a new need to question the accepted tenets
of the ancients in such fields as literature and architecture. Disciples of Lodoli were
14
Laura Visconti explores Bemini's association with theatre in her essay, Bemini in the Theatre.
Published in Roy Eriksen's Contexts of Baroque, pp.219-237.
9
following his lead in applying a rationalistic argument to the revered work of Vitruvius,
which itself could no longer be accepted at face value. Algarotti and Milizia were to use
this same approach in their respective analyses of Aristotelian rules for tragedy,
attempting to find the true place of dramatic representation in their society by breaking
the work into categories and reinterpreting the function of the independent part with
respect to its place in the whole. In so doing they codified rules for a relativefy new
genre, opera, which had an important status in the Europe of their day. The tools at
their disposal for this ante litteram "deconstruction" of the theatre were found within the
training provided to them, within the debates raging in the publications of the
academies, and in direct contact with fellow architects and theatre practitioners.
who was also an intimate of Mengs'.15 The contribution of the academies in applying
sense of interrelationship between different disciplines and their impact on society. The
academies in Italy facillated contact between diverse groups which, in turn, created an
expansiveness of thought that would bring new perspectivesto bear in problem solving,
constricting the potential for new theoretical approaches which a narrower point of view
could not. Such a marriage of practices was evident, for example, in Venice where
steps were being made towards social renewal on various fronts and where the great
151n his preface to The History of Ancient Art, written in Rome in 1763, Winckelmann writes: 'The
History of Art I dedicate to Art and the Age, and especially to my friend, Antonio Raphael Mengs.'
W inckelmann, The History of Ancient Art, p. 1 17.
10
With Francesco Algarotti, we see the products of a fertile mind that sought out
In his architectural treatises, as in his other work, he takes the approach of melding
different traditions. This personal style has led architectural theorists to criticize
the theories of his master, Algarotti prepared the Saggio sopra I'architettura (1756) on
the condition that neither Lodoli nor his close associate, Memmo, would interfere with
the textual output. The result was a work which, while focusing on Lodoli's design
concepts, is noted as placing Algarotti outside of the Lodolian circle because it mingles
Laugier's concept of the primitive hut with Lodoli's functionalist argument. The result
was an ambiguous line of thought which was "neither purely rigorist nor functionalist nor
natura~ist."'~
it has been commented on by Rykwert that Algarotti retained his master's
ta~tes."'~
design. Writing his Del Teatro in 1772, he demonstrates his familiarity with the ideology
of the architectural master. He also shows a deep affinity with Algarotti, regarding ideas
related to the reform of building design and of dramatic practices cursing the Italian
16paui,v.
" ~ a u l , 8.
both theorists to attempt to correlate as issues the design of theatre, the function of
drama, and the place of theatre, as event and as structure, at the heart of society. Their
approaches are strikingly similar in spite of the sixteen years that separated their two
treatises on theatre. Apart from the connection to Lodoli himself, there was much
encouraged Algarotti and Milizia to propose reforms for an event that was nourished
by developments in all of these disciplines. This was the period of the "reform opera,"
which produced Calzabigi's and Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice in 1762, seven years after
Algarotti's Saggio sopra I'opera in musica, and a few years before Milizia's Del Teatro.
against Baroque artistic conventions. Algarotti's and Milizia's analyses of the theatre as
both event and structure are at the heart of the uniqueness of this contribution.
Both Milizia and Algarotti demonstrated a diversity of interests that were typical
to the general philosophy of their age which, nurtured by Cartesian doubt, accepted
Newton's empirical methods as universally valid.'' Their class gave them the resources
of higher learning and travel while the intellectual movement of the time ensured that
19"
The influence of Newton paved the way for the systematization and mathematization of
knowledge, a knowledge that held that immutable, mathematical laws could be derived from the
observation of natural phenomena, and that would eventually take on the form of nineteenth-century
positivism."
From Alberto Perez-Gomez, Architecture and the Crisis of Modem Science, p.11.
12
rnindedness associated with limited intellectual horizons.20 The old forces were still at
work in the politically motivated building schemes in the Kingdom of Naples where the
form of the construction was dictated by the need to make an impression of dynastic
strength. Luigi Vanvitelli (1700-1773), for example, in outlining his work on the royal
rebelling against this heritage of Baroque design flourish, Algarotti and Milizia
developed artistic visions that emphasized the rational and the democratic. Both were
also convinced that the presence of an enlightened ruler would be the best possible
guarantee of seeing reforms executedp Milizia further argues that it could only be
philosophers who were to be the arbiters of taste, thus demonstrating that his beliefs
agree with those of the enlightened French physiocrats who used the term "enlightened
despotism" to indicate an absolute respect on the part of the ruler for the objective
20vanPelt and Westfall, in their Architectural Principles in the Age of Historicism, speak of the
development of a trans-European cosmopolitanism that created a society with "ties of kinship and
patronage criss-crossing Europe," offering many opportunities for the exchange of ideas. (p. 17)
2' 'The never executed oval forecourt and cifld nuova, whose gigantic blocks of houses were
intended to adopt the proportions of the palace itself, are illustrated, thus disguising the fact that the
economically weak Southern Italian monarchy had overreached itself in undertaking such a project.'
From Kruft's A History of Architectural fheory, p. 196.
P"~ousseau'sdemocratic ideas were exceptional and even he agreed that monarchy was probably
the best form of government for a large country. Most writers believed that the most effective way of
achieving reforms was through the activity of a powerful ruler who was wise enough to heed the
counsels of men like the philosophes.
From Garland, Grimsley, Preston, White, The Age of Enlightenment, p.20.
context of the European Enlightenment, Franco Venturi raises questions regarding what
constituted the idea of the enlightened cosmopolite in the period that was framed by
Fontanelle's humane use of the word in 1722 and Pietro Vem's more nationalist
It was the work of men who were aware that they had elements in
common, who sought and created new forms of organization and action,
who thought and worked in terms of these and who, on each occasion,
creatsd an awareness of their owr, activity in the world which surrounded
them and a consciousness of the place which they occupied in society
and history.''
The work of these men was given impetus by the motivational forces of the new
concept of reason. This concept was not based on the seventeenth century perception
of reason, which supported universal truths that connected man and God, but on true
principles characterize the work of the two theorists at hand; Algarotti and Milizia. Thus,
What reason is, and what it can do, can never be known by its results but
only by its function. And Its most important function consists in its power
to bind and to dissolve. It dissolves everything merely factual, all simple
data of experience, and everything believed on the evidence of
revelation, tradition and authority; and it does not rest content until it has
analyzed all these things into their simplest component parts and into
their last elements of belief and opinion. Following this work of dissolution
begins the work of construction. Reason cannot stop with the dispersed
parts; it has to build from them a new structure, a true whole. But since
special relevance to this study. The impact of The New Science (1725) cannot be
underestimated in the case of the school of theorists aligned with Lodoli. Lodoli himself,
a friend of Vico's, attempted to have the work published in Venice and disseminated
the knowledge contained therein to his students. Mixed with his argument for
functionalism and in light of the growing awareness that Italian culture was unique,
although slipping from a position of respectabiltty, The New Science provided much of
the ground work necessary to the analysis of that cutture with respect to its man-made
social institution^.^' Clearly, Algarotti, Milizia, and the group of reformers surrounding
them incorporated into their analyses of the theatre a Viconian attempt to return to the
beginnings of theatre in the hopes that an exposition of original function could shed
light on modem-day excess. Viconian thought thus becomes inseparable from the
revolution initiated by his axiom that "every theory must start from the point where the
n~ico'sdeduction from this was quite original and had the profoundesteffect. If the objects of our
knowledge, as far as the natural sciences are concerned, exist as part of divine creation, the objects of
our historical knowledge are more 'knowable," since they are made by man in the first place. History
must therefore be a more proper object of scientific investigation than physical nature."
Rykwert, The First Modems, p.281.
With regard to the literary scene, Lodovico Antonio Muratori had long before
initiated a new and bitter debate in ltalian and international circles with respect to the
superiority and inferiority of the different genres of literature. The debate took tangible
form in his major work of 1706, Della perfetta poesia italiana, which was spoken about
in most academic circles in the country. An important consequence of this work was its
singling out of the operatic theatre as a new form, an ltalian form, that, unfortunately
was rife with defects. These defects, in tum, negatively affected its ability to put forward
ideals and values necessary for the well-being of society. Muratori's criticism of the
the tragic genre, its defects being associated with its inability to subscribe to the rules
associated with that genre. His work is seminal, providing the groundwork for an ltalian
philosophical debate which eventually produces the mileau from which Algarotti and
Milizia, half a century later, will pull ideas. It is clear, of course, that their reforms of the
theatre, especially as advocated by Milizia, had to take into account the changes in
practices that had been effected through the work of such practitioners as Calzabigi
and Gluck. Such developments, however, had to be interpreted from the point of view
eighteenth century Italy was clouded by yet another development: the acute
awareness, by Italians, that ltalian military and diplomatic power had been eclipsed in
Europe. Direct connections were being made by ltalian intellectuals, such as Algarotti,
f7
between the force of arms and the force of ideas? Thus, Muratori's demand for a
countrymen, was published and read in various periodicals that were springing up
across the continent, feeding into a font of general knowledge as well as drawing from
it; contributing to an exchange of ideas, and creating links between countries that
colored thought in an imported and exported form. In Italy, the arrival of such ideas in
the journals led to the gradual slipping away of the ethics of the Counter-Reformation,
"giving way to new collective values which were less religious and pessimi~tic."~
By the beginning of the eighteenth century the French had gained a hegemony
over artistic matters that included literature, performance and architecture. Wolfgang
Herrnann points out that Laugier has been accused of plagiarizing the work of Lodoli.
The classic quotation is taken from the work of Andrea Memmo who, as mentioned
previously, also published a work on Lodoli's theories." Herrnann indicates that the
charges are absurd and implies that French architectural theory was capable of
standing on its own even to the point of insisting that "it was highly naive of Memmo to
29~lgarotti1s Letters on the Military Science of Machiavelli and his Discorsi militari were
translated into English under the title: Letters-Military and Politikal. Iam using the second English edition
of 1784.
'" see Andrea Memmo, Elementidarchitettura kdoliana, ossia I'arte del fabbricare con solidita
scientifica e con eleganza non capn'ccosa (Zara, 1834). Tomo I, p 248, note 5.
believe that a French author would look for a Messiah in the person of an Italian
phil~sopher."~~
It is not the purpose of this dissertation to prove or refute the charges
laid against the supporters of Lodoli by critics such as Hermann. What is germane is
the fact that the need to defend in itself points to the importance of the aesthetic
observations regarding the functioning of the arts and philosophy within society clearly
existed at the time. This being said, it is also true that many Italian intellectuals looked
Francesco Algarotti, for example, spent many years studying scientific and artistic
himself with intellectuals and political figures who could help him develop an
understanding of social reform and political freedoms that could be applied to his own
society back home. Such flexibility of thought in the time of the rising nation state is
clearly something that distinguishes the work of Italian intellectuals of the eighteenth
century. As a natural and enriching cultural phenomenon this approach has many
benefits.
- ~
32~errnann,
p 161.
33
Jose Ortega y Gasset, Phenomenology and AH, p.26.
19
As a further impetus to the general realization that a social overhaul was
required for the benefls of the arts and sciences in Italy, national shame had a
motivating effect. The idea that ltaly contained a group of petty and corrupt states was
current in important travel literature of the time; literature that was being translated and
support the impression that Italian artistic and political institutions were characterized
and are considered by Venturi to be the most notable example of these attacks. The
work contrasts the glories of ancient ltaly with the "extreme misery and poverty that are
inmost of the Italian governments,'" paying homage to Bumett for his earlier
impotence, and the fact that both Algarotti and Milizia surrounded themselves with
foreign dignitaries, it becomes relevant that they often articulate their call for artistic
reform in military language. Therefore, the desire to emulate advances in the arts and
considered as yet another of the forces which led to Algarotti's and Milizia's
examinations of theatre as a socializing event. "They [Italians] were aware of their own
culture of the Encyclopedie for the means with which to overthrow the decadence they
ways of thinking by exposing the relationship between the arts and sciences and
society, then it is clear that the work had great bearing on the interests of both Atgarotti
and Milizia. Both reformers published their treatises on the relationship of theatre and
society after Diderot's masterpiece had been widely distributed. In fact, by the 1760's.
coherent and consistent manner. In Italy alone he presents a long list of reformist
can be counted the Accademia dei Pugni in Milan, the Letioni di commercio of Antonio
collaborate with him in the Corsican rebellion, the work by Carlantonio Pilati, Di una
rifonna d'ltalia, etc.? In all of these reformist movements, enlightened thought was
being applied in the assessment of the causes of the rise of particular social
phenomena, its development and its decadence. Pieces of the whole of traditional
35~enturi,
Utopia and Reform in the Enlightenment, p. 125.
a manner congruent with a rational analysis of the logical function of these same
institutions. But, in some areas of ltaly, especially in the traditions of the ancient
republics, the need for social reform was different from that expressed in nations where
political freedoms were being fought for in different ways. Franco Venturi notes the
important distinction between the type of reforms needed in states born lacking in
political freedom and those with free foundations, such as Venice. In the latter:
stood the passivity, the complete incapacity for reform of the oligarchic
states, the lands dominated by the patriciates, countries which had been
born as free countries, which in a certain sense still were so, but which
by this time had witnessed the final estrangement from their structures,
constitutions and customs of the ideals of freedom of the century . . . The
revolts of the nobles would unleash revolution at the end of the century
in France, but it would be effective precisely because it would take place
on ground already prepared through the centuries of absolute
rnonarchie~?~
The distinction is not trivial, as the categories of social structures being examined in
ltaly demonstrate. For example, in ltaly, the development of the forms of theatre which
had a much longer and more socially significant history than in other nations. In the
literature of the period it is repeated over and over that, where ltaly had once led the
way in the arts, she now wallowed in a decadence which, partly a result of the need for
the reform of the stage event, was more dependent on the role of the audience and its
expectations in visiting the theatre. The quality of the experience was noted, particularly
by Jean-Jacques Rousseau who, during his stay in Venice, had to isolate himself from
37~enturi,
ltaly and the Enlightenment. p. 30.
his companions at the theatre, deserting their box so that he might find a place in the
audience from where he could see and hear the opera without intern~ption.~~
This
scenario is repeated again and again throughout the major opera houses of ltaly with
the result that, in Italy, "society life and the pleasure of conversation used the theatre
social engagement with the theatre is considered by Algarotti and Milizia, in their
theatrical treatises, to be cultural. Their call for a total reform of theatre is more
particularly a call for the reform of Italian theatre; a theatre with its own history, and its
own peculiarities. It is their ability to envision the theatre in its totality and to break it
down into its parts that distinguishes their work. Respected in his day, Algarotti, WiaS
able to influence the development of academies, art collections, and theatre design
and reform in his own and other countries. His impact was felt through the importance
of his published work but also by the magnitude of his connections with some of the
most remarkable people of his time. Milizia was also made famous while still alive, and
was known for the logic applied in his system of categorization. "As late as 1824
Thomas Jefferson could describe Milizia as the most reliable source on architectural
aesthetic^."^' The work of these two men, Milizia and Algarotti, when considered
together, demonstrates the existence of a school of thought, influenced by the
architectural principles of Carlo Lodoli but driven also by the need to create order in a
Jg~aussard.
p. 159.
40~ruft,
p.203.
23
provided by Vitruvius and Aristotle they questioned the state of theatre as a building
and as an event. Their desire was to return this instlution to its honoured position in
society, thereby allowing it to carry out its original function. Their reforms were of such
a nature that, while extolling the role of the poet as the unlfying force necessary to the
success of the enterprise, such a person would have had to possess a keen,
foundations both physically and materially. Both men embodied the abilities of the
Architect-Poet thus creating places for themselves in both architectural and dramatic
This dissertation thus uses the Lodolian idea of functionalism as the basis by
which Algarotti and Milizia dissect the theatre in respective treatises dedicated to
analyses of that social phenomenon. Both had previously utilized Lodoli's methodology
in breaking down the elements of architecture and both were to apply this methodology
traditions while examining the place of these traditions in the overall function of the
theatrical event. Their treatises on theatre, accordingly, are broken down into chapters
dealing with each specific element but always attempting to locate the element in the
greater whole with respect to its logical function. In doing this, much ancient wisdom
could be re-validated but much was also found to be irrelevant to the society of the mid-
eighteenth century. Clearly the treatment by both authors of the opera as man's highest
dramatic achievement bespeaks the need to single out this specific art form for special
Martello and Zeno in developing treatments of the types of theatre in which the opera
genre.
dramatic theory from that of architectural theory. In so doing, it remains faithful to their
conceptions of theatre, which incfude design as one of many parts, and yet separate
from the rest. As such, the present work is separated into four chapters each dedicated
and Milizia in their treatises. I deal with Algarotti first because his treatise on theatre
predates Milizia, whose own treatise is influenced by the work of the former.
CHAPTER I
In light of debate regarding the eclipse of Italian artistic hegemony in the early
eighteenth century, no person, perhaps, did more than Francesco Algarotti (1712-64)
and working in the peninsula. By the time that Winckelmann published his work on neo-
classicism, Algarotti had already penned the bulk of his treatises dealing with subjects
opportunist and dilettante in critical literature, both contemporary to his own and to our
times, it cannot be denied that this educated Italian cosmopolitan was respected by
some of the most active and influential minds of his day. Among these admirers can be
counted Frederick the Great of Prussia2,Tiepolo, Augustus Ill of Saxony and Poland,
and a host of others. In fact, after having published 11 Newtonismo spiegato alle donne
1
Francesco Algarotti, Preface to A n Essay on Painting, p. iv.
'count in 1740; since Algarotti was childless and likely to remain so, the title was also conferred
on his brother Bonomo and his heirs. Algarotti was a member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences and
in 1747 was made Court Chamberlain and decorated with the Order of Merit, the highest Prussian
decoration. Rykwert, The First Modems,p.330, note 45.
his presence at many of the most progressive courts in Europe was considered
(1737),
an honour. In 1740 he was invited by Frederick the Great to come to Berlin to become
a well-paid member of the Academy of Sciences and Letters, along with other
European intelle~tuals.~
"His writings were quickly translated and circulated throughout
the most important salons, often having more success abroad than in Italy? His works.
especially those dealing with a criticism of the arts, for generations after his death, were
Most of what can be said about Francesco Algarotti, with regard to his interests,
his talents, his connections, his charms, and his defects, can be deduced from his
selection of friends and his use of these people to help further his career in the upper
echelons of European society. He has left a vast amount of correspondence with some
of the most remarkable people of his time, many of whom treated him as a friend and
confidant. Algarotti was much involved with Voltaire whose Elements de Newton was
inspired by Algarotti's own I1 Newtonianismo per le dame. "Twice in their lives the two
authors found themselves together, the first time at Cirey for six weeks in the autumn
of 1735, then later for the period of Voltaire's stay in Berlin 1750-53."6Much of this
Upon taking the throne, 'the young king at once pledged himself to a policy of toleration, news
that shocked repressive fellow rulers. . . He invited the distinguished French mathematician Pierre Louis
de Maupertuis to head a reinvigorated Academy of Sciences and Letters, which was to be 'not for show
but for education.'
Robert B. Asprey, Frederickthe Great, p.145-146.
4
Paul, Of Substantiating Nature, p.7.
5~rancis Haskell mentions that Algarotti Would have been delighted to know that more than
thirty years after his death John Constable whiled away the long winter evenings by studying his works."
Haskell, Patrons and Painters, p.360.
6 ~Trevor
. Mason, 'Algarotti and Voltaire,' MtSlanges 9 la mdmoire de Franco Simone, p. 467.
27
information has already been chronicled by Ida Treat in her 1913 publication, Un
has been done by Robert Halsband on one of Algarotti's closest English connections,
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, which gives a penetrating insight into the motivational
force behind this cosmopolitan Italian as he wound his way through the lives and hearts
of the rich and famous of the eighteenth century. His relationship with Lady Mary, in
particular, demonstrates much about his desires and credibility in European intellectual
circles.
Often, it seems, since he lacked the prestige provided by a nation respected for its
force of arms, he had to promote himself among his cultural peers in a less than
Diaioghi sopra I'ottica newtonia (1 752), Francesco noted that Italians, as a culture,
possess a language that "is not, so to speak, either living or dead."'The irony should
not be lost that, while seeking to give greater credibility to his home country, in an
attempt at rectifying the impression that culture was incapable of modem thought, he
should stoop to syrupy sentimentalism with real-life characters who could have
populated the melodramas he criticized. Thus, his great contributions to dramatic theory
are coloured by the activities to which he resorted in order to get his message heard
I
Mario Puppo, Discussione Linguistiche dell Settecento, p.34.
28
With regard to the theory of drama, Algarotti demonstrates his cosmopolitan airs
Italian theories in the courts, and other rooms of power across the continent. In a way,
he can be considered a promoter of the work of the ltalian academies, several of which
he was able to create and strengthen networks between fellow Italian academics living
lives of voluntary exile on foreign soil. For example, Algarotti writes a report regarding
the work of Steffano Benedetto Pallavicini, Secretary, Adviser and Poet to the King of
Fermata sua abitazione in Dresda, egli si diede piu che mai allo studio
delle belle lettere e miglioro d'assai lo stile ch'era stato lungo terr po quasi
in bilco tra i vizi del secolo in cui era nato, e la virtu de' buoni autori
ch'erano gia risaliti in pregio in Italia, merce principalmente del Gravina
che fu un altro Galilei delle lettere umane!
His travels took him to the far reaches of Europe, including Russia, which he
1739. In his travel diary for the voyage, collected as a series of letters written to his
good friends Lord Hervey and the Marquis Scipione Maffei, he presents a critical
advocate of the new liberal ideas of the Enlightenment, especially as discussed and
practiced in England, where he had taken up residence in 1736, Algarotti pitied the
deals with the accounts of his voyage. He "speaks, for instance, of a 'dispotico irnperio'
. . . in which lives 'un popolo che ignora sino il nome deHa liberta' . . . 'i contadini sono
schiavi' and 'il padrone gli vende, come i f bestiame . . ."9
Algarotti had been born privileged. His family had a wealthy merchant
background in Venice. As such, he was able to attend the Universrty of Bologna where,
among other studies, he became proficient in English and French. This, in turn,
prepared him for the international circles he was to mix in when moving to Rome, where
his family had connections. Francesco's time in Rome catapulted him into the
international mileau that would forever change his life. He made good use of his
sojourn there. Halsband provides us with a list of Algarotti's acquaintances that sounds
'~ntonio Franceschetti, 'From the Travel Journal to the Viaggi di Russia of Algarotti.' The
Enlightenment in a Western Mediterranean Context, p. 1 0 1.
Entretiens sur la pluralite des mondes. At Cirey he easily impressed
Voltaire with his facility in writing verse and his knowledge of Locke and
Newton.Ta
of the Royal Society, and a week later was nominated for membership as 'A Gentleman
was elected to the Society of Antiquaries.'ll He used his connection with Voltaire to
meet Lord Hervey. Through Hewey, Algarotti met Walpole, the Queen, and eventually,
Lady Mary. He read to Lady Mary and Lord Hewey his Italian dialogues on Newton and
Halsband finds Algarotti of interest only as he pertains to the lives of Lady Mary
and Lord Hervey. Instead of discussing his work on Newton's Optics, he merely
mentions that they are a peripheral activity for Algarotti, taking him away from England
where he had found a place in the social lives of those of greater consequence. Thus,
in all his discussion of Algarotti, the only mention of his work is found in its unhappy
effect on the young Italian leaving England.13Instead, in his discussion of a series of ink
121daTreat, p. 70.
1381
During the summer Algarotti took stock of his situation. Although he was enchanted by
England, he decided to return to Italy for the publication of his dialogues, which had been as highly
praised in London as in Paris."
Halsband, p.155.
portraits done of Algarotti in England, Halsband describes the philosopher's demeanor
Halsband points out that Algarotti was capable of entering into relationships with
members of both sexes, including Lady Mary, possibly Voltaire, and most definitely
Hervey himself, who is known to have been fairly open with regard to his
indicated in Lord Hervey's romantic correspondence with the Italian that Hervey
Je suis, mon cher, dans une veritable affliction de ne vous voir plus; et il
faut bien que vous souffrez ['ennui de I'entendre dire une fois. puisque
vous ne le faites sentir mille fois par jour. Tout le rnonde me trouve d'une
humeur execrable, et me le dit tout net; pendant que je leur reponds avec
la meme sincerite, avouant que c'est vrai, et que c'est le depart de Monsr.
Algarotti qui en est la cause . . .IS
artistic position, has been criticized for its lack of commitment to any specific point of
view. It is this very willingness to adopt and transform ideas, however, for which he can
Montesquieu, is said to be the fruit of his dream for a European synthesis "in cui
l4 Halsband, p.156.
l5 Letter from Lord Hervey to Count Algarotti, September 20, 1736. From Kensington. In Hervey,
Lord Henley and his Friends, p.249.
32
potesse."16As a designer, his views are characterized by a reaction against what he
perceived as weakness in the ornate flourishes of late Baroque style. He believed, and
put into writing in his Saggio sopra I'opera in musica, that excesses in design do to the
building what equally senseless stage practices do to the integrity of the staged
representation." His work paved the way for a more austere neo-classical style that
would come into full light with a more public disclosure of the discoveries of antiquities
in Pompeii and Herculaneum in the 1760ts, a decade that Franco Venturi identifies as
the decisive period for the enlightenment in Italy; a decade that 'saw some of the most
such as Francis Haskell, who sums up in a few words the work of a prolific and
enterprising life: "He was a bourgeois, but the intimate friend of princes and patricians;
he toyed with 'enlightened' theories, but was closely tied to the old order; he was a
Venetian patriot of sorts, though rarely in Venice, and he was in touch with all the most
Saggio Sopra L'Architettura (1756), to lay down on paper the seminal work of Carlo
161nhis introduction to the Congrem, Arrnando Marchi uses Algarotti's dedication to Fontenelle
from his Newtonianismo per le dame, to demonstrate the writer's cosmopolitan sensibilities. F. Algarotti,
dedica Al Signor Bemardo di Fontanelle in Newtonianismo per le dame (Dialoghi sopra I'ottica
newtoniana), To rino, 1977, p.166. From Francesco Algarotti, /I Congresso di Citera, p.18.
17
The practice, for example, of seating spectators on the stage, created the impossibility of any
stage realism either in acting or scenic representation until 1759 at the Comedie- Fran~aisein Paris.
"Thanks largely to the propaganda of Voltaire, and the financial assistance of a benefactor, spectators
were finally removed [at that time].'
Barbara Mittman, Spectators on the Pans Stage in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, p.77.
lg~askell,
Patrons and Painters, p. 347.
33
Lodoli in the field of architectural design. If not totally faithful to the great man's
teachingsz0the treatise at least raised pertinent questions regarding the design and
of the multiple parts of a building had already been applied by Algarotti to the design
of the structure we call a theatre. The choice of this particular type of public building on
which to lavish so much of his attention was not arbitrary. Venice, Algarotti's hometown,
had a historical association with the development of theatre both as place and event.
issues rising out of the demands of theatre construction. In Venice alone, seven
theatres were built or reconstructed throughout the century.*' It is, thus, around
individual in society, or nature in the arts fulfils for him much the same function as a
In the Saggio sopra /'opera in musica Algarotti places his chapter on architecture
at the end. I, however, will treat of it first for a variety of reasons. First, in being placed
at the end, the chapter acts to sum up an entire functionalist argument regarding the
place of theatre in society. This is done primarily through the identification of the theatre
20"
Although Algarotti, the count, could not bring himself to renounce the glamor of the late
Baroque which he had experienced in all its modifications - in Roman grandeur and German grandiosity,
in Venetian exuberance and French refinement, as well as in the fanciful paraphrases of the great
English builders - it was to his credit that he understood, and even admired, the visionary ideas of Lodoli,
the friar."
Emit Kaufmann, "Piranesi. Algarotti and Lodoli," Gazette des Beaux-Arts, p.22.
edifice as the most visible and, therefore, tangible manifestation of the theatre
experience. Second, the chapter on architecture, together with the preceding chapter
on set design amount to a total of thirty five pages in the Davis edition of 1768. This
exceeds even the chapter regarding the unifying role of the poet, which amounts to a
dissects the opera as a complete event. An architect can also be a poet, but the
him, influences of extraordinary force. Again, it must be noted that Algarotti was one
of Lodoli's students at the monastery of San Francesco della Vigna in Venice. There,
mathematics and geometry as well as the fine arts and architecture."Algarotti could not
help but be influenced by direct exposure to the person who, in the New History of
architectural theorist."*' It is clear that his design principles and general sense of
-his school was run on the most advanced, modem lines. Lodoli's favourite authors were
Galileo and Bacon; he took his pupils to visit libraries and distinguished scholars. He brought them up
on Cicero and Puffendorf on the duties of man. And he had a brush with the Inquisitori di Stato because
he insisted on using State documents as suitable subject-matter for grammatical and literary
investigation. He was a keen admirer of Vico and he was among those who persuaded the Neapolitan
philosopher to write his Autobiography, which was first published in Venice."
Haskell, Patrons and Painters, p. 320.
23
Kruft, p.197.
Illustration 2: Villa Algarotti at Carpenedo di Mestre, by Francesco and Bonomo
Algarotti.
Venice Mestre. This building is said to have been designed by Francesco, together with
his father, and is described as: " a barochetto enough little building, with its Tuscan
cornices broken by attic windows, flat Tuscan pilasters, and wide pediment all too -
robust for the French taste of the time or indeed Francesco's own in a latter day."24
It was during is time with Lodoli that Algarotti began to apply a functionalist logic
applied the same principles to the theatre to rid the theatre-going experience, in its
musica (1755) which was to have a great influence on others attempting the reform of
treatise was already translated into and published in English by 1768, a mere six years
later. As Algarotti was to succumb to consumption a few years after the Italian printing,
What stands out clearly in Algarotti's work is the strong connection between his
architectural and theatrical treatises. His Saggio sopra I'architettura ends in much the
same way that his Essay on Opera begins. The rationale applied in the one leads
necessarily to the next with the lessons learned from architecture used to define ways
2 4 ~ r o r Rykwert,
n The First Modems, p. 330,note 52.
Where Algarotti focussed solely on the opera as a subject of study, Milizia was
later to borrow Algarotti's model and apply it to other dramatic genres. Regardless, both
were influenced in their initiatives and world outlook by the work of Muratori who had
himself written a good deal about the opera. Algarotti gives specific credit to Muratori
for initiating the debate which would occupy the peninsula for most of the century. It is
again no coincidence that the reform of the opera as the highest dramatic genre is
linked in Muratori's, and later in Algarotti's work, to societal reform. Muratori criticized
the operatic theatre, which in his day was still a recent phenomenon, for lacking ideals
and values that were necessary to maintain the well-being of society. His response to
this situation was the publication of a treatise. Della perfetta poesia italiana (1706). in
which he entered into a debate regarding the superiority or inferiority of the various
literary genres. It was Muratori who initiated a call for a new style of tragedy which
would be articulated along the rationalistic lines of French classicism while maintaining
classical precepts as found in Aristotle. The basis for his work is in alignment with the
original mandate of the Academy of the Arcadians which was established in Rome in
Thus, Muratori's work paved the way for a national debate regarding language,
culture and national prestige. The spirit of this debate quite obviously touched Algarotti
deeply, its impact discernible in all of his work. Muratori's arguments have been
thought to spring from his frustration with the increasingly obvious ineffectuality of the
that the languages, and the cultures represented by them, become respected when
excellent writers utilize them as vehicles to deliberate the nature of the arts and
sciences. This at a time when the French were flooding Europe with enlightened
treatises that utilized new forms of reason to reevaluate accepted knowledge. His
Riflessioni sopra il buon gusto intorno le scienze e le arti (published two years after
Della pedetta poesia $aliana)was intended to carry the new critical spirit into every field
of knowledge, pitting reason and experience against every unjustified homage to the
this debate with the publication of his Saggio sopra la necessita di scrivere nella propria
2r~on~istent -
with the ideas of the Enlightenment. Gravina (Gian Vincenzo Gravina one of the
Academy's founding members) maintains that the functions of the poet, of the intellectual and of the
jurist are those of freeing from the darkness of the passions and the body that divine spark which is in
everyone, but which in the common man seems dim and dulled by the weight of the body. Thus poetry -
-
and in this sense it recovers its pedagogical dimension is an instrument of policy for the intellectual,
a means of spreading culture and reason, a parallel to the law of the sapientes."
Carpanetto and Ricuperati, p.86.
28 u M ~ r a t ~ r i the need to propose a new Italian literary society, knowing full well that the
felt
- -
Arcadia despite its expansion was unable to answer satisfactorily the real problems of culture and
ltalian intellectualism."
Carpanetto and Ricuperati, p.88.
29 PUPPO,p- 22.
lingua (1750) for which Mario Puppo rewards him by characterizing him as ' m ~ d e r n . " ~
This characterization is shown as earned by Algarotti for the criticism he aims at
traditional ideas of education in cultures where new initiatives are foregone in the
classical languages. His arguments always lead back to the need for improvement in
some sector of society that has become debilitated in some way. The arts, especially
architecture, are necessary for the reconditioning of society, as well as representing the
effects of good citizenship. In his Saggio, he uses the English system as a model for
advanced ideas regarding the importance of language. The issue of civic pride is tied
even to the debate on language acquisition. "It was resewed for modem times to have
two or three dead languages to learn; so that during the greatest part of that time in
which the Ancients were teaching their children to be citizens. we are teaching ours to
be little better than parrot^."^' If good citizenship can be thus envisioned, it becomes
even more compelling in the design and maintenance of the buildings that provide the
%"with the progression of a rationalist mentality and crit~calspirit in Italy, wider and more radical
were the reactions to traditional ideas, more decisive the action for a cultural renovation, more diffuse
and convinced the request for a living language that was modem, clear with expressions both simple
and direct from the mind and the soul of the writer, free from homage to national models and instead
modeled on the example of modem foreign languages, capable of translating with precision and
correctness the new concepts. In the middle of the 18th century this "modemnspirit was incarnated
above ali by Algarotti."
Translated from Mario Puppo, Discussioni Linguistiche del Settecento, p. 32.
3 ' ~ r o m"A New Estimate of manners and principles; or A Comparison between ancient and
modem Times, in the great articles of Knowledge, Happiness, and Virtue," P. Ill. In Algarotti's Saggio
Sopra La necessita di scrivere nella propna lingua. Found in Mario Puppa, Discussioni Linguistiche del
Settecento, p. 184.
With respect to his views of architecture, as previously stated, Algarotti is firmly
principles was not always precise. The group of disciples around Lodoli is considered
quite distinct and has been called collectively the Rigoristi, with Lodoli at the helm. The
was probably Lodoli's 'friendship with Giambattista Vico, the exceptional Neapolitan
With regard to his credentials to pen works on the merits of architectural design
in general and design for theatre, of particular importance to this thesis, Algarotti's
credit roll is a long one. In the arts in general, he had worked as an art collector for the
court in Dresden.
In the art world of the period, his word held great weight, with collector and artist alike."
His scholarly approach to art emphasized the role of history in the construction and
display of a collection of paintings, a revolutionary idea at the time which has influenced
the display of art in public galleries ever since. "He wants the gallery to reflect the whole
- --
33~ttore
Bonora, F. Algarotti e S. Bettinelli, p.24.
" For a discussion of Algarotti as Tiepolo's patron, commissioning and influencing his work. see
Francis Haskell's chapter, "Francesco Algarotti," in Patrons and Painters, pp.347-360.
41
history of painting and to include the finest representatives of all school^."^ Even his
ideas regarding the importance of collecting historical pieces for display, however, are
argument, the majority of the treatise revolving around the ideas of functionalism and
architectural training under Lodoli. It is clear that Algarotti's ideas regarding the role of
the arts in society are greatly influenced by Lodoli. The Saggio had been requested of
Algarotti by his master as an attempt to establish his "original" ideas in light of the
1753. In the introduction to that work, Laugier himself points out that: "Frenchmen,
slow to invent but quick to adopt successful inventions, envied the Italians the glory of
having revived the splendid creations of Greece.'In Lodoli is said to have been
disappointed with the results, which he felt misrepresented his argument against
ornamentation and detailing. The primary focus of attention in the treatise, regarding
models for emulation, is in the natural archetypes that exist across the arts, with the
exception of architecture. This consideration places the work within the concerns of the
period; a period characterized by an aesthetic debate that places much authority, in :he
creation of art, in the return to origins of form. It is from this debate that Algarotti
35
Francis Haskell, Patrons and Painters, p.350.
'[Lodoli] . . . built up a private collection of pictures covering the period from Me Middle Ages,
at that time held in low regard, to the Renaissance, grouping according to local schools in order to
demonstrate step by step the progress of the art of disegno." Kruft, p.197.
37
Laugier, p. 9.
42
identifies the difference between what is functional in design and what is merely
embellishment.
Most architects of the period refer to the "first house" as being the architectural
prototype with regard to design and function. The problem is that this first house
existed, not in the processes of nature, but in man's ingenuity in creating it according
to his own needs. Joseph Rykwert discusses the great debate raging in the eighteenth
century regarding the derivation of perfect architectural form from that expressed in the
utility of man's first dwellings in the forest. Adam's house in paradise was thus a
form and nature, was a central concern of the rigorists. Piranesi separates himself from
the debate of the rigorists. "In the Parere su I'architettura, Piranesi explicitly attacks the
principles of absolute linguistic coherence that are founded on naturalism."" The attack
of this intuitive artist, of course must be made against the rigidity of Lodoli and, to a
and the other arts. Architecture announces its distinctiveness, he says, because it has
no form in nature to imitate. "Quelle [la Poesia, la Pittura e la Musical non hanno in
certa maniera che ad aprir gli occhi, contemplare gli oggetti che sono loro dattomo, e
sopra quelli fonnare un sistema d'imitazione."" Placing architecture outside of the other
processes of nature created an argument for its positioning at the very heart of man's
- -
by men. This appreciation of the unique beginnings of architecture was new in its day
and had great bearing on the developing awareness of the role of reason in the
debate that deals with the history and development of the human race. In considering
overwhelming philosophical presence which gave shape to the views of the group. "It
is a view which takes man to be an active partner in a process involving the individual
and society - a continuous society from Adam onwards - collaborating with providence
towards the working out of some high, and as yet unknowable, eternal purpose? In
his Saggio, for example, Algarotti riddles the text with questions regarding the
possibilities of man's natural environment. Thus, with regard to "reason" he argues that
wooden construction is the only form that is reasonable. If the nature of stone had been
4 0 ~ y k ~ eOn
r t ,Adam's House in Paradise, p. 49.
41
Se la pietra fosse posta in rappresentazione egualmente che in funzione, le aperture nelle
fabbriche non potrebbono n'uscire altro che strettissime. E cib per la propria natura della pietra, che non
essendo tessuta di fibre come 6 il legno, non pub reggere al sovrapposto carico, se sia conformata in
uno architrave o sopraciglio di qualche notabile lunghezza, ma tosto si rompe e se ne va in peui. Le
porte e le finestre sarebbero adunque di una strettezza sgarbata a vedersi, e incomode all'uso; chi non
avesse da sovrapporre agli stipiti pietroni di tal grosseua, che iI cercargli sarebbe da principe e gran
ventura il trovargli.
Algarotti, Saggio sopra I'architettura, p. 41 .
This argument can be traced back to Lodoli's design concepts which were
heavily influenced by Vico, whose "re-evaluationof history and myth identified man and
his autobiography, Vico points to the connection between man's constructed systems
and the culture that is given birth and fostered by these systems. This idea would
certainly have been current in Lodoli's education of his young students, and is obviously
finds its way into the very heart of an architectural debate. The idea that the rustic hut
had significance as an original model, with wood being the natural material, is adopted
in its entirety in Algarotti's Saggio. Man's primary dwellings were made of wood. Man
first looked to trees for protection out of necessity. Man's nature is literally carved in
wood. "I1legno, che la Natura fa crescer nelle campagne bello ed omato, contiene in
ancora che, come le arcate, le volte e la maniera detta rustica, paiono essere il piu
4 2 ~ a up.
l . 46.
della indole della pietra."" Omamentation that does not spring naturally from man's
original condition, and thus reflected in a type of nature, can be considered useless,
The structure being designed must never lose sight of man's original habitations that
satisfied man's utility and comfort in every one of its elements. The theatre edifice, as
a natural gathering place of men, must likewise satisfy the set general preconditions of
utility and comfort and, by extension, the event must satisfy similar conditions.
Interestingly, with regard to set design, Algarotti's work on the opera treats of the
illusion created on the stage in its totality. Chapter four of A n Essay on the Opera is
and other miscellaneous that contribute to the overall effect of what is produced behind
the proscenium arch. Algarotti singles out the set designer as a qualified painter who
must understand the principles of good architecture. In turn, he must take direction from
the poet who himself must have "preconceived in his mind every article; and to have
omitted nothing that can help to embellish, or make the action he has chosen to exhibit,
appear probable.""
44
Saggio, p.51.
45
Saggio, p.36.
Algarotti advocates Lodoli's functionalist outlook but deviates somewhat from the
Indeed, he points the designer to the pediments of classical buildings for ideas that can
that classical architectural ornamentation can provide lessons. The study of architecture
cannot fail in another respect, of being very useful to the young painter; inasmuch as
it will bring him acquainted with the form of the temples, therrnae, basilics, theatres and
other buildings of the Greeks and Romans. Besides, from the basso-relieves, with
which it was customary to adorn these buildings, he may gather with equal delight and
profit, the nature of their sacrifices, arms, military ensigns, and dress."
by the theatre artist, the product must conform to rules of reason and good taste. This
deviation from Lodoli's design concepts demonstrates Algarotti's ability to meld the best
ideas of his time together. In his allowance for inventiveness he clearly aligns himself
with Alexander Pope's conviction, in his Essay On Criticism, that permanent truth was
"available to the Modems just as it was to the ancient^."^ He gives credit to his English
poet associate for a concept that can be applied across the arts.
47
Algarotti, An Essay on Painting, p. 75.
4
&Tillotson.Fussell and Waingrow, EighteenM-CentutyEnglish Literature, p.554.
species, and may be conceived in the Archetype. 'Tis all nature, says an
English poet, speaking of poetry: and the same may be said of painting,
but it is nature methodized and made perfe~t.'~
underlines its power to enhance or destroy the integrity of the total product.
The scenery is the first object in an Opera that powerfully attracts the
eye, that determines the place of action, and co-operates chiefly to the
illusive enchantment, that makes the spectator imagine himself to be
transported either to Egypt, to Greece, to Troy, to Mexico, to the Elysian
Fields, or even to Olympus."
The state of set design was, according to Algarotti, deplorable even given the number
of good examples that had been created in recent history. In relating an anecdote from
Book VII of Vitruvius' treatise, Algarotti aligns himself with the Roman architect with the
respect to the demand for verisimilitude in set design. He relates the story of an ancient
painter employed to design a scene who "introduced some things, that without sinning
against verisimilitude, could have no place there." Against the admiration of the citizens,
embellishments saying: "Do ye not perceive, my fellow citizens, that, if ye should praise
in pictures what can neither stand the scrutiny of the judicious, nor be warranted by
taste, your city will run a great risk of being ranked among those that are not
Tasteful models for set design had been provided by Ferdinand0 Bibiena, who
Algarotti praises for having developed the viewing of scenes by the angle. This
49~lgarotti,
An Essay on Painting, p. 82.
gone, developed a style that lacked all architectural probability. His manner was being
imitated but the designs produced had become too whimsical. Algarotti asks:
the applications of these principles to the design of a theatre, a building that receives
As with the excesses of the performance and the design of the set itself, he attributes
the flaws in theatre design to a simple desire of 'pleasing too much." Thus, in not solely
addressing the function of the structure, designers deviated from the intention of
constructing such a building. The prime concern in theatre design, rather, must be "in
erecting a theatre . . . that its sonorew should be such, as that the voices of the singers
In order to fulfil his goal of providing the theatre with good acoustical properties.
Algarotti proposes the use of wood in construction, because the best sound properties
are so arrived at. In fact, he suggests that the type of wood used should be of the kind
which is also used to make musical instruments since such material is "analogous with
the organ of
The size of the building must be determined as well by its use in the Vitruvian
sense, and Algarotti cites the ancient master in declaring that the theatre's dimensions
should always be in proportion to the multitude of the inhabitant^."^^ It was also clear
to Algarotti that the uses of the theatre had changed since ancient times when the
performers used bronze vases and masks with megaphone enhancement to project
sound to the large community in attendance. On the contrary, in the modem theatre
such devices were not presently in use thus eliminating the direct connection between
a large theatre space and the need for specific performance styles. The rational
architect would thus design a theatre that was smaller so that the unaided voice could
be carried without having to be raised to unnatural volumes. "In other words," Algarotti
Unfortunately, large theatres were being built due to the desire to impress rather than
52
to common sense. To compensate for the greater distance between the audience and
the performers, the stage was advanced several feet out into the parterre. However,
thrown back at a certain distance from the spectator's eye, and stand within the scenery
of the stage, in order to make a part of that pleasing illusion for which all dramatic
exhibitions are catculated."~In this way, a more realistic illusion would be effected.
Milizia), is not the absurd shape of a bell, as popularized by the Galli-Bibbienas and
constructed in such projects as Mantua's Teatro Scientifico. The rationale behind this
M i l i ~ i aThe
. ~ ~bell had been proposed as a model in which, despite the size of a theatre,
rationale is faulty because the mouth of the bell opens onto the stage itself while the
centre box is situated where the clapper would be. Apart from being bad for sound, this
system narrowed the parterre in its upper part "thereby screening several boxes from
view of the stage."60Rather, and Algarotti analyzes shape from a practical point of view,
the best shape for the interior of the theatre is the same one that the ancients made
"ln defending himself against these charges, Antonio Bibiena does not employ theory but.
rather the validity of his long experience in design:
"Tutti gli oppositori miei confesserano non esservi regole fisse e sicure per rendere
sonoro un teatro . . . lo, antico e pratico architetto teatrale, asserisco per esempio che
la forma a campana & riuscita in altre note e riguardevoli citta di totale gradimento a'
musici agli spettatori."
Quoted in Sianconi and Pestelli, Ston'a dell' opera ifaliana,p.70.
Illustration 5: Bell-shaped Teatro Scientifico, Mantova, by Antonio Bibiena. 1767.
are all presented in a like manner towards the stage, of which they have a full view;
most simple, also proves geometrically best, since, "of all figures of an equal perimeter,
the circle is that which contains the greatest space."" Algarotti criticizes the boxes, not
for the vices carried out in them, nor for the way that these activities interrupted the
dramatic work being presented, but for the way that their ornamentation lowered the
auditorium's acoustical qualities. 'The boxes, be they ever so well arranged, have yet
one fashionable vice to get rid of, viz. those ornamental parts that have too much
relievo, too many swellings and sinuous cavities; because the voice, by such
of the theatre, Algarotti establishes its role in bringing the community together to
celebrate its awareness of its own hierarchical system. As each element of the theatre
has its place in a successful event so does each member of the audience. An
observance of order in the auditorium thus ensures its observance when outside the
theatre. In his analysis Algarotti offers no talk of social reform. Rather, he locates the
6'~imon Tidworth. in his history of theatres, notes that Algarotti's solution was just one of many
being theorized at the time. Charles-Nicholas Cochin, for example, in his Projet d'une Salle de
Spectacles pour le nouveau ThdStre de Coddie (1765) proposes an oval shape for the auditorium, but
to place the stage on one of the long sides rather than at the end. This in itself created problems of sight
lines which Cochin had to work out.
Simon Tidworth, Theatres, p.98.
64
Essay, p.I 04.
-r -.---.-- 1-1 :
architect that "the audience may appear to form a part of the spectacle to each other;
include box supports that are slender with omaments that are narrow and confined. He
calls for no exclusion of ornamentation but merely suggests that it be of a "light and
In concluding the Essay, Algarotti, as was the custom of the day, gave an
noteworthy that he attributes the design of one to Tommaso Temanza "a man of
extraordinary merit, and who, by his writings, has given new life to Sansovino and
Temanza is perhaps best known for his publication of the Vita dei piu
Palladi~."~'
celebri architetfi e scultori veneziani of 1778. This, of course, was the same Temanza
who criticized the work of Lodoli and whom Lodoli had loathed for being an insufferable
pedant? It was also the same Ternanza with whom Milizia corresponded with regards
Outside of Italy, Algarotti includes among the best theatres only the Opera
House in Berlin which he ranks "among the first-rate omaments of that imperial city."69
This, of course, had been the inspiration of his friend and patron, Frederick of Prussia
65
Essay, p. 106.
66 ~ssay,
p.IO6.
67~ssay,
pp.107.
69~ssay,
p.108.
Illustration 7: Frederick the Great's Opera House at Berlin, 1741.
Having brought to a logical conclusion his argument for the reform of the musical
individual who could carry out this reform. One would need to embody extraordinary
To be missing any one of the above requirements, the theatre practitioner would be
creating an imbalance in the harmony of total effect. The poet, thus, must do far more
than merely create the libretto for a production. The poet must be familiar with design
aesthetics and architectural principles to produce an environment for the event that
allows it to function at its best. Algarotti thus wrote for himself the theatrical role of the
Architect-Poet, and demonstrated his facillty with design principles through his essays
on architecture and the opera. We now turn to an examination of his analysis of the
--
important to the design of the modem theatre, can be considered but one of Algarotti's
works dealing with enlightened architecture. However, with regard to the reform of
theatre as a dramatic and musical event, this work forms the nucleus of his published
commentary on the subject. Its relatively quick translation into English stands as
testimony to the esteem with which he was regarded in important English circles. The
dedication of the treatise to William Pin suggests that the work was, in fact, meant to
be read by his English colleagues, (one of whom was Pitt himself), with whom Algarotti
was personally acquainted from his time in England. Algarotti praises Pitt as an
"immortal man" who has rekindled in his nation "her native valor. . . [provided] foi her
perpetual defence, and caused her to triumph, in one year, in the four quarters of the
globe . . ."' The dedication does double service for Algarotti since he uses it also to pay
homage to his friend and patron, Frederick the Great, who was busily pushing his
nation into cultural parity with the rest of Europe, while simultaneously establishing it
as one of Europe's strongest states. From the outset, then, Algarotti reestablishes the
1
Francesco Algarotti, Pensieri Diversi, p.48. Thought number 21.
the ideal politician whose ability to "thunder in the senate" is observed to stem from an
It has become clear that Algarotti the political animal sincerely valued the
patronage that he extolls in the introduction to this treatise. Clearly, his own personal
and creative status was enhanced by his connections, this further reinforcing his belief
in the true royal patronage of an enlightened ruler as an optimal solution to the decline
of the arts. That is why he had to go out of Italy so often. It is also the reason for his
trans-alpine dedications in his works. In this sense, Algarotti's Essay, and the later work
of Milizia, offer a clear consensus that the philosopher can provide the ideas but they
must be championed by the powerful in order to be effective. The point is carried home
in the conclusion of the Essay when Algarotti points to the connection between his
proposed reforms and the need of an enlightened person of rank with the ability to carry
them out:
In observing the need for such a person, Algarotti seeks examples in classical
cultures where good government offered stability and growth in the arts; when it was
personal time and money to achieve a superior result. Such patriotism was considered
by Algarotti to be lacking in his own time and place and he observes that: ?he persons,
who now-a-days take upon them the guidance of these public diversions, do neither
enter into a due consideration of particulars, nor pay a proper attention to the several
necessary constituents for making an Opera perfect? To wake the public to the
negative realities resulting from such lethargy Algarotti speaks about the need to reform
theatre seems to fall into line with the vision of a reformed ltaly in general; an ltaly in
need of order to restore it to its former greatness. Algarotti speaks of the theatre as a
type of fortress that can compensate for the loss of the power of the sword with the
power of the pen. In his Military and Political Letters, he speaks of the inferiority of the
I must confess, that I have very much at heart the honour of my country,
which seems more devoted to Pallas with the olive-branch, than with the
rested lance. To speak without a metaphor, it appears that our
countrymen have more to boast of from their progress in the fine arts,
than from their warlike achievements. For the latter, genius alone is not
sufficient; a number of concurrent circumstances, in the temper of the
times, the qualities of Princes, and fortune of the people, are requisite to
get them a name for military p r o ~ e s s . ~
leader or administration greater than himself, a leader who could offer noble guidelines,
much in the way that the ancient Roman magistrates did when conceiving of a major
4
Essay, Davis Edition, p.2.
Algarotti. Letter XXIV, Leflers Military and Political (1 759). pp. 199-200.
theatrical enterprise. An order that follows from dedication to the state creates the
sense of a common good for all. This sense of order would exist in an enlightened
leader; an entity that would enlist the forces that survived from the glorious past. As this
leader was absent from ltalian politics, Algarotti's artistic goal was to provide the proper
framework to raise one from the mire of musical theatre. Opera was the showpiece of
the culmination of various Italian arts and sciences thus offering to Algarotti the
Additionally, he felt that, in the eyes of other Europeans, the ltalian opera was
observes in his Essay. Quoting from issue no. 156 of the English journal, The World,
In the conclusion of the Essay, Algarotti lays bare the influence of Lodolian
architectural theory on his assessment of the state of the dramatic event housed in the
theatrical edifice. As per the evaluation of the building housing a public function, the
event too must be deconstructed, its component parts placed back together again in
a manner that is both functional and pleasing. This is after having analyzed "the several
constituent parts of the musical drama or opera; by which means, the effect will be one
composition of opera.
company with his teacher and moves in the direction of aestheticism. In her thesis,
Joanne Paul pinpoints Algarotti's about-turn in his acceptance of the beauty of the
Greek building which imitates in stone what exists naturally in wood. In the debate
between truth and lies, Paul demonstrates that Algarotti opts for the lie when it is more
beautiful? His Essay on the Opera has been called a compendium of the ideas that
eighteenth century. In fact, Algarotti is known to have been in direct contact with
Metastasio and, besides this connection, they had a web of correspondents across Italy
in common with whom they exchanged letters dealing with artistic issues.'0
In answering the question 'Why did Algarotti focus on the opera?" as the chosen
dramatic form on which to concentrate his energy, the answer may already seem
obvious; opera was the dominant theatrical form across Europe at the time of the
7
Algarotti, A n Essay on the Opera, p. 109.
writing of the Essay. Muratori, from his comments in Della perfetta poesia, had
considered the opera to be so corrupt that it was incapable of reform. Later theorists
were to dispute this claim as Apostolo Zeno does directly to the Marchese Gravisi of
Capodistria in 1730. The letter recognizes the improbabilities associated with the
setting of dramatic action to music but, in acknowledging that such regrettable practices
as frequent changes of scenery are a necessity given the nature of the genre, he
who preserves neither the unity of action, nor the conformity of the
characters, nor the decorum of the tragic stage, nor the purgation of the
affefti, nor the movement of these to compassion or to terror, nor the
properties of a dramatic development and of the untying of the dramatic
knot that is adjusted to good rules."
As Milizia does in his treatise on theatre, Algarotti praises the opera as the
highest, and thus most precarious of artistic genres. "In forming it no article was
and painting are all combined in the production of this one event. The result, ideally, is
meant to elevate the audience; "to refine our sentiments, to soothe the heart, and
subdue the stubbomess of reason, that cannot help surrendering itself a willing captive
to so pleasing a fa~cination."'~
The subtext of this argument, reveals the opera as a
particularly Italian invention and thus posession. As such, Algarotti's position with
regard to this highly developed art form was privileged since the language of the
l 1 A. Zeno, "Letter to Giuseppe Gravisi on the opera libretto." in R.S. Freeman Opera Without
Drama, p.30.
la Essay. p.5.
Essay. p. 6.
creative impulse was predominantly his own, culturally speaking. Joseph Kerman, in
his Opera as Drama concurs: "In Italy, drama meant the opera, and its librettist
Metastasio was the universal laureate, the new Sophocles. Outside of Italy, there was
-
the extraordinary phenomenon of Italian theatres - operatic theatres flourishing from
being perpetrated against this art form, however, had laid it open to ridic~le'~;
a ridicule
that Algarotti showed himself sensitive to, especially when directed from foreign
sources. In the Essay itself, he quotes Dryden's use of the word "opera" as something
decline and, even with the success of Scipione Maffei's Merope, performed by Luigi
Riccoboni in Modena, and then in Venice, in 1713 and 1714 respectively, its revival
The success of the reform of opera was particularly enhanced by the work of
Apostolo Zeno and then Metastasio, a protege of the Arcadian, Gravina. Metastasio
replaced Zeno at the court of Vienna, and thereafter became Europe's unquestioned
lS"By 1760, both Italian and French operas were tottering. and their limitations were apparent
to composers everywhere. Gluck and his poet Calzabigi . . . sought to salvage the virtues of each
tradition and combine them by his own catalyst for the maturing taste of the late eighteenth century."
Kerman, p. 71.
16
"For what a song, or senseless Opera,
Is to the living labour of a play;
Or what a play to Virgil's work would be'
Such is a single piece to history."
Dryden, Essay, p. 8.
66
comic elements and similar non-classicalextravagances but also by creating poetry and
plots which were interesting in themselves, even without music."" The diffusion of the
ideals represented in the works of Italy's great minds was further ensured by the
correspondence taking place between one European court and another between
colleagues who had previously worked together on common native soil. Such an
example is found in the letters between Metastasio, from Vienna, and the great singer,
Farinelli, who lived and performed in England for a number of years before being invited
to reside in Spain by King Philip V. The two were good friends who had risen to fame
at the same time in Naples; "Farinelli having performed there in the Serenata of
Algarotti had already expressed in his Saggio sopra la necessita di scrivere nella
propria lingua (1750) his conviction that the genius of the Italian culture could only be
expressed through its own language. This idea had already gained a certain popularity
in intellectual circles in Italy, especially as put forward much earlier by Muratori and
supported through Viconian ideas regarding cultural development. For Algarotti, the
fundamental message of the thesis he expounded was that the mentality of various
populations being diverse, the genius of the respective language is also diverse. Thus,
"one who wants to write in a language not one's own must be like a species of Proteus,
17
Marvin Carlson, The Italian Stage, p.17.
'* Charles Burney, Memoits of the Life and Writings of the Abate Metastasio. Volume I . p.194.
Mario
lg Puppo, Introduction to the Saggio sopra la necessita di scrivere nella propria lingua,
In Discussioni Linguistiche del Settecento, p. 1 81
67
extremely clear and its message is directed towards the intellectuals of his culture who
might have already accepted the imposing French hegemony in the publication of
remembered that the genius of a language is directly linked to the genius of a nation.
The Romans, for example, disdained to write in a language other than their own.20 To
hammer his point home, Algarotti himself published one complete libretto and the plan
for another. In lphigenia in Aulis, he admits that he has borrowed from the work, both
In writing a libretto that adhered to the rules which he had formulated to correct
deficiencies in the opera, Algarotti meant to prove that improvement was possible. But
the libretto was merely one of the many component parts of the event. Many of the
"thoughts" in his Pensien' Diversi indicate a real knowledge of, not only the individual
parts of the operatic performance but also of capabilities of practitioners of his day to
rise to the occasion. Algarotti muses that excellence does indeed exist in its
independent parts. A skill is necessary to bring these parts together so that the
individual geniuses currently practicing in various arts of the peninsula can, in concerted
O
' " . . . sdegnando di scrivere in altra lingua fuorche nella propria; e in quella lingua trionfale
e sovrana, che dal Campidoglio dettava all'universo." Saggio sopra la necessitd di scrivere nella propria
lingua. In Puppo, p. 184. Puppo uses the edition of Opere Scelte di F. Algarotti. della Soc. Tipografica
dei classici italiani, Milano, 1823. Vol. I.
21
R.C. Knight, Jean Racine: Four Greek Plays, p. viii.
68
of the ideal poet, Carlo lnnocenzo Frugoni; composer, Leonardo Vinci; and set
designer, Ferdinando Bibiena. In this particular analysis Algarotti suggests that the
complete work would be ideal if the contributions of the first two were of the same
contemporaries, were many. In his introduction, Francesco lays them out clearly. The
poet has erred in both his choice of the subject for their dramas as well as in the way
that the words are adapted to a musical score. Verisimilitude is lacking in the singing
and recitative as well as in the use of dance within the main business of the drama. The
scenery has also been designed, often not in keeping with the theme of the play? With
all of these defects, it can be no wonder that the purity of opera as an exalted dramatic
genre had been neglected by a population itself in need of reform. The abuses of opera
are several and Algarotti is quite pointed in his condemnation of the performers who are
most at fault; "a mutinous band of people" who perpetuate "frequent acts of slight and
rnisbeha~iour."~'
These people are scorned by Algarotti who characterizes their
concerns as trivial and damaging to the greater good: "What frequent jealousies and
* [52]Quante volte non avviene nelle cose le piu importanti quello che nell'ordinare I'opera in
musica si praticava altre volte in una corte d'ltaiia? IIcornpositore e il poeta doveano mirare unicamente
a formare una dramma, per mod0 che prima di tutto si vedesse una vasta pianura in riva di un fiume
con tende in lontano, poi un magnifico gabinetto, appresso una deliziosa veduta, dopo un'omda carcere,
poscia una sontuosa reggia con logge, illuminata di notte tempo e via discorrendo. Frugoni e Vinci
doveano unicamente sewire alle fantasie di un Bibbiena. Francesco Algarotti, Pensieri Diversi, p.60.
23 Even with regard to set design, reason had to be exercised in the "staffage' or addition of
figures in a represented space. The Galli-Bibiena family was, of course, instrumental in the raising of
this art to the level of architecture. A discussion of Francesco Bibiena's Civil Architecture prepared on
Geometry, and reduced to perspective, of 1703, can be found in Werner Oechslin's "The Theatre of
Invention," pp. 66-77, Lotus International, 17. December 1977.
24
Algarotti, An Essay on the Opera, p.10.
69
wranglings arise among the singers, on account of one person's having more ariettas
The implementation of an orderly system to correct such abuses is the task that
Algarotti offers those thinking to produce opera. He puts forward the idea that the poet
must resume the reins of power that have somehow escaped him and, "being restored
to his rightful authority, he may diffuse through every department good order and due
s~bordination."~~
The poet, of course, is Algarotti, and the reform of the product begins
with a new excellence in the literary output of his countrymen. The restoration is the
Furthermore, as practice suggests, the lone artist cannot hope to move fonrvard
Vienna or Algarotti himself in Berlin, the poet must be offered the patronage of an
enlightened ruler who will, as in the case of Frederick, provide a fostering environment
for the pursuit of the artistic ideal. "Under such a guidance, and never otherwise, shall
we see the performers reduced to proper order and discipline; or we, in consequence,
We know that Algarotti was indebted, in his appreciation of the artistkritic, to the
work of Dryden, which, in itseff, takes over from Comeille who startled his
25 Essay, p.10.
26 Essay, p.10.
27
Essay, p.13.
contemporaries by heading each volume of plays "with a discourse or theatrical
treatise, followed by an examen of all the plays contained in the volume, subdivided by
play titles."28Dryden, in his Essay of Dramatic Poesy, nourishes the seedling planted
"There are so few who write well in this age," says Crites,
"that methinks any praises should be welcome; they neither rise to the
dignity of the last age, nor to any of the Ancients: and we may cry out of
the writers of this time, with more reason than Petronius of his . . . you
have debauched the true old poetry so far, that nature, which is the soul
of it, is not in any of your writings?
of and interest in English literary theory, especially when the theorist in question has
delle cose nostre, e che ha tradotto anch'egli Virgilio . . ."30 With regard to the poetry
of the operatic piece itself, Algarotti prioritizes this element and dedicates his first
Opera." In architecture, the choice of the plan dictates the final outcome of the building
and, in just such a way, the choice of the subject in a dramatic work is important since
". . . the success or failure of the drama depends, in a great measure, on the good or
'' George Watson. from the introductionof Dryden's Of Dramatic Poesy, Val-I. p. vii.
29
Dtyden, A n Essay of Dramatic Poesy, p.23.
30 Lettere Di Polianzio Ad Ennogene lntomo Alla Traduzione DeWEneide Del Caro. Lettera
Seconda. Venezia 16 Novembre. 1744.
From Opere Varie del Conte Francesco Algarotti. VoLl., p.251.
bad choice of the ~ubject."~'
The poet, however, in Algarotti's configuration, is far more
than the person who pens, as in the work of Dryden, the piece that will be performed.
This difference is what makes the Italian literature of the period dealing with the reform
of theatre so unique. The ltalian poet is entrusted with the responsibility of overseeing
the dancers, the painters, the machinists; even the design of costumes.32For the
comprehensive view of the whole of the drama; because those parts, which are not
productions of his pen, ought to flow from the dictates of his actuating judgement which
to his indebtedness to Metastasio for the idea of what is attainable given correct
choices on the part of the poet, and pays homage to the master? We know, of course,
that criticism of the opera was not new to Algarotti. The satire of Benedetto Marcello
had already, much earlier in the century, condemned the practitioners of musical
31 Essay, p. 14.
" Anna Migliarisi, in her doctoral dissertation, examines the ltalian idea of the "corago", or
director, in an anonymous treatise of the Early Baroque period. In her work she offers compelling
evidence of the tradition in ltalian theatre of expecting the director to be a jack-of-all-trades. The author
of Ii Corago o vero alcune osservazioniper mettere bene in scena le composizioni drammatiche (cl628)
posits the director as "the servant of the poem" who requires facility in the following: "i)the arts of
carpentry and masonry to oversee the design and construction of the stage, ii)the art of architecture for
the design of the scenic houses, palaces, temples and the like, iii) the art of perspective painting for the
scenery and perspective vistas, iv) the art of dressmakers and tailors to provide the performers with
beautifully designed costumes, v) the art of acting in order to instruct and guide the actors in the scenic
action, vi) the art of music, whether instrumental or vocal, vii) the art of dance for the choreography of
balli, processions and choral formations, viii) the arts of combat and fencing for tourneys and scenes
of warfare, ix) the art of mechanics for the display of marvellous effects on land, sea, and in the heavens
and, x) the art of lighting for basic illumination as well as the creation of special effects." Anna Migliarisi,
Theories of Directing in Late Renaissance and Early Baroque Italy, pp. 259-60.
33 Essay, p.15.
34 Essay, p. 25.
72
theatre. According to his I1 Teatro alla Moda, practices which contributed to the decline
shortening recitatives and even arias if they did not afford the virtuoso
opportunities for vocal display; the practice of 'stretching' a scene by
inserting material by other composers in order to give the stage crew
sufficient time to prepare an especially elaborate machine or decoration
for the next scene; the many violations of the laws of reason and logic in
decorations and costumes; the carelessness with which accompaniments
were executed by the orchestra; the sacrificing of the opera as an artistic
whole in order to please the whim and vanity of the executants?'
Algarotti examines the roots of the movement which spawned the opera. The
subtext, of course, indicates that these roots are ltalian roots and that the dramatic
event being resurrected by this invention is no less than Greek tragedy. It is forgivable
then, that spectacle ranks high in the creation of opera since it follows in the footsteps
accompanied by the rightful pomp and spectacle. The whole, however, becomes an
apology for the excesses of operatic spectacle by virtue of the fact that, in recreating
the heroes and myths of the ancients, surprising and wonderful events had to be shown
to take place. "Every circumstance being thus elevated above the sphere of mortal
true imitation of the language made use of by the deities represented."==Because the
nobility of birth, it is no surprise that he should defend the initial operatic performances
as having been presented as celebratory ritual in the halls of great princes and
36 Essay, p. 17.
sovereign^.^' With their ability to pay for the expensive machinery and properties
necessary to the staging of good opera "not an article was omitted that could excite an
The rise of public opera coincides for Algarotti with a decline in the good taste
necessary to its staging. This was primarily due to the lack of financial resources at the
disposal of the owners of the public houses. From this time mythology as a subject
began to be renounced for subjects dealing with the history of man, since the costs in
mounting these works would obviously be far less. At this point the costly pomp was
replaced by a more humble regulanty and by poetic diction. Algarotti attributes the initial
rise of interludes and ballets as thrifty devices to compensate the audience for the
subtraction of costly spectacle from the performance. Given the newer restrictions
placed by necessity on the opera. Algarotti logically concludes that the role of the poet
had also changed and that good judgment had to be displayed in the choice of subjects
which have only two desirable traits: that they be extremely simple and not unknown?'
The best advice that Algarotti can give the poet is already found in common usage,
especially amongst the French, "to make choice of an event that has happened either
37 TObe sure, the rise of opera in the courts was accompanied by the development of music and
the ballet. From this point of view, the opera can be thought of as the mother of invention for the arts
involved in its composition. Dance historians, for example, attribute the rise of ballet in France to the
Ballet Comique de la Rejne, presented by the Italian musicians and dancers brought by Catherine de
Medici with her to Paris. According to dance historian Richard Kraus, "from this point, France was
viewed as the centre of the development of ballet, while Italy served as the home of the developing
opera of the Renaissance."
Kraus, History of the Dance, p.71.
38 Essay, p.13.
39 Essay, p.24.
74
in very remote times, or in countries very distant from us, and quite estranged form our
It is in the context of
usages, which may afford various incidents of the mar~ellous."~
the opera, with its emphasis on spectacle that this advice truly makes the best sense.
the great distance of place, where the action is fixed, will prevent the
recital of it to musical sounds from appearing quite so improbable to us.
The rnarvellousness of the theme will furnish the author with an
opportunity of interweaving therewith dances, choruses, and a variety of
scenical decorations . . .4'
libretto, and as such, his chapter, On the MusicalComposition for Operas, follows after
that on poetry since "music derives its greatest merit by being no more than an
disciplines had become severed since ancient times when, as Algarotti observes, poets
other skills required for a full performance. The composer of Algarotti's time,
representing only one part of a much fuller integration of the drama, must fulfill his part,
40 Essay, p. 24.
41
Essay, p. 25.
in:
the modest discretion of a composer, who will not think it beneath him to
receive from the poet's mouth the purport of his meaning and intention,
who will also make himself a competent master of the authots sense,
before he writes a word of music, and will ever afterwards confer with him
concerning the music he shall have composed . . .4 4
Such ideas were being bandied about by hugely influential Venetian theorists of
Algarotti's day such as the composer Benedetto Marcello who disdained "the artificiality
of the singing and the facile glibness of the orchestral music in operas of his day."45
praises the maestro for having expressed, "in a wonderful manner, not only all the
different passions of the heart, but even the most delicate sentiments of the mind."16
Algarotti seems more directly touched, however, by writings of Muratori which had been
recently reprinted. In fact, Algarotti's demand for the return of the theatre to the poet is
a direct reiteration of Muratori's outrage in his Della perfetta poesia italiana. In this work,
Muratori rails against the opera as a useless, frivolous event. Once worthy, it had,
according to the author, been tainted by effeminate elements such as the use of
particular notes, the use of castrati and even the introduction of women in singing
Essay. p. 3 1.
43
44
Essay, p.33.
45 See Eleanor Selfidge-Field. The Works of Benedeno and Alessandro Marcello, p.20.
46 Essay, p.52.
76
roles47:"Certo e, che la Moderna Musica denTeatri e sommamente dannosa a i costumi
del popolo, divenendo questo sernpre piu vile, e volto alla lascivia, in ascoltarla."" The
resulting product of such abuse was also observed by the ancients such as Plato,
Cicero, Quintillian and Plutarch whose arguments Muratori cites in his battle against
such music because it strips the audience of courage, spirit and especially virtue; which
has the unfortunate result of weakening their defences against vice. Thus, Algarotti
expands on Muratori's argument for the placement of the poet at the centre of a
complete composition so that the time spent at the theatre will be pleasing to the souls
Algarotti has some very speclic advice to the author of the opera with regard to
the composition of the recitative and the reasonable construction and placement of the
aria within the text. The precision of Algarotti's advice is unique in light of other works
of reform literature of a like kind in its suggestions for improvements to the dramatic
text. In speaking of the construction of the recitative, Algarotti quotes Jacopo Peri from
his preface to Euridice: "Peri observed the Italian words, which are capable of
intonation, or consonance, and those which are not."49To design an opera that
observed some rules of proportion and verisimilitude, connoisseurs of the day saw the
need to establish a rhythm, whereby the recitative does not break suddenly into a
47
Of course, women had already been present on the Italian stage as commedia performers
since the sixteenth century, most famously lsabella Andreini of the Gelosi troupe. Rosalind Kerr, in a
chapter that outlines the career achievements of this great actress, analyzes the implications of a female
on-stage presence in an otherwise restrictive society See R. Kerfs Ph-D. dissertation: The Actress As
Androgyne in the Cornmedia ~ e l l ~ rScenarios
te of Flaminio Scala, pp. 63-95.
49 Essay, p.35.
77
spirited arietta. It is the successful integration of the aria, therefors, that to Algarotti
provides the key to the well-balanced opera. "The surest method to bring about a better
understanding among the several constituent parts of an Opera, would be not to crowd
so much art into the airs, and to curb the instrumental part more than is now the
custom."50Oddly, such an organization of the theatre event agrees with recent trends
who contends that, in an advanced literate society, the eyes are the focus of the point
of perspective and it is to this sense that all the others must bow. Musicians, according
to Algarotti, have the ability to satisfy and even delight the ears "but not at all either to
affect the heart, or to kindle the imagination of those who hear them; wherefore, to
accomplish their favourite end, they frequently bound over all ru~es."~'
Thus, the order
presentation of opera is the very order that de Kerckhove identifies as being rebelled
by the poet by treating his words in a manner that is not consistent with their emotional
charge. The most offensive obstruction in the work, however, is found in the aria which
promotes, in its execution, the repeated musical passage known as the ritornel10.~~
50 Essay, p. 39.
51
Essay,p.44.
'*de Kerckhove proposes the argument that societies naturally rebel against the processes of
organization with regard to cognitive structures.
53David Kimball. in describing the development of the ritomello in the Italian opera tradition,
argues that its use demonstrates the composer's almost architectural formation of the work as a system
Algarotti clearly abhorred this practice since: "when the sense of an air is finished, the
first part of it ought never to be sung again; which is one of our modem innovations and
quite repugnant to the natural process of our speech and passions, that are not
presented in his Essay as an example of reform opera, we see that he puts into
practice his desire to curb the da capo aria, replacing it instead with what he calls "half-
airs." This development we can link to reforms being put into place by his friend and
important for its "preponderance (in the ratio of about two to one) of the "cavatina" over
Opera reform was a huge issue in the 1750's and 1760's and Algarotti, largely
due to the importance of his Essay, is a central figure, known and admired by many of
to be consumed by the listening audience. "They [ritornelli] are attached to individual songs and
choruses; they provide a frame that sets these movements clearly apart from what preceded them, and
they introduce a strong element of patterning within that frame." Kimbell, Italian Opera, p.76.
"[~l~arotti] '. . .took the practical step of providing a model libretto, perversely but prophetically
in French . . .it was indeed an lphigenia in Aulis, in which elevated feelings, the spirit of patriotism and
self-sacrifice, inform characters who vary between the innocent and the heroic (Iphigenia and Achilles),
the subtle (Calchas, the priest), and the mature and complex (Clytemnestra, Agamemnon). Instead of
the opera seria formula, a tangled situation unravelled by improbable changes of heart, the characters
accept their destiny, their inevitable collision averted by divine intervention . . . Algarotti was impressed
by French staging and flexibility of musical forms, and accordingly employed the choral and dance
elements neglected in opera seria." Julian Rushton, Classical Music, p, 46.
" Walther's Lexikon (1732) defines cavata as a short arioso passage, occurring usually at the
end of a recitative, in which the mood or meaning of the recitative is concentrated or drawn forth.
Cavatina (the diminutive of cavata) is used in the eighteenth century as opposed to the aria in the sense
of a vocal number which "gathers together" an aria (that is, a da capo aria) in shorter and simpler form,
without much text repetition or coloratura." Donald Grout, A Short History of the Opera, pp. 211-12.
the most important reformists of his day. Reform of course meant a reform of the opera
seria as brought to its most perfect form by Metastasio. Interestingly, Algarotti, who
decries the use of the da capo style, offers no criticism of the famous poet himself.
Gluck, in his dedication to Alceste (1769) offers a criticism of opera seria practices that
I have striven to restrict music to its true office of serving poetry by means
of expression and by following the situations of the story, without
interrupting the action or stifling it with a useless superfluity of ornaments;
and I believed that it should do this in the same way as telling colors
affect a correct and well-ordered drawing, by a well-assorted contrast of
light and shade, which serves to animate the figures without altering their
contours. Thus I did not wish to arrest an actor in the greatest heat of
dialogue in order to wait for a tiresome ritomello, nor to hold him up in the
middle of a word on a vowel favorable to his voice, nor to make display
of the agility of his fine voice in some long-drawn passage, nor to wait
while the orchestra gives him time to recover his breath for a cadenza. I
did not think it my duty to pass quickly over the second section of an aria
of which the words are perhaps the most impassioned and important, in
order to repeat regularly four times over those of the first part and to
finish the aria where its sense may perhaps not end for the convenience
of the singer who wishes to show that he can capriciously vaty a passage
in a number of guises; in short, I have sought to abolish all the abuses
against which good sense and reason have long cried out in vain.58
Algarotti raises the argument that human nature must also be considered in
producing opera for the public. The process itself must be dissected, examined and
then put together in a way that is true to the nature of the subject being depicted, and
yet still remain highly entertaining. The genius of the Italian contribution to the genre,
thus, does not stop with its invention but continues in its development into a form of art
5 r ~ h eresemblance between Algarotti's book and Gluck's preface to Alceste leaves no room
for doubt on this point." Grout, p.232.
5 8 ~ ~ u'Dedication
~k, for Alceste," in Strunk's Source Readings in Music History, p. 933.
that can capture the essence of man's condition, creating either laughs, tears, or both.
In this regard. Algarotti displays pride in the success of comic opera, which he
considers to be Italian in nature and had done much to enhance the reputation of the
Italian artist abroad. The spread of this style, although acknowledged by Algarotti as
Many of the greatest abuses occumng in the opera are attributable to the singer
creating dead time on stage, which in tum encourages a lack of attention on the part
of the audience. To these abuses Algarotti directs a great deal of criticism, dedicating
chapter three of his essay to the proper use of the recitative and singing in the greater
operatic construction. With regard to the use of recitative by the performer, the author
observes that there is a need for dependence on the individual skills and discretion of
the actodsingep but that these talents must be managed by the poet/director so that
the import of the words is not lost on an audience which has been trained to turn to
other activities during such scene^.^' The theoretical works of Quintillian were still a
59 "As a separate genre. comic opera appeared in Italy only after the classicizing reform of Zeno
and Metastasio (who eliminated farcical elements from opera).' (Kerman, Opera as Drama, p.74)
Opera Buffa relied on singing actors rather than expensive virtuosi, and encouraged the development
of the ensemble leading to Mozart's comic masterpieces.
The anonymous author of I1 coago o vero alcune osservazioni per menere bene in scena le
composizioni drammatiche, observes that in the performance of musical theatre "sloppy articulation,
displaced accents and improper lengthening of syllables will obscure the meaning of the poem, boring
or confusing the listener, and compromising the efficacy of the performance in its entirety." See
Migliarisi's Theories of Directing . . ., pp.278-79.
The function of gestures was to indicate or to describe the objects. on stage or off, real or
imaginary, which were referred to by the words; to express by face and hands and posture the passion
which moved the character: to emphasize important words; to announce the beginning, and the ending
81
source of training for singers. There are many ways in which these dead spaces can
be enlivened since, "besides the gestures, which entirely depend on the actor, there are
certain suspensions of the voice, certain short pauses, and a certain insisting on one
place more than another, that cannot be communicated and, therefore . . .[are part of
the actor's raft]."^ in practice, however, preposterous conduct cames the event, ruled
by the individual desire of the performer to capitalize on the close, interactive audience-
stage relationship that characterized the moment and, in Italy at least, was encouraged
Different responses had presented themselves regarding the abuses which this acting
Algarotti, were the influential Luigi Riccoboni and Cado Goldoni. Both saw pandering
to the audience as overcoming concerns for truth and nature in dramatic art. In his Dell'
arte rappresentativa (London, 1728), Riccoboni divides his advice to actors into six
cantos which include timely advice for the study of the art of acting and the
comportment of the actor on stage. In this advice Riccoboni states that it is wise for the
actor to demonstrate humility in his approach to his craft, both on and off stage. Most
importantly, however, the actor must attempt to play his part truthfully and the best
method to do so is that the actor "feel what he acts . . . love, anger, jealousy; feel like
a king or like Beelzebub, and if he really feels all these emotions, if 'with his heart he
measures his movements' they will of themselves germinate in him and move him to
of a passage or speech, and to perform certain other similar specified functions. Dene Barnett, The Art
Of Gesture. p. 18-1 9.
62 Essay, p.56.
82
the right action? Goldoni. in the reformist messages embodied in his Teatro Comico
of 1751, advocates a new naturalism in acting and uses the characters of the play to
relate his thoughts. Thus Orazio, in the third act teaches the would-be poet: "Drama is
an imitation of nature, and in it one should do only what is plausible. And as for
reason is not natural. Thus, Goldoni, through Orazio, advises: 'when an actol's alone
on stage he must suppose that he is neither heard nor seen. Addressing the audience
Algarotti clearly supports the Goldonian view of naturalism in acting on stage but
couches his argument more in the need for such a reform to create a different impact
the state of acting thus reflect the advice given by the two practitioners mentioned. In
his Essayhe observes that "instead of one actor minding what another says to him, and
marking, by the different modifications of gestures and features, what impression it has
made upon him, he does nothing but smile to the boxes, and bow to the company
there, with several other such pretty impertinences."" The abuses prevalent in the
physical activities taking place in the auditoriums of opera houses, then, are attributed
by Algarotti to the audience's reaction to poorly performed recitative, on the part of the
If the songs are not well acted, the audience will seek other types of amusement which
take the form of chattering, visiting from box to box, taking meals in the box, and "that
recitative from that performed during an aria. In his study, The Art of Gesture, Dene
Bamett notes the difference between the two. "During the recitative, the techniques of
musician."='
In the actual singing itself, Algarotti notes that the virtuoso is guilty of trying to
attract the attention of the audience by the gratuitous use of vocal skills to demonstrate
a level of difficulty that will be considered impressive. The impact was intended to
accumulate accolades from the audience. The damaging effect of this practice on the
and good sense demonstrated by the performer on stage and guided by the artistic
abilities and dramatic excellence of the poet will have a civilizing effect on the audience,
which cannot really be blamed for finding some alternate activity to occupy them during
67
Essay, p. 57.
68 Essay, p. 59.
69 Barnett. p.15.
It is not to be doubted, that whenever music shall be restored to her
pristine dignw, Operas will be honoured with the attention of the public,
and be heard with the greatest delight from beginning to end, because
then a grateful silence will be imposed on all the spectator^."'^
drama, and with a respect for historical detail springing from a Viconian education,
Algarotti puts forward the neoclassical argument for an attention to historic detail in the
scenery and costumes constructed for the theatre. Regarding the dress, it should
"approach as near as possible to the manners of the times and the nations which are
represented."" The design of the set we have already treated of in the preceding
chapter.
Algarotti's ideas for a reform of an opera that was imbued with the potential to
be the most perfect of man's dramatic arts is couched in terms that expose his desire
to return the Italian cultural achievement to what he envisions as its rightful place
among the nations of Europe. His discussion of the beauties and flaws of this art form
is riddled with examples of independent genius still functioning in the creations of Italian
men of science and art, such as Metastasio or the Bibienas, who lacked only a rational,
unifying force that would, out of their separate contributions, construct a complete work
of integrity which would give to the people of the peninsula, with its accompanying
imposition of order, a sense of pride in their achievement. The underlying logic of the
cause argues for an early attempt on the part of a well-travelled Italian at awakening
the slumbering spirit natural to the genius of a traditionally creative people, offering to
71 Essay, p. 74.
85
them a vision of what nationalism had done for the reputation of great European states,
and reminding them that their cultural claims were just as valid. The reform of Italy's
dramatic traditions, then, through the re-instatement of an order in the design of that
society's greatest cultural signifier, the theatre, as both building and event, is meant to
Francesco Milizia (1725-1798), in outlining the criteria and uses of the arts, was
keen to place architecture first among the beaux arts. His obsewations were first
published in his Memorie degli architetti antichi e modemi (1768) and are most
elaborately laid out in his influential Principi di architettura civile (1781) where he states
that architecture:
He makes it very clear that, in cultivated nations, when architecture is encouraged, the
other arts, ranging from painting to gardening, all stand to benefit. The elevation of the
arts was, for Milizia, synonymous with the elevation of the general standards of society
and, as the two went hand in hand, it is no accident that a great amount of his work
deals with the theatre, both as building and as event. Where better, he reasoned, to
effect change, both artistic and social, than in the building that housed the communal
event of an entire society3 His contributions are generally thought to centre around an
enlightened awareness of the potential of architecture to affect people's lives which was
not fully appreciated before the work of Emil Kaufmann who, in an essay entitled "Three
reference to historical changes in design practice and the implications of these changes
Milizia was famous in his time, and to this day, for his work as an architectural
theorist. The Dizionanb Enciclopedico diArchitettura e Urbanism0 refers to him as " uno
che nella seconda meta del sac. XVlll impegno tutta ItEuropa . . ."3 The recently
Italian architectural theorist of the late eighteenth century4We also know that Milizia's
work was read in his own day as illustrated by the fact that his Mernorie degli Architetti
Antichi e Modemi was translated soon after his death for Sir John Soanes, the great
British architect. Soanes was struck by the fact that no biographical history concerning
architects, ancient or modem, had ever been published in England. Milizia's book, as
outlined in the preface, was chosen because of the reputation it enjoyed on the
continent, "no other author having collected so much information, or exhibited such
sound judgement, both with regard to historical research and to critical rernark~."~
See Mrs. Edward Creasy1s1826 translation of The Lives of the Architects, vii.
Illustration 9: Sire John Soane's neo-classical design for an opera house on the north
side of Leicester Square in London, c. 1789.
architectural theorist and historian, it seems strange that his work is given so little
the generally accepted view that, in eighteenth century Europe, the mantle of honour
in architectural theory had already passed from Italy to France, where the French had
improved on the ltalian system? This does not, however, mean that real contributions
were not still being made in Italy. Algarotti had already to an extent popularized Italian
theory through the success of his published work in England, France and Germany.
Milizia followed Algarotti's lead by analyzing the theatre event in even greater detail,
making observations regarding its flaws and suggestions for its improvement, both with
regard to the design of the building and of the dramatic work staged. Whereas Algarotti,
however, left off at a speclic study of the practice of opera. Milizia applied his criticism
to the tragedy, comedy, and pastoral as well. Also, while Algarotti clearly envisioned
new design practices that would eliminate unnecessary ornamentation in the theatre
structure, Milizia has left us plans for an entire entertainment complex, along classical
The designs of ltalian theatres were justly renowned at the time and were
studied by the most influential theorists of Europe. For example, the Teatro Regio of
In terms of stage technology, the French had improved the efficiency and precision of
stagecraft while, at the same time, creating the need for fewer stage hands. More importantly,
however, the new scheme was represented by Diderot and d'Alembert in the Encyclopedie.
According to George Izenour, "It was this publishing event that brought the French to the forefront of
contemporary stage technology. French stage technology thus achieved ascendancy over ltalian
stage technology." George Izenour, Theatre Technology, p. 17.
Illustration 10: Teatro Regio, Turin. The design is based on the ellipse.
of the ellipse for theatres who based his own ideal plan upon the design of this theatre.7
The theatre, in fact, was highlighted by Diderot in his Encyclopedie, with a complete set
of working drawings.' Apart from publications, the French had been sending promising
architects to their Academy in Rome since 1720 and, with regard to the output of
Roman architectural academies, it can be argued that the French took their cues from
and to general architectural theory in an era of social unrest and intense academic
debate regarding the meaning and uses of the arts and sciences. It is also meant to
redress the neglect that he has suffered, particularly at the hands of modem theatre
specialists. Milizia's name can be found in neither the Oxford Companion to Theatre nor
in the comprehensive Italian Enciclopedia dello Spettacolo. The impact of his Del
( 1 794), on the architectural and dramatic movements of his day, has never been given
a full examination nor has the work ever been translated into English, although many
7
Forsyth, Buildings For Music, p.80.
yhomas van Leeuwen, 'The Theatre of Movement' Archis, (June 1995) p.27, observes that:
"Although Alfieri's building, completed in 1740, was no longer a novelty, it was seen as
the only, albeit imperfect, prototype of the urban theatre of the future. It was, however,
rough, and as yet 'unenlightened' and the accompanying entry makes frequent
references to its disadvantages."
9.
So potent was their example that the French, who once felt there was nothing useful to be
learned from outside their sphere, accepted Roman influence in reforming their own efforts. It was not
until the middle of the eighteenth century that the two institutions can finally be said to be following
roughly parallel lines of development, with some contact running between them, and only later will the
French academies rise to preeminence." Gil Smith, Architectural Diplomacy, p.222.
93
of his other treatises have. These treatises, however, exist as important documents
superior. This is evident from his analysis of Europe's major theatres according to their
argument for a standardization in theatre design practices. His voice, heard across
Europe, echoes through the works of other influential theorists such as George
Saunders who, in his Treatise on Theatre (1790), observes, twenty years after Milizia's
work, that: "No certain rule has been found, whereby an architect might proceed; in
consequence of which, we find a different form in almost every theatre, and as many
different opinions as there are persons who have written or spoken on the s~bject."'~
performance as a basic human need and, apart from the full attention he gives to the
subject in his Trattato Del Teatro, in his Principi di Architettura Civile he devotes a long
chapter to the description of buildings used for various types of performance." His
arguments tend towards the analysis of the theatrical edifice in light of its signification
as a social, and socializing structure. He laments the sidelining of the actual dramatic
event for which, presumably, these buildings were constructed and creates a case for
the redesign of the theatre with a new awareness of the Lodolian premise of
exists at the core of all his artistic treatises, is vitally central to the concerns of the entire
this argument had for architecture were revolutionary and, in the age of Diderot's
Encyclopddie, when Baroque artistic excess was being questioned and the role of the
arts in society was being forced to justify itself, this argument meant a great deal for
theatre, both as building and event. Prouillo suggests that to understand Milizia one
must also be familiar with Nicolb Fasolo, whose vision of architectural aesthetics
revolved around the belief that art is imitation and all the arts have their respective
model. The model, he maintained, must be nature because all knowledge is derived
from this source. The genius of Milizia's work was its attempt to reconcile the
basic human impulses. This meant that, unlike Lodoli, he would not subjugate human
enlightened reform, theatres, not only in Italy but throughout Europe, could no longer
" Lodoli's ideas, due to his hesitations to publish, come down to us largely through Memmo
in his work Elementi dell' architettura lodoliana o sia l'arte del fabbricare con solidita scientifica e con
eleganza capricciosa. A full discussion of the indebtedness of Memrno, Milizia and Algarotti to Lodoli
can be found in halo Prouillo's Francesco Milizia teorico e storico dell'architettura.
Milizia's Trattato, widely read in his day, insisted that the building's construction
and maintenance had to be reformed along with the dramatic event for which these
edifices provided space. Though, to us, who are the beneficiaries of the historical
evolution of architectural thought over the past two hundred and fifty years, this may
seem a basic principle, it must be remembered that, in the Europe of Milizia's day,
What little we know of Milizia's personal history comes from the preface to the
Milizia was bom into a noble family in Oria, a city in an "unimportant" territory in the
Kingdom of Naples in 1725. At the age of nine he was sent to his uncle, a doctor in
Padua, to study the Belles Lettres for nearly seven years. After a falling out with his
uncle, he returned to Naples where he completed his studies. In Naples Milizia studied
confesses, his desire to see other countries, especially France, was all consuming and
he left Naples secretly with the intention of travelling but got no further than Leghorn
before running out of money. His father, apparently would not fund such puerile
escapades and Milizia was forced to return to Oria where he was to apply himself to
scientific pursuits.
At the age of twenty-five, Milizia married Oonna Teresa Munia, and took up
I 5 ~ English
n translation of Milizia's autobiographical writing can be found in the preface to Mrs.
Edward Creasy's translation of The Lives of the Celebrated Architects, London, 1826.
abode in Gallipoli, the town from which his noble spouse hailed. After the death of his
father, Milizia found himself more financially secure and, accompanied by his wife,
visited Rome for a year and a half. After returning briefly to Gallipoli, another visit to
Rome was made, this time for a year's duration in 1761. Of this visit he writes:
His relationship with Rome is an important one since it was through that city's
architectural achievements, and the learned group of artists and scholars he became
intimate with there, that he was introduced to the new neo-classical school of thought.
intersect.
The Vita. . . was followed by a diverse publication record which included a translation
16
English translation fro the preface to Mrs. Edward Creasy's edition of Lives of the Architects,
p. xiii.
17
These authors were well acquainted with each other's work as is evident by Milizia's Deile
Belle Arti . . ., and D' Azara's Opere Di Antonio Raffaelb Mengs (1 783) in which he states that "per
formare queste mie Osservazioni mi sono approfittato sempre degli Scriti di Mengs." (Tomo I, p.87)
work Delle Belle Arti. fuses the contributions of Mengs and Sulzer, himself cited in A
18~ilizia's
History of Architectural 73eory as making " the most important contribution in German to the theory of
art during the second half of the eighteenth century.' (p. 188) Sulzets ideas of architecture and antiquity
are very similar to those put forward by Winckelmann.
for Diderot's Encyclopedie, a treatise on medicine, and the Elementi di Matematiche
pure second0 Abate de la Caille. This was followed by his Treatise on Theatrelgto a
large extent duplicated in the Elementi di Architettura Civile, which Milizia claims to
have written "when a little further advanced in the art of architecture."" His interest in
Roman antiquity next led Milizia to write a treatise on the Belle Arti. Utilizing the work
of Mengs, a foreign artist, and good friend, employed in the design of various important
construction projects throughout Italy, Milizia compiled a list of reflections on the quality
of Italy's most famous classical sculptures. His conclusions can be found in Dell' Arte
Di Vedere Nelle Belle Arti Del Disegno Secondo i Pnncipii Di Sulzefl E Di Mengs
where his first and most important rule regarding all of the fine arts, that they please,"
is outlined. This was followed by Roma nelle Belle Arti del Disegno, a work
commissioned by the ambassador of Venice at Rome, the Cavalier Zulian "a far
'g~nfortunatelyfor Milizia, and to the discredit of the Papal authorities of the time, the first
edition of the Tratfato, published in Rome in December 1771, was never allowed to circulate as, on
January 11, 1772,an order was given to prevent its sale. It was to be another two decades before the
Trattato was republished, this time in Venice, in 1794. Milizia, in the preface to the first Venetian edition,
gives an idea of his frustration with the situation in Rome:
non era piu vendibile alcun esernplare; non giA perche tutti si fossero venduti. non se
n'era anzi venduto neppure uno; ma perch&furon tutti ritirati per ordine del Maestro del Sacro
Palazzo Pontificio, e passati in potere di Don Baldassare
Odescalchi Mecenate del libro, con condizione di non fargli vedere piu luce. Le cause di questo
fatto sono note in Roma, rib debbono esserlo altrove.
From Preface to the 1794 Venetian edition of the Trattato, p.3.
20
Preface to Mrs. Edward Creasy's translation, p. xiv.
2'~ulzercontributed several articles to the revised Encyclopedie which were excerpted from his
General Theory of the Fine Arts (volume 1:1771, volume 11:1774). For a full discussion see: "The
Supplement and Sulzets Contribution to the Encyclop4dielnin Kevin Harrington's Changing Ideas on
Architecture in the Encyclopedie, 1750- 1776.
alllf primo effetto di tutte le belle arti del Disegno b il piacere della vista; e in particolare il primo
effetto della scultura & il piacer della vista per mezzo di effigie scolpite in marmo, in bronzo, e in
qualunque materia solida.' Milizia, Dell' Arte Di Vedere, p. 33.
98
conoscere le belleue e le deformita di Roma antica e modema?
From architecture, Milzia turned to the study of natural history with the
Astronomical history and then returned to the fine arts with his Didonario portatile dele
Belle Alti del Disegno, published in two volumes. After this, Milizia worked on compiling
the works of Mengs before completing a Dizionario di Medicina domestics sulle traccie
denied that Milizia was most eclectic and well-informed in the breadth of his interests.
naturalist debate regarding the value of art and its creation as imitation. The
implications of this union were several for a pre-nationalist Europe where the great
thinkers were seeking to transform the status quo by seeking new rationales for man's
crosscurrents presented to him, with respect to his neo-classical interests and his
search for the roots of architectural form offered him the ability to conceive of ways that
architecture could advance to new goals. And architecture was in the process of being
redefined in light of its connection to nature. Winckelrnann headed the debate and
offered the analogies that would feed into Milizia's analyses of the roots of architecture.
to architecture:
Therefore, for example, reffecting on the torsos of Hercules or Apollo, or other Greco-
that the artist who imitates nature as it is will entirely miss the point, takes its place in
that which is constantly in front of one's eyes. The real value of art is to show that which
one never sees united in one subject.27Thus, Milizia also places an importance in the
imposition of a beneficial visual ordering that we have already associated with Algarotti
and de Kerckhove in chapter two. It is for such reformist observaticns that Milizia is
considered important and, in a seminal work dealing with his theories, Giuseppina
Fontanesi labels him "uno degli uomini rneglio rappresentativi" of his generation.
24
From Rykwert's The First Moderns, p.352.
25 u F ~many
r centuries it was accepted by everyone with a claim to taste that the height of
artistic creation had been reached in a limited number of antique sculptures. These were to be found
at first in Rome and, later, in Florence, Naples and Paris. They were repeatedly copied in every
medium, and their forms and names thus became familiar to educated people throughout the
Western world."
HaskelI and Penny, Taste and the Antique, xiii.
. .. infatti, in Milizia troviamo un concetto simife a quello aristotelico, per cui 'la realt8' non e
27u
un imperfettissima copia dell' idea . . . ma contiene gia in s& virtualmente I'idea, perche & sintesi di
matena e forrna. L'arte &, quindi, imitazione non del fenomeno sensibile, ma attivita che cerca di cogliere
I'essenza intima delle cose e percio si piu vicina alla filosofia."
Fontanesi, p.39.
Illustration 11: An example of classical sculpture: Hercules.
From John Winckelmann's, History of the Art of the Antiquities, in Marianne Gross (Ed.)
"... die Augen ein wenig zu offnen": eine Anthologie mit Bildem aus Johann Joachim
Winckelmanns Geschichte der Kunst des Alterturns, p.39.
101
Voltaire, of course, had paved the way for the reordering of the physical manifestations
of a virtuous society and in his essay, 'Des embellissements de Paris," written during
the 17401s,he called for Paris to transform itself and to 'bring light, health, space and
beauty" into a city that was still a clutter of a medieval lack of planning. In this
private scale. Like Algarotti, Voltaire's visit to Berlin, with its new opera house that had
opened in 1745, inspired in him an understanding of what good civic architecture could
celebrates this art in the third chapter of his Dell' Arte Di Vedere Nelle Belle AIti Del
Disegno(l781) as the most important science; queen of all the others. "Per quello poi
che spetta al suo meccanismo, ella rileva tutto dalla fisica, e chi dice fisica, dice
whose works largely predate Milizia's, would have been a great influence in his
accusation of the Roman aristocracy and authorities of "ignoring the need for an urban
Rome itself, city of classical antiquity and modem dilemma, offered to the
aesthetic debate of the eighteenth century the materials on which to base universai
theories of art. Scientific and artistic thought was revolutionized there by important
archaeological discoveries that produced classical work which had previously been
misunderstood. The impact of these discoveries was enormous on the academies that
existed there and throughout Europe with regard to publications that, in turn, spawned
debate. As characterized by Wittkower, the realization was made that "truth and
simplicity must dictate an artist's approach to his subject and that the purpose of a
with the ability to compare Roman architecture to Vitruvian theory. with the accepted
understanding that Vitruvius had set down the orders of architecture derived from the
divine model which united the perfection of all the orders in one.32Classical architecture
was therefore the only true architecture, not only because it conformed with reason -
in the way the ancient authors had set out - but because it was directly based
32~orberg-~chulz advises that it was generally assumed that the three classical orders of
architecture (Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian) were capable of expressing all basic characters, as they
comprise two extremes and a mean. See Norberg-Schulz, p.17.
Illustration 12: The origins of the three orders: The Corinthian capital of Vitruvius
compared with monuments.
From Morris Hicky Morgan, trans., Vitruvius: The Ten Books on Architecture, p. 1 05.
104
The past, and the values associated with it, were exhibited most
on divine revelati~n.~
prominently in Rome. To the extent that man's progress was measured against these
ideas, as argued by Riseboro, Rome was therefore the centre and key to man's
future?
that such buildings are found only among 'cuftured nations." "Non si veggono teatri che
presso le nazioni colte. A misura che IIEuropa si e piu incivilta ed ha appreso a gustar
le delizie della vita sociale, il numero de' teatri si e da per totto moltipli~ato."~~
In such
civilizations, the theatrical spectacle provides the architect with the most satisfying work
since "all of the fine arts, and the most useful sciences have contributed to their
In antiquity, according to Milizia, the only two existing models for theatre
f~rrnation."~~
can be found in the building programs of Greece and Rome. According to Perez-
study of these two societies as repositories of wisdom is, therefore, justified by Milizia's
contention that they were the only two populations that could extend and refine human
intentions, in terms of establishing natural form. On this basis, he laments that: "We
hold our festivals in insignificant places; the ancients held them in immense structures
3 3 ~outlined
s in Rykwert. The First Moderns, p.9.
J4~iseboro,
p.161.
Civile, p.369.
3S~rchitettura
36~rom
Milizia's Principi di Archilet?ura.369.
of marble? Along this line of reasoning. Milizia proposed a global reform of theatre
which was meant to place the architectural design of the building alongside the
Materiale del Teatro was inspired by the principles of rationality, clarity, order, decorum,
morality and function and, as observed by theatre historians, delineated the image of
For Milizia, the purpose of theatre consisted in moral values being placed in
action to instruct and animate the spectators to virtue. This argument, of course, was
already being put forward in the bourgeois comedies of Goldoni, the effect of which was
to arouse debate in Venice regarding the need to protect the purity of Italian theatre
traditions. Against these traditions, Goldoni posits the need to offer to the public
models from real life rather than corrupted cornmedia figures. Milizia aligns himself with
such reformist thought as Goldoni's and thus demonstrates a liberalism of thought that
was challenging to the old order. Toward such ends, Milizia promotes his belief in the
utility of architecture which must be informed by, and nourish, its own necessity. As a
disciple of Lodoli, Milizia remains true to his master in asserting that the beauty of
architecture is born solely of necessity and utility. The ends of neoclassical art, it then
of the theatre and the enjoyment of the performance itself. In doing so, he examines
the theatrical edifice as a signifying structure with influence on the public's reaction to
the event. The result is an architectural analysis of theatre dynamics which is given
greater relevance today by the recent semiotic work of Fische-Lichte and Marvin
Carlson who, in his Places of Performance sets out the importance of studying the
In fact, Milizia, in all his architectural treatises, makes a case for the practicality of a
thorough analysis of the theatres of the Greeks and Romans not as "an exhibition of
useless scholarship but, rather, to inspire some useful imitation^.'^' In this pursuit, his
work appears inspired by the philosophical observations of Diderot who, in his writings
about the Salon of 1767, names a "true line," an ideal model of beauty, which "all but
vanishes with the man of genius, who over a certain period shapes the spirit, character,
attained by working after a copy, but by questioning the copies. In this sense, Milizia's
4 0 ~ a r ~ s oPlaces
n, of Performance, p.2.
remains of the ancient past. As Kaufmann notes: "Milizia was no true classicist. He
thought that even the Greeks had gone astray by disregarding nature, and art had
declined by imitating the Greek . . . He believed that it made no sense to copy classical
art, and that one could not revive it by the device of petty alterations.""
Milizia differentiates between theatre architecture and set design. Likening the
set to the costumes, Milizia calls for a verisimilitude in portrayal. Approximation of the
customs of the period, the nation and the subject is encouraged as much as is
conveniently possible. With the scenery, every residence must exhibit characteristics
of the person living in it. The ancients adhered strictly to the unity of place and
constructed the tragic, comic and pastoral species of set design to indicate clearly the
genre being represented. Milizia obselves the change in set requirements which. in his
day, had culminated in the creation of pure spectacle with the consequential necessity
of many scene changes? The resulting chaos on the stage, as found in the works of
architectural reality which Milizia satirizes. "Le colonne invece di regere un architrave
Re is considered to be the "most brilliant scene designer of the eighteenth century in southern Italy . .
.who established the tradition of scenic excellence at the San Carlo." Donald Oenslager, Stage Design,
p.81.
ed un soffitto, si vanno a perdere in inviluppo di panneggiamenti posti a meu'aria.""
Milizia proposes that the illusion of the scene represented must be maintained. The
order to give the audience the impression of the consistency of dimensions. Toward this
end, convenient styles of architecture should be used to avoid fantastic excess. This
means that if, for example, a scene requires a garden or rural vista, choices should be
made from known styles. Milizia suggests the availability of such prototypes in the
contemporary fad for Chinese or English gardens. Such a choice would alleviate the
need of the set designer to create from the imagination thereby ensuring a more
With regard to the construction of the theatrical edifice, Milizia demonstrates the
architectural styles dating back to the time of Aeschylus, when a magnificent theatre
was built in Athens. The form of this theatre, we are told, was dictated by that of a pre-
existing natural theatre, set up on boards amongst the trees.46This prototype is lauded
4711
The constant semicircular figure in all ancient theatres, and the interior stepped down
from top to bottom, was of the most admirable simplicity so that everyone was comfortably disposed
to see and hear equally well; in this manner each person was able to see everything, and everything
was seen by everyone." Milizia, Plincipi di Architettura Civile, p.378.
Illustration 13: Set design by Bumacini (1606 - 1707) for a garden theatre festival.
Milizia notes that this style of theatre construction existed to the time of Vitruvius, the
great Roman architect, who then formalized the rules of theatre design on the basis of
the Greek past. These rules were, throughout the Renaissance and into Milizia's period,
that, from the time of Vitruvius, the theatre was conceived of, by architects, as a space
In his assessment of the internal layout of the ancient theatre Milizia highlights
the democratic roots of the communal theatre event and applies these concepts to
potential design in his own time. In so doing, he emulates the architectural model put
forward by Algarotti but shows himself much more prone to the appreciation of the
mathematical formulae involved in the working out of proportions. The function of the
theatre is simple, it must accommodate every spectator in their attempt to view the
situation where one can see and hear equally well."' Thus the function of the theatre
is dictated by form in a very real way. This realization was revolutionary in the
Metaphor, and not mathematical equations, were the rule of the day. As observed by
Perez-Gomez, the thrust of Milizia's argument in the third part of his Principi di
Architettura Civile is that architects should know something of experimental physics and
mathematics. "It was essential for practice to bear in mind the precepts of theory in
order to 'reflect, observe, confront, and even experiment,' thereby establishing certain
a method of decoding the relationship between aesthetic theory and scdidity. This
concept, of course is born from the role of nature in artistic theory, and Milizia is quite
explicit, in his Trattato, in aligning himself with other major theorists, such as Alexander
Pope:
Or le Belle Arti fanno quello che la Natura non fa. L1uomo di gusto e di
genio, dopo avere ben ossewata e studiata la Natura, sceglie le parti che
a lui sembrano le migliori sparse qua e la nelle produzioni naturali, e ne
forrna un tutto cornpito. Questo tutto cosi compiuto e perfetto
relativamente a noi, e quello che si chiama la Bella Natura: Tutto
immaginario, ma il fondo per0 e intieramente naturale. Tutto e Natura,
dice Pope, ma natura ridotta a perfezione ed a metodo. Tis Nature all,
but Nature rneth~dized.~'
components of design with aesthetics, Milizia analyzes the forms and spatial divisions
of historically significant theatres and the implications these divisions had socially. In
fact, his most original observations deal with the dissection of the theatrical edifice
according to its functioning parts. In particular, he observes that the ancients used the
In the portion of his Trattato dedicated to theatre architecture Milizia clearly lays
out the origins of the building type, descriptions of exemplary ancient models, and a
Milan, Bologna, Rome, and foreign theatres such as those at Lyons and Berlin. He
makes it clear that, in his opinion: . . . il Teatro antico era per il formale assai piu
attraente del modemo, e per il materiale ancora dovea incomparabilmente
exposes the defects of the former. Finally, a plan is put forward for a reformed theatre
which, more closely designed as a building in line with Milizia's vision, its function
becomes at least a model for the container of an event which evokes both utility and
Milizia breaks the ancient theatre down into three major divisions. What predominates
is the part which he names "theatre," the space which accommodates both the
representation and the spectators Secondly, he isolates the portico under which the
audience waited for the performance, and also sought cover in the event of rain. Finally,
to aid in the process of creating the event, Milizia highlights the pleasure gardens in
which the audience could take delight both before and after the spectacle.52These
parts were laid out by Roman designers who, according to Milizia, deviated only in
terms of size and grandeur from the original theatre plans of the Greeks. The great
theatres of Marcellus and Pompeii thus become the prototypes against which all
Illustration 15: Theatre of Marcellus, Rome.
modem theatres are judged. The interior of the ancient theatre, as observed by Milizia,
was semi-circular, terminated in one part by a semi-circle and in the other by a straight
diameter. In the centre of this enclosure was a piazza, which is what we call the platea
or parterre, and what the Greeks called the orchestra, because it was the place for their
dances. The Romans continued to call it an orchestra, although it no longer served for
dancing but, rather, was used to seat the more distinguished people.
At this point in laying out the first major division of the theatre, the space for
representation and spectators, Milizia again breaks down the category by concentrating
first on the space for the spectators and then on that for the performance. Around the
semi-circle rose a staircase, on which sat the regular spectators. The steps of these
auditoriums were not less than twenty nor more than twenty two inches high. Their
width was fixed at between two and two and a half feet. In the larger theatres this flight
of stairs was interrupted, in proportion to the size of the theatre, by one or two landings
called prescinzioni. At the top of each staircase there was another landing, inside of
which was repeated a portico the same height as the stage. This portico also had steps
for the use of the spectators, especially the women. All of the steps and landings of the
above-mentioned staircase were laid out in such a way that a line traced from the first
to the last step must not touch any of the tops of the comers. The reasoning behind
these proportions was that, in this way the voice would not be reflected and could be
heard equally well everywhere. The Greeks were advantaged, says Milizia, in being
able to locate their theatres on the slope of a hill. This situation was solid and
economic, furthermore, they saved on the porticoes, the facades and the supports for
the steps and the staircases. But, he says, where one does not have such an
Illustration 17: The Greek theatre at Siracuse, built into the side of a hill.
Reprinted in Giuliana Ricci, Teatn d'ltalia, p. 34. From Domenico Lo Faso Pietrasanta
da Serradifalco, Antichita di Sicilia, Palenno: 1842.
118
advantageous situation, or does not want to use it, as in Rome, it is convenient to place
the steps on vaults and corridors. Therefore, to ascend to the seats, there should be
different smaller stairs for the internal stairs, each set leading to a landing. These small
stairs in turn divide the seats into many sections, which, from their form are called cunei
(wedges), intended for the differentiation of the levels of society; the magistrates, the
cavaliers, the young, and the plebeians. Regardingthe orchestra, one enters on ground
level corridors called vomitori. Finally, the last detail of which Milizia talks, are the
formed niches in the steps themselves in which bronze vases are located, or clay
The part of the theatre dedicated to the performance itself, the stage, which
Milizia calls 'pulpito' or 'proscenio,' is located at the diameter of the semi circle. The
height of the stage is fixed at five feet, which allows those seated in the orchestra to
view the actors comfortably. Behind the 'proscenio' at a distance equal to the radius of
the semicircle of the orchestra was the scaenae frons, which also acted to form the
front of the theatre building itself. The length of this structure was equal to the entire
diameter of the orchestra. Regarding the scenery, it was, of course, impossible for
Milizia to make claims from direct observation. It is obvious, therefore, that, at this point,
his study of Vitruvius makes itself apparent? Accordingly, the scenery is described as
being of three types: tragic, comic, and satiric . The ancients were scrupulous in their
representation of place. Tragedy was represented by a royal palace with some temples
53~ilizia,in a footnote in his Trattato, gives some of the sources of his knowledge of the
differences between ancient theatres, especially between those of the Romans and the Greeks. Among
others, he acknowledges research spanning f rorn the ancient Pausanias, to Maffei's Verona Illustrata.
119
supported by magnificent columns, frontispieces and statues. The comic form was
complemented by a street with common houses. Finally, the satiric, a type of pastoral,
included a forest with paths, views of towns, mountains, caves, and similar woodland
things?
Regarding the proportions of the set, Milizia indicates that the height of the
scaenae frons was relative to the size of the theatre. He makes note that, ordinarily, in
large theatres, the set was of three orders, in smaller, two. Milizia also observes the
Greco-Roman tradition of placing three doors in the set, with the royal door (porta
reale), in the centre and the two on the side reserved for the entrance and exit of
foreigners. As for set change, Milizia notes the existence of "triangular, versatile
machines" at the two sides of the set. On these prisms were scenic representations of
In short, Milizia describes the theatres of the ancients as 'superb" buildings in which
were united both utility and pleasure with a magnificence that transmits, even to
Miliria's judgements are harshest with regards to the contemporary theatres of Rome
itself. He reasons that, because the Romans are surrounded by their proud remains,
they should benefit from their proximity. Instead, Milizia categorizes the theatres of
54~itruviuswas quite specific in his delineation of the three kinds of scenes and his rules
were to have great influence on set design in the 18th century.
"Tragic scenes are delineated with columns, pediments, statues, and other objects
suited to kings; comic scenes exhibit private dwellings, with balconies and views
representing rows of windows, after the manner of ordinary dwellings; satyric scenes
are decorated with trees, caverns, mountains, and other rustic objects delineated in
landscape style." Vitruvius, Book V, Chapter VII, p.150.
E incomprensibile, come Roma modema abbia saputo si poco
approfittarsi, specialmente nell' Architettura, di tanti suoi tesori antichi,
che sono pure i maestri di tutte le nazioni Europee. Ella ha certamente
grandi e ricchi edifizi pubbfici e privati, e supera in cio qualunque altra
capitale; ma la grandeua e la riccheua non hanno punto che fare colla
belleua delllArchitettura, e la piccola Vicenza col solo Palladio e
incornparabilmente piu bella della grandissima Roma, non ostante i suoi
Bramanti, San Galli, Buonarotti, Peruui, Vignoli, posti gia in oblio per
Fontana, Mademi, Bemini, Borromini, seguiti da uno stuolo, che alla
Tartara calpesta la bella Architettura Greca-Romans."
Of the major modem theatres of Europe, Militia has very little good to say: "I
Nostri Teatri non soffrono descrizione, che per fari arrossire, e per animarci a
correggerli. Da per tutto poverta, difetti, abusi? In particular, Milizia criticizes the
allowed for only one-fifth of the audience to see and hear the performance in comfort
from the boxes? In terms of inclusiveness, Milizia's analysis of modem theatres proves
much the same in his Architettwa Civile and in his Traftato. Both lay out the same
design defects. While the Architeffura Civile skips directly to a discussion of what Milizia
utility, and beauty, the Trattato provides the reader with a more specific case study of
create problems of acoustics and vision; these are the common faults of Europe's
" ~ i l i z i a criticizes the boxes on several counts. Their positioning created many angles which
dispersed sound and also disrupted sight. The socializing encouraged by such seating also acted to
destroy formal theatre. Trattato, pp. 90-91.
theatres. From the misery, however, Milizia raises a select group which, constructed of
stone, and offering some level of comfort, with attention paid to design details, can be
thought to approach the ideal. Among these are the opera houses of Torino, Naples,
Bologna, and Berlin. which Milizia describes as being the most sumptuous in all of
Europe. Even these, however, sin with regard to their interior shapes, which are
irregular and uncomfortable. They also make the most inconvenient use of the boxes
(palchetti). In fact, the only modem innovation to theatre of which Milizia approved was
the roof, which both covered and embellished the auditorium. The lack of a covering
is, in fact, an instance where Milizia is very critical of the ancients who: "piu robusti di
noi, non coprivano i loro Teatri. Or la copertura a un teatro semicirolare e quella bocca
del palco scenario. largo quanto e il diametro di esso teatro, sono cose ben
imbaraz~anti."~~
Even this improvement, however, was not flawless, since it:
also creates unhealthy conditions, as the closed air is filled in little time
with a great quantity of animal odoun very damaging for their quick
corruption; so that within one hour one breathes nothing but human
odour: into the lungs is introduced infected air emanating from thousands
of chests, and expelled with all the corpuscles often contaminated and
foul smelling, that is able to be transported to the insides of many
people.59
The only modem theatre that Milizia esteems as worthy of being called good is
the Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza. Designed by Andrea Palladio in 1583, the theatre
remains true, for the most part, to Vitruvian architectural principles in accommodating
both the spectator and the spectacle. "La pianta si rifa a una complessa costruzione
from Milizia to Tommaso Ternanza. Rorna, 30 Mano, 1771. From Lettere di Francesco
58~etter
Miiizia a Tornmaso Temanra, p.31.
Illustration 18: Teatro Regio, Turin as illustrated in Diderot's Encyclopedie.
Reprinted in Giuliana Ricci. Teatn d'ltalia, p. 96. From 0.Bertotti Scamoui, L'origine
dell'Accademia Olimpica di Vicenza. Con una breve descnzione del suo teafro,
Vicenza: 1790.
126
geometrica la cui matrice risale alla riscoperta rinascimentale degli studi classici di
V i t r u ~ i o . "The
~ ~ shape, Milizia correctly explains, remains the exception to Vitruvian
design, being semi-elliptical rather than semi-circular. This difference, however, was
unavoidable, given the inegulanty in narrowness of the selected site. The variance,
levels, constructed of wood, for the spectators, interrupted neither by little stairways nor
by vomitories. For sight and acoustics, Milizia prefers this configuration to the box
system found in other modem theatres. The greatest diameter of this sweep is ninety-
seven and a half Parisian feet; the smallest, ending at the scena, is, according to
Milizia's calculations, about fifty-seven and a half. At the top of the seating runs a loggia
of Corinthian columns which, because of the narrowness of the site, were not allowed
practice by locating statues in niches in the middle and at the extremes of the banking.
In addition to this, the entire loggia is crowned by a balustrade that is itself enriched
with statues.
The scena is constructed of stone in the style of the three orders. The first two
orders are Corinthian, highly irregular, according to ancient practice, and something that
Milizia cannot account for. The third order is Attic. Each level is ornamented with what
and two on the sides; each one with internal views, laid out, as we know, according to
the laws of perspective. Therefore, from the extreme ends of the seating, the complete
set cannot be seen. In total, Milizia believed the Teatro Olimpico to have been
ingeniously designed, with one qualification: the building lacked convenient exterior
decoration. Giving a defense even to this defect, however, Militia again supports the
ideal of a centralized, enlightened ruler with the power to support the arts. The flaws in
the building, therefore, must be forgiven since it was constructed "non a spese del
Olirnpi~a."~~
The theatres of the city of Venice, though numerous, and opulent, were never
capable of true greatness, being erected "above the ashes of burnt down houses" by
patrician families. Thus, rather than being well planned, or erected as part of a
responsible urbanization, the theatres were constructed cheaply "between houses, and
streets that are the most abject and narrow in the city." Far from contributing to the
their interiors. Although precedence had been set in Venice by a long-standing record
of excellence in spectacle and pomp, and even though the city supported such
acclaimed acting companies as the Accasi, Sempitemi and the Calza, at present, the
condition of theatres in that city is no better than in many her inferior. The sixteenth
century had seen an exemplary theatre built in Canareggio by the architect Sansovino,
and one built at the Carita, for the Calza company, by the great Palladio himself. These
128
theatres, however, were built to be temporary, and their memory did nothing to remind
modem theatre designers that the ideal shape for a theatre should be semi-circular.
Even the great theatre of Saint John Cristosomo, celebrated throughout Europe for its
musical dramas, had, in Milizia's eyes, lost esteem due to the restructuring of the
could be generated. As a result, three boxes were added to each level at the sides of
the proscenium, thereby lengthening the theatre and destroying the proportions that
The other six theatres in the city are assessed by Militia as having the same
defect. With the passing of the years, the number of boxes had augmented to a
crescendo. The need, therefore, to generate greater income, originally altering the
consideration which, with regards to acoustics and sight lines, was seriously flawed.
The most recent example, in Venice, could be found in the newly constructed theatre
of San Benedetto, the most famous in Goldoni's time, which, while well decorated in
the interior is, in its shape, not better than the others. Thus, Milizia sums up his analysis
of Venetian theatres with the sad conclusion: "Cosi Venezia, che fu la prima delle citta
di Europa, ch' ebbe i bei Teatri sulla foggia degli antichi, e che in cio fu forse la maestra
delle altre nazioni, oggidi e alla stessa condizione di tante altre citta a lei di gran lunga
inferiori?
129
Of the other major Italian theatres, Milizia mentions, in order of importance: the
Famese Theatre in Parrna, the theatres of Milano, Fano, and Verona, the theatres of
Rome, with particular emphasis on the Tordinona and the Argentina, the Royal
Theatres of Naples and Torino, and, finally, the Teatro Comunale of Bologna. Of the
one in Montpellier, the rebuilt Paris Opera House, and the court theatre at Venailles.
England has only two worth mentioning, both in London: the theatre of the Opera, and
the Covent Garden Theatre. Finally, Milizia talks of the theatre in the Imperial Palace
in St. Petersburg.
Battista Magnani, was undeniably famous. Among its virtues is its great size and its
shape, which is semi-circular "cui infelicemente si congiungono due lati reW6' The
These seats are well serviced by two entrances, one on each side, with a grand ducal
box which is in turn equipped with two access stairways. Above this initial banking of
seats rise two majestic loggias, one Doric, the other Ionic, each equipped with a further
seating area of four steps. Architectural disharmony disrupts the simple elegance of the
classical proportions, according to Milizia, when the architect added arches to the areas
641tis obvious that Milizia used Diderot's Encyclopedie as a design source precisely because
of his heavy emphasis of the Teatro Regio in Turin and Soufflot's Theatre of Lyon. Both of these
theatres are well represented by the engravings in that source.
See Theatre Architecture and Stage Machines: Engravings from the Encyclopedie.
lllustratiion 22: Famese Theatre of Parma.
From Dennis Diderot and Jean Le Rond D'Alembert (Eds.), Theatre Architecture and
Stage Machines: Engravings from the Encycloedie, p. 1 6.
Illustration 24: Plan of the Argentina Theatre. Rome.
Reprinted in Giuliana Ricci, Teatn d'ltalia, p. 176. From Longhi, Pianta, e spaccato del
nuovo Teatro di Bologna, Bologna: 1 763.
Illustration 26: Sectional drawing of the Court Theatre at Versailles.
esse loge?
Worse effect is produced by the two large side entrances, between the seating
and the proscenium because of the orders with which they are ornamented. The result
is a repugnant clash both with the proscenium and with the theatre. Above these
entrances can be found pedestals on which are placed equestrian statues, another
blow to responsible ornamentation, offending both orchestra and proscenium. But the
greatest design flaw in the theatre can be found in what Mifizia calls the "bocca del
palco scenario," excessively narrow, and much too far from the audience. With some
renovations the stage could be enlarged and made to extend closer to the spectators
but, regarding the shape, the spectators sitting on the sides stand little hope of seeing
more than a small part of the scenery. The spatial configuration is also maladapted to
acoustics for, as Milizia notes: "la struttura, sia per artifizio o per caso, 8 tale, che
parlando sotto voce da una parte, I'altro situato nella parte opposta sente
di~tintamente."~'
Finishing his separate analyses of theatres modem and ancient, Milizia, in both
the Trattato and Principles of Civil Architecture, compares the two periods and devises
a list of the principal requirements of a theatre based on the successes of the one and
the failures of the other. The first of these requirements is solidity of construction, basic
to the safety of the spectators. Because wood easily rots and starts on fire, Milizia opts
lllustrpation28: Equestrian Statue at the Famese Theatre, Parrna.
and welcoming the spectator. Milizia demonstrates his interest in urban planning by
identifying the theatre as an important nodal point in the classically planned city. The
building, according to this reasoning, should be centrally situated for greater access,
and, ideally, located on a piazza where carriage traffic could be accommodated with
greater ease. Real comfort in the theatre, however, consists of the placement of the
spectator in a position from which they can see and hear the performance. In this
regard, the semi-circular form of theatre, as devised by the ancients, had never been
bettered by the modems. As a suggestion for the reform of the theatrical space, this
reversion to tested classical proportions was both beautifully and essentially simple as
well as democratic in its facilitation of a more equalized experience for the entire
approximated in the major theatres. In the Pergola Theatre, built in Florence in 1755,
for example, there were about fifteen gambling rooms preceding the hall which could
be accessed from the boxes? The boxes in most Italian opera houses were shuttered,
further enforcing the distinction between the spectators occupying them, and those in
the pit. In practice, however, the shutters were seldom ctosed since ostentation was
exercised by the occupants. "Young men of wealth could flaunt their mistresses and
members of the aristocracy could see what other people of their social position were
present and decide which boxes to visit during the evening?' The spectators in the
68~aussard,p.160.
common classes who exhibited an earnest, although noisy attention to the play being
Wooden benches were provided for them in the fore part of the
theatre and an occasional guard appeared if they became too boisterous,
but the pit remained nevertheless in constant movement and commotion.
The benches were insufficient for the crowd, and directly in front of them
an empty space was provided for 'women suffering from an incontinence
of urine,' hardly encouraging audience members to come close to the
stage. Further back, they were subjected to the spitting and the dropping
of orange peels, candle ends and other debris from the boxes, so it is
little wonder that they remained in constant turmoil.70
nature of the building. Beauty could be created through the application of the classical
facades of modem theatres. The practice of his day, which he abhorred, was to
compensate for the austerity of the exterior by the extravagance of the interior. The
Solidity
Solidity is neglected but, in every building that is crowded and where the
incidence of fire is familiar, it is essential to ensure the safety of the people. For this
reason Milizia advocates the use of stone as a primary building material. "After
thousands of years the ancient theatres will still exist whole if our neglect and greed
140
does not succeed in destroying or disfiguring them. In making them of stone they are
made eternal, although little to nothing has the fear of catching fire, because all was
operated by the light of the sun."7' Modem theatres, however, are operated using
torches and, for a better display, live fires are lit using combustible materials of wood
and fabric. The resulting fumes are identified by Milizia as a health hazard for the
Mitizia criticizes modem theatres as fire traps which, even if escaping fire, will live no
Convenience
If, Milizia postulates, the theatre is created for the pleasurable instruction of the
public, it is clear that it must be situated in a place and in a style that is most convenient
for the access of the citizens. Therefore, it desires to be in the centre of the city. As
evidence of the importance of the theatre as an urban nodal point, Milizia observes that
the Colosseum, as well as the theatres of Pompey and Marcellus, were not in remote
accommodation of this spectacle. Apart from central locations, Militia extends the
sphere of the theatrical experience to streets that are wide enough to accommodate
carriages full of spectators and porticoed piazzas which, like the porticoes of the
ancient theatres, would be able to offer shelter and security to those who walked.
71
A rchitettura Civile, p-372.
Access routes to the theatre must also be duplicated by convenient access points into
the theatre so that the building could be filled and emptied with expediency. Here again
Milizia turns to the ancient theatre to provide the example. "A look at the ancient type,
furnished with many doors, with passages (vomitorii) and stairs, would make us
recognize the embarrassment that is suffered in the access to our modem theatres.'72
Real theatrical convenience, however, the issue that forms the base of Milizia's
proposed reform, consists of a situation where one can see and hear equally well.
Here, the paradigm is unequivocally found in the more democratic auditorium design
The constant semicircular figure in all ancient theatres, and the interior,
stepped from top to bottom, was of the most admirable simplicity so that
everyone was comfortably disposed to see and hear equally well. In this
manner each person was able to see everything, and everything was
seen by e~eryone.'~
In modern theatres, however, the different and strange forms of the auditorium, and
especially the absurd use of the boxes (palchetti), stacked one on top of the other,
situation is, in many theatres, brought to such excess, that the stage is drawn forward
into the orchestra, in order to diminish the inconvenience of hearing too little. The result
is that, from many boxes, the actors can be seen only from the back.
"~rchite?turaCivile, p.372.
Civile, p.372.
73~rchitettura
Civile, p.372.
74~rchitettura
142
Beauty
Beauty, at the present time, something that should go hand in hand with
Marcellus, on the contrary, even though it was a small theatre, had a beauty of order
and nobility that made its character easily evident from the exterior, and made it
possible to have an idea of the sumptuousness of the interior. Modem theatres, on the
other hand, if not labelled as such, would be unidentifiable for what they are. "Worse,
the entrance, the stairs, the corridors seem to lead, not to a place of noble recreation,
the interior. The artificiality of the painted, gilded interior, with sculptural copies in
crystal and wax, though providing enchantment for the eye, are condemned by Milizia
as being childish delights when compared to the solid decorations of the ancients. The
porticoes ornamented with columns and statuary, the marble steps, separated by
landings and alternatively divided in the shape of wedges, these, Milizia speculates,
must have created a grand effect, especially when the theatre was full of spectators,
who themselves formed another part of the spectacle. "Our boxes," he cornpares,"do
Civile, p. 373-
75~rchitettura
Civile,
76~r~ h . p. 373.
143
Regarding the box system, in use since the first Venetian opera houses were
built, Milizia speaks out with sarcasm in an attempt to ridicule both the design flaws of
the device, as well as the bad socializing effect that it has on its occupants:
having noble comfort and freedom for movement, staying still, leaning
foward, withdrawing, hiding, and doing whatever one wants, as if one was
in their own toilet feeling at ease to enjoy the theatre, and at the same
time to enjoy a particular conversation, that is continually repeated.
Admirable, applaudable invention!"
His arguments are shared by many, but with notable counterarguments proposed later
by the influential French architect Pierre Patte, in his Essai sor /'architecture thebtrale
(1782), who argues for the economic benefits of the box system: ". . . c'est la location
des loges a I'annee qui produit le revenu le plus assure des Theatres permanents dans
The boxes, to Milizia, however, are both creator of and symptomatic for all the problems
The boxes, defined by Milizia as a 'multiplicity of holes and partitions," cut the
and thereby weakening and confusing the acoustical quality. The essential defect
created is a poorness in sound. The ancients in their large stone theatres, of course, as
n~rattato,p. 89.
Patte, Essai sur /'architecture thdhtrale, pp. 1 65-1 66.
78~ierre
144
outlined by Mitizia, used two methods to enhance sound quality: bronze vases situated
in various locations on the theatre steps, and the stylized masks for the actors, the
mouths of which acted as megaphones which increased the carrying capacity of the
voice.79"Our theatres," writes Milizia, are "much smaller; they are covered; they are
constructed of wood, a material better adapted to carry sound . . . and meanwhile result
places the bulk of the blame on the numerous apertures of the boxes, which create
the box system. He proposes the simple solution of removing the side partitions up to
half of their height or, simply, removing them completely. The effect would be excellent,
"especially in the higher levels, from where the stage is viewed in the poorest manner.""
"until the late nineteenth century . . . little was understood about the principles of room
acoustics. Acoustic successes, when they occurred, were due to a combination of intuition, experience,
and luck, both in overall planning and in the use of construction materials. For instance, architects
advocated to good effect, but without understanding the scientific principles involved, that theatres and
opera houses should be lined with thin wood panelling, which absorbs the boorny medium - to lower -
frequency sound so as not to mask the detail of both the elaborate aria and the recitativo secco.
Forsyth, Buildings for Music, p.13.
145
The architectural decoration of the interior is affected by the interference of the boxes.
The majestic orders, as obsetved by Vitruvius, when adapted to the support of small and
numerous boxes becomes ridiculous. The result is a "pygmy version more ridiculous
than what can still be seen in Rome in the barbaric cloisters of St. John Lateran, St.
capitals and cornices creates a fractioning quality that disperses the voice.
In one's own home, and amongst one's family, each person unbridles their
passions, but people begin to restrain themselves when the number and
quality of onlookers around them increase; in order that each person
shows himself in public with the image of moderation and civility, which in
private they don't demonstrate, and they force themselves to behave in
the way they really should behave. Therefore, outside of the home, and
in company, they show off those magnificent clothes and those smart
things which usually in their homes, they don't wear. As are the clothes of
the bedroom to formal wear, so is the internal morality to the external.
Now, this beautiful exterior demeanour is very useful to society, and to
individuals could penetrate to the interior of the soul if such occasions to
interact in public are multiplied. By force of habit, apparent goodwill and
courtesy could convert them truly and really."
If this didactic socializing function is, as Militia claims, one of the prime benefits of
theatre, then, as he justly argues, the separation and concealment of one party from the
The entire ruin of formal theatre is ascribed by Milizia to the freedom of the uncultured
primarily, on which he blames the demise of good tragedy, comedy, and musical theatre.
Good drama requires attention to follow it from beginning to end and it is here that the
box creates confusion since it offers the user the possibility of using the device as a kind
of peephole from which to observe the different loggias. In fact, Miiizia postulates that
the boredom of bad drama produced the active life of the boxes but, conversely, the
existence of the boxes has increased the absurdity of the drama and created a situation
in which the drama itself is no longer the pretext to go to the theatre. "Therefore, to
destroy the boxes would be the most commendable end for the most noble of
spectacles, or else they convert it into a bundle of nonsense, and deface the theatre
itself."84
The design of an entire recreational complex (see Appendix, Table I), concocted
by Milizia together with his cohort, Mr. Vincenzo Ferrarese, has been chronicled in
several books dedicated to the architecture of the eighteenth century. This design was
meant to borrow the best from the ancients and apply it to the needs of a modem
society. With this in mind, Milizia and Ferrarese set out to correct the defects of modern
84
Milizia, Trattato. . . , p.91.
147
observes the general geometric configuration of the ancients with an internal circle
where half is dedicated to the spectators and the other half to the stage itself. The
theatre was designed to accommodate five thousand spectators; all seated comfortably
and with the ability to see and hear with equal comfort.
as much as possible, with wood. The entire theatre, therefore, is planned to be covered
by a false vault made of wood so that the sound will be more resonant.
The seats are distributed so that all can see comfortably over wooden seats
placed on steps half a foot high. This is an innovation over ancient theatres such as the
would, by placing two walls at the end of the steps contiguous with the stage, have
impeded the view of the stage for a large number of spectators seated in that part of the
steps. As the steps, in ancient theatres, formed a great mass, to the detriment of
acoustics, Milizia proposes constructing a continuous ramped vault under this mass, with
openings corresponding to certain shafts under the vault, at the wall at the lower
'?here was some question as to who actually designed the ideal theatre. Milizia, in a letter to
Temanza, takes full credit; claiming that Ferrari was his student rather than collaborator:
" . . . E chi mai le ha detto che I'autore dell'idea del teatro sia Vincenzo Fenari, scolari del
Pouo? Quella idea, qualunque si sia, B mia, e la ho fatto eseguire da un giovane, che
si chiama Vincenzo Ferrarese, il quale & da molti e molti anni che vive con me e non ha
avuto altro maestro che i Monomenti antichi, Vitruvio e Palladia, su i quali mi sono
ingegnato di dirigerlo alla meglio che ho saputo .. ."
Roma, 18 Aprile, 1772.
Lettere di Francesco Milriia a Tommaso Temanza, p.45.
148
springing point of the vault. If all the interior steps of the theatre are then covered in
With regard to the architectural orders represented on the stage, Milizia chooses
simplicity, with only one order, in the guise of a triumphal arch.(Appendix, Table V) The
entablature and base of the order recurs inside, all over the theatre, and the spring of
the great half-arch recurs as well, making a division of the minor orders that are located
in the loggias and in the niches of the stage.(See Appendix,table IV) Through the three
doors, or arches, of the stage can be presented mobile scenery (Appendix, table II) that
The stage facade traditionally expresses in its design the ability to support the
weight of the roof. But, as in this case, if it is desired to construct from wood, then it
would be possible to remove the intercolumnations of the small order at the entrances
and thus acquire greater space to exhibit the mobile scenery. The management of this
with each machine either travelling in a line up and down, or sliding quickly onto the
stage. "Why," Milizia asks, "employ a multitude of men to do with danger that which can
Finally, anticipating an attack over the fact that, in his theatre, not all the
spectators can see each other, Milizia offers a defence. Even though those in the
loggias cannot see the crowd above them, the majority can see each other. Most
149
importantly, however, all can see the stage, which should be the principle objective for
Milizia thus offers a clear program for the reform of theatre as a physical space
that would return it to a more purposeful use in society. Borrowing from the same
practitioner of the reforms that he preaches. Thus, as one of the great Architect-Poets
of the eighteenth century he acts to complement the contribution of Algarotti who left us
a small collection of libretti in his theatrical treatise. Here, Milizia offers us a set of plans.
But he too appreciated fully the poetic and practical requirements of theatre-in-practice
Milizia's exposition of theatre was incomplete without a clear idea of the function
of this structure in society. He had already included the theatre as one of the public
buildings, necessary to the functioning of a healthy urban environment, in his study The
extension of that study which concentrated on this one community event and the
building that housed it. Thus, his interest in theatre as a moral event was dictated by
layout of Greek and Roman theatre structures. Theatres were built so that performance
could take place. The design of the building itself, therefore, should be guided by
considerations of how best to accommodate the activity therein taking place. To do so,
Milizia realized, it would be necessary to study the drama, a human creation, to reveal
the nature of its relationship to society; its function, so to speak. If the primary function
of the whole could be determined, just so could the independent contributions of each
of the constituent parts of the drama be re-assessed in light of their effect on the final
product. Thus, his rationale follows that of Algarotti with regard to their common method
With regard to his body of work devoted to the dramatic element of theatre,
Milizia is less prolific than in architecture, and certainly less well known. It is as an
151
due to his Principiwhich "form the major theoretical basis of Italian Neo-classicism."'
In dealing with dramatic theory, one work, published under several titles, stands out:
Del Teatro. Given that Milizia has been considered primarily as an architect, it is
understandable that he has not yet been considered in histories of the theatre. Even
in such authoritative surveys as Marvin Cartson's recent Theories of the Theatre (1984)
published in Rome in December 1771, was never allowed to circulate. The subsequent
publication took place in Venice, a far more enlightened state, in 1794. In weighing the
impact of the work, this delay in publication is important to note since, unfortunately, it
placed the general circulation of Milizia's work behind, rather than in front of, the French
Revolution (for which some of his statements have been criticized; seeming ludicrous
after this major event). Milizia's comments on the situation, already recorded in the
previous chapter, are condemning of the Roman Papal administration which removed
'"under the influence of Milizia architectural historians, the majority of whom were also
architects, attempted in their writings to promote a Neo-classical conception of architecture. Examples
of such works are the collections of biographies by Tommaso Temanza (1778) and the measurements
of the works of Palladio by Ottavio Bertotti Scamoni (1776083)~ in which the latter attempted to guide
b is own age back to the 'wen principi della bel/ezza Architettoni'ca.' Kruft, A History of Architectural
Theory, pp.206-207.
*1n five sentences, Carlson summarises the contributions of Goldoni, Alfieri, Crescimbeni,
Gravina, Conti and Varano. The general achievement of these writers, in Carlson1sview, was to follow
the direction of French neoclassicism, 'supporting the unities, strict separation of genres, elevated
language for tragedy, decorum, and moral uplift." Carlson, Theories of the Theatre, p.198.
152
Although it can be argued that many of Milizia's ideas regarding the design flaws
of the material theatre may be derivative, it cannot be contested that his fusing of both
architectural and dramatic theory into one work, Del Teatro, was both ambitious and
original. In light of the desire for reforms of theatre that we have already seen
circulating in the period, this treatise is a valuable resource that connects the problems
on the stage to those in the auditorium. The auditorium, of course, extended beyond
the doors of the theatre and change in the theatre could effect change in society,
according to the reformist discourse of Milizia, and Algarotti before him. This connection
Like Algarotti before him, and like many of his reformist contemporaries, Milizia himself
was a product of a unique intellectual environment that fused concerns with the nature
of the arts and science with concerns for an overhaul of com~ptedsocietal institutions.
In Chapter One of his Trattato, he pays homage to some of the sources from which he
has compiled his argument ".. . per fare questa analisi, e dire quanto si conviene in
questa materia, ci vuole un foraggio generale, anzi un saccheggio sopra molti libri.
Milizia, like Algarotti, identifies the theatre as one of the most important of
society's institutions, with roots reaching to the dawn of creation. Like Algarotti he
examines the flaws of this institution but, more importantly, he brings a scientific gaze
to bear on the ways that theatre as event can affect human behaviour for better or
3
Trattato, p. 8.
worse. What is perhaps most unique in his contribution is the quantity of detail with
which he analyzes the theatre's component parts. Speaking of the drama as a species
of poetry he lays out and examines the artistic and social roots of tragedy, comedy, the
pastoral, and the opera; these art forms being of relevance to the well-being of the
society that produces them. The idea was current to dialogues being written in all parts
Veneta, who wrote that: "un popolo, che ha buon gusto nelle belle arti, ama anche
impact of these art forms places them at the centre of codes and morals of a society.
location for performance with one great objective "che consiste nella Morale posta
4
Se considerate che il buon gusto di tutte queste arti non e altro che un amore dell'ordine e una
simmetria e un concerto di parti, che hanno relazione col tutto, una regolata varieta, che trae a se
I'occhio, I'orecchio e il cuore della gente, voi vedrete che a poco a poco pel m e n o di esse s'introduce
una certa fineva e civilta ne' pensieri e nel cuore degli uomini, che non ve la introdurrebbero in un
paese privo di queste grazie tutti i maestri del mondo.
Gasparo Goni, Ragionamenti e dialoghi di morale e di cntica lettamria e Sennoni, Part II, Dialogue 10,
p.73.
51n a note on the life of Metastasio, Domenico Pietropaolo relates that his mentor, Gravina,
"began to tutor him in the austere philosophy of art and life of which he was a master, keeping him away
as much as he could from the corruptive influence of contemporary dramatic fashion, especially opera."
Sidnell, Sources of Dramatic Theory, Volume 2, p.31.
154
professione stessa esige sovente mire nobili, sentimenti delicati, e spirit0 cult^."^ Thus,
the natural pull becomes progressive and positive. There can be no political interest in
maintaining a population that has a depraved love of bad things and a sluggishness of
the spirit. It is for this reason that, in Milizia's scheme, farce must not be permitted, even
Voltaire, Goldoni and Diderot, and influenced in form by Algarotti whose functionalist
which had reduced theatre, especially in Italy, to a pitiable state. All three examined the
didactic function of theatre; the function of theatre being, to their minds, didactic. "The
Shaftesbury, a man who spent the last years of his life in ltaly studying the great
'~rattato, p. 34.
with the true happiness that virtue brings fulfilling our natural longings. For him, as for
Milizia, this natural fulfilment was exemplified by the Ancient Greeks in their theatres
...formed their audience, polished the age, refined the public ear and
framed it right, that in return they might be rightly and lastingly
applauded...Our modem authors, on the contrary, are tumed and
modeled (as themselves confess) by the public relish and current humour
of the times. They regulate themselves by the irregular fancy of the world,
and frankly own they are preposterous and absurd, in order to
accommodate themselves to the genius of the age.'"'
It is in this respect that Milizia's originality begins to become apparent. Through his
always seen architecture as a form of representation and had questioned the basis for
this representation. Correct function and its representation thus become the key artistic
principles he eschewed and these had been defined by Algarotti." Finally, he decided
that there existed no natural prototype of the "original" structure but that, with regard
to architecture, man himself created this structure. This opened the argument up
considerably.
revitalized didactic drama that he wanted to see represented in a theatre ideally built
upon the classical principles handed down from Vitruvius. From a patriotic, artistic point
of view, encouraged by the work of the academies, it bothered Milizia that, from Roman
times, the Italians had excelled in building theatres but had no similar reputation in
creating drama.13 An apologist strain of reasoning had been around since well into the
previous century and is exemplified by Luigi Riccoboni who presents the French
academies with a counter-argument, stating that Italy, indeed, had a store of dramatic
work.14 The Arcadians had begun the work of promoting the resurrection of Italian arts
and sciences but had become, in Milizia's words, an "academia di futilita e di par~le."'~
Armed with a belief in ideal art as having its basis in nature, and with the challenge
l 3 'Cosi poi i Romani, imitando i Greci, ebbero gran Teatri, ma non mai gran Drammi:
fatalita che ancora dura.' Milizia, Trattato, p. 23.
1411
...it would not at all derogate from the Merit of the French Theatre, should their Authors
examine the state of the Italian for an Age or two before ...It was in order to dissipate this Mistake which
so generally prevails in France, that I have given to the Public the long Catalogue of Tragedies and
Comedies in my History of the Italian Theatre." Luigi Riccoboni, A General History of the Stage, p. 67.
"~etterfrom Rome. August 17, 1776. LeZtere lnedite di Francesco Milizia a1 Conte Fr. Di
Sangiovani Letter xxviii, p.88.
157
presented in the treatises of earlier Italian theorists such as Muratori and Ric~oboni,'~
Milizia calls for a reform in dramatic practices that would result in a more realistic
form into an analysis of the theatre as both event and structure. Just as the design of
the building must be predicated on the rationality exposed in historical models that are
"natural" to humankind, so too the drama must be analyzed, in all its component parts,
in a rational way, bringing light to the roots, the prototype, of the event and discovering
its true function in the history of mankind. The approach is that of Algarotti, the
influences resulting in the socio-historical analysis clearly deriving from the same
sources. What sets Milizia apart is his scientific analysis in creating a treatise which
discusses the drama, with all of its manifest flaws and potential for the betterment of
society, in a manner that places him at the forefront of a self-aware attempt to establish
European society.
In his Trattato Milizia begins by describing the nature of theatre and then
immediately launches into a discussion of its two major effects, pleasure and utility. His
style is that of the Encyclopedie, in its attempt to outline every aspect of the theoretical
event. Thus he defines pleasure as coming from the ability to measure the
representation of some interesting and curious action in human life to see it is done in
1
'we know from Milizia's letters to Tommaso Temanza that Milizia was active in collecting the
published works of such authors. He specifically mentions his search for Riccoboni's Reflexions sur les
Theatres in the bookshops of Rome in a letter dated July 4, 1772.
Lettere di Francesco Milizia a Tommaso Temanza, p.54.
158
a manner more alive and more natural." An example of this is the delight found in
With regards to utility, a representation "warns spectators to correct their vices and
Milizia broke down the principle species of theoretical representation into the
assessment of the opera as a newer, but already abused genre. The principle guideline
for each of these types of dramatic poetry he defines "l'imitatione della bella Natura
espressa con discorso misurato a fine d'istruire e di dilettare."'g Milizia believed that
nature doesn't produce anything perfectly bad or good. It takes pleasure in mixing and
confusing, in the same subject, the beautiful and the ugly; the bad and the good. In
assuming his position regarding the place of nature in the arts, it must be noted that
Milizia's philosophy had already been laid out in his Delle Belle Arti . . ., in which the
17
Carlo Goui, in his Useless Memoirs, rages against the lack of art portrayed in the
performances of Venetian actors:
In what concerns the practice of their art, all that these people know is how to read and
write; one better and one worse. Indeed, I have been aquainted with both actors and
actresses who have not even had the minimum of education, and yet they carried on
their business without flinching . . . Keeping their ears open to the prompter, they
entered boldly on the stage, and played a hero or a heroine without a touch of truth.
The presentation of such characters by actors of the sort I have described abound in
blunders, stops and stays, and harkings back upon the leading motive, which would put
to shame the player in his common walk of life.
Useless Memoirs of Carlo Gow, Chapter 30, p. 190.
18
Milizia, Traftato, pp. 8-9.
19 Trattato, p. 9.
influence of the neo-classicist artist, Anton Mengs, can be seen: "The arts, then, must
development of his concern with nature, man's control of nature, and nature's influence
on art but nature, and man's relation to it, was beginning to be understood differently.
with regard to theatre - which was a building, after all, with a human function.
Therefore, as theatre has its function, so too does man have his in daily life. Hierarchy
and protocol must be observed and adhered to, once uncovered. This informs Milizia's
as providing knowledge of all there was in the world and in the mind, and of how it
worked, was taken up by all enlightened thinker^.^' It would also tell men what their
natures - part of the vast harmonious whole called "nature" - needed; how to obtain it
by most painless and efficient means; and therefore how to be wise, rational, happy
and good? This led to a view of the moral purpose of theatre from which Voltaire
asserted that:
20"...le Belle Arti fanno quello che la Natura non fa.' Trattato, p. 9.
21~ilizia is known to have read Riccoboni, who. in his General History of the Stage, applies
the concept of nature to stage craft, with the proviso that the artist be fully knowledgeable with
regard to classical precedent:
"It is true, that when we reason upon an Art which derives its Principles wholly from
Nature, a Man tho' of a very indifferent understanding, may acquire it of himself, but
never can acquire it so as to excel; for tho' in Oratory the Uninstructed finds in his
Mind every Faculty which is requisite to have a clear Conception of the fundamental
Truths of that great Art, yet, would he be completely Master of them, he must be
directed by Acquirements unattainable by an untutored Capacity.' p.4.
* ~ r o mBerlin. p.114.
True tragedy is the school of virtue, and the only difference between
purified theatre and books of morality is that instruction in the theatre is
through action which engages the interest and is embellished by the
charms of an art originally invented only to instruct the earth and bless
heaven?
Theatre must be pedorrned for all, with benefits occumng to all; but it has to be
administered by the enlightened. Milizia also dedicated his Trattato to every sort of
however, Milizia reveals the scope of his belief that a flowering of civilization could
occur through the enlightened administration of one beneficent prince. This belief in the
benevolence of rulers places him directly beside Algarotti in terms of the limits of their
envisioned reforms. To his thinking, such a leader would surely carry out the changes
necessary co redeem the theatre? The idea had found currency in France where the
honour and integrity of the heroic citizens of Greece and Republican Rome were being
represented in the arts." It seemed, in Italy, for a short time that such leaders had
presented themselves. The great building schemes of such families as the Bourbons
was never particularly enlightened? It was in such people, however, that Milizia placed
" " ~ o s twriters believed that the most effective way of achieving reforms was through the activity
of a powerful ruler who was wise enough to heed the counsels of men like the philosophers." Garland,
Grimsley, Preston, and White, p. 20.
his hopes. In retrospect, it is easy to criticize such expensive projects as those of the
Bourbons as the attempts of a corrupted aristocracy to legitimize itself through the arts,
Versification, he believed, formed neither the essence nor the foundation of poetry, but
was simply an embellishment to add colour. Milizia next divided poetry into two big
parts: Epic and Dramatic Poetry. The Greek word, Dramma, signifies the act of acting.
actions, marvellous, heroic or everyday, expressed with measured speech, with the
Milizia sets out some general rules regarding dramatic poetry. First and most
important of these rules is that the drama must "delight and instruct, always together."
The end of poetry is pleasure and this pleasure must move the passions. ''The horror
of crime, behind which walks Shame, dread, repentance, with a long train of other
torments" should be elicited but, says Milizia, 'La Poesia non e gia fatta per fomentare
la corruzione ne' cuori guasti, ma per essere la delizia delle anime v i r t u ~ s e . " ~ ~
The subject of the drama must be extraordinary and marvelous in order for the
I
impression to be strong and new. There must be a unity of subject, place and of time
ma ere Milizia distinguishes verse from rhyme. Rhyme. he believes to be the invention of
barbarian peoples. According to him, it was currently being used to excess by the French who "senza
Rima resterebbero quasi senza versi.' The study of the ancients, especially Virgil, Horace, Lucrezio,
Catullus, and Terence, did not stress rhyme but, rather, the conditioning of their verse with rhythm and
with harmony. Tiattato, p. 1 1.
162
since the human spirit cannot embrace more than one action at any given time. Also,
within the space of the four or five hours spent at the theatre it is reasonable to confine
events to the space of a single day. It must be noted that Milizia could not help but be
Milizia's argument that the poet must be a moralist bears a striking resemblance to
Diderotls On Dramatic Poetry which was appended to his Le Pere de famille of 1758:
"But who shall skillfully paint the duties of man for us? What would be the
qualities of the poet who gave himself that aim? He should be
philosophically minded, should have examined himself, have obsewed
human nature, be profoundly instructed in the conditions of society, and
know its workings and consequences, its drawbacks and advantages?
Believing in the power of theatre to be a vehicle of social reform, it is not surprising that
Milizia would so intensely embrace theoretically its didactic functions. Not all reformists
were so keen on this idea as Milizia was. Beaumarchais, as a poet concerns himself
more with the audience's entertainment and less with their well-being. In his Essay on
calls for didacticism in drama on moral grounds, Beaumarchais advocates the rights of
Thus, while Beaumarchais and Diderot argue for the utility of a completely new
genre, Milizia is much more cautious, and less forgiving of the tastes of the masses,
and will only go as far as advocating new subject matter to fit into old genres. The two
movements meet only in the desire to create new subjects for the drama as best
expressed by Beaumarchais who asks: "What do the revolutions of Athens and Rome
be noted that the constitution of the "naturaln includes a process by which the meaning
of the term is redefined in every new artistic period. Thus, when we have spoken about
rationale often supported societal beliefs, and nowhere more so than in Milizia's ideas
regarding the representation of women on the stage. As per Rosalind Kerfs discussion
of popular suspicion of the actress, Militia too delineates the boundaries of the natural
in the tragic heroine, and in so doing, means to set an example for the audience to
emulate. Thus: "Where women appear on stage, their chastity is certainly more
exposed, and therefore Helen makes herself more glorious in presewing it, and it is
preserved better if not discouraged with contempt, and it is preserved even better if
If a male actor, for example, should portray a female, this too must be done with utmost
proportions. A good example of the application of this rule can be found in a fetter from
Milizia believed that, to avoid confusion, the number of actors present on stage must
be set according to the need of the subject and, as another rule, these characters must
be distinct, as nature prescribes. Each character must form a contrast with the others
mythological figures that have no bearing on the lives of the audience cannot do this.
"Giove fulminante, Nettuno col Tridente, Apollo . . . sono immagini decrepite, che
"6urney, Memoirs of the Life and Writings of the Abate Metastasio in which are incorporated
Translations of his Principal Letters. Letter to Baron Diescau, at Dresden (Vienna, Feb. 21 , 1748), p.
227.
parlano all'immaginazione prevenuta da un falso sistema . . .'35 Thus ends Milizia's
With regards to tragedy, which he considers the most perfect dramatic form,
Milizia first takes pains to describe it as the imitation of the life of a hero with subjects
that elevate the audience's passions violently and then lead to catastrophe. "L'Eroismo
vices of heroes, as the strength of Medea, are heroic vices. When the poet presented
great personages being preyed on by bigger forces, one must feel terror and
compassion. The beginning principle of tragedy, then, according to the logic of Milizia,
weakness when seeing a great danger. Compassion, however, must accompany terror
when we see a certain parity between the unfortunate and ourselves. It is natural that
we should suffer with the actor. Milizia's major point then is that this mix of compassion
and terror creates tragedy. The ends of viewing the disgrace of the great are to elevate
the soul, to form the heart, to teach us piety and to render us prudent.
specific number of rules. The rules for tragedy number seven in Milizia's scheme. Most
36n~rcolevuol morire per Marziano. Pulceria dice all8usurpatore Foca con una fiereua degna
della sua nascita, Tiranno, discendi dal Trono, e da luogo al tuo padrone: questi sono tratti eroici."
Trattato, p. 15.
37~urnan passions are the necessary winds with which we sail the sea of life; and if our journeys
are to be prosperous . . .we should study the art of advantageously using them, gathering or opening
our sails to this one or to that one, in accordance with the useful or harmful efficacy that they exhibit as
they lead us along a straight route or as they force us away from it. Metastasio, 'Extract from the Poetics
of Aristotle and Considerations on the Same." In Sidnell, Sources of Dramatic Theory, 2. p. 32.
166
important is the subject, which must be noble and heroic. Milizia believed that the loftier
the character, the stronger the impression created on the audience. In this, Milizia
exposes his tendency to look to royalty for moral guidance. In his scheme, since the
primary objective of the arts is to beautlfy nature, then the elite, the sovereigns, must
order that compassion can be elicited in the audience. The subject should be familiar
but exist at a distance either in space or time, since Milizia shares the neotlassical
belief that antiquity and distance render more estimable the personage. Thus,
characters from times too recent could possibly excite hatred. Finally, the characters
Milizia puts forward must be interesting, together with the incidents which distress them.
Modest love, portrayed with sobriety can be admitted in tragedy but with dignity
and with some indication of avoiding it or directing it. Milizia places equal importance
in the well-regulated representation of events that create terror and compassion. It must
be kept in mind that the errors of the great are public calamities. Arguing from this point
Commedia dunque 8 una composizione ma1 intesa; perche volendosi far piangere e
With regard to the spilling of blood, Milizia is in agreement with Horace who
excluded from the stage the sight of actions which were inhumane. Speaking from the
position of a theorist who did not see a didactic function in staged violence, Milizia
believed that tragedy was meant to inspire terror and pity but not horror. Bloody
167
spectacles, he argued, are barbarous and offend humanity, although the ancients
dabbled is such presentations and the contemporary English stage preserves such
scenes. The one allowance Milizia makes is in accepting the necessity of death scenes,
Milizia's notion that tragedy was first amongst the dramatic genres was
reinforced by his underlying belief that its representation was invented as a socializing
tool, to create a hatred of vice and a love of virtue. This, to Milizia, is the greatest use
of theatre and he repeatedly reminds the reader that the sole purpose of theatre is
didacticism. The style with which tragedy is to be conveyed is to be serious and full of
noble and grand sentiments. The words should be simple and spoken slowly in the
manner of grave personages consulting about important affairs.3gIf the author clearly
understands the philosophical principles of truth, simplictty and nature, and keeps these
clearly before his eyes, he will write well. Thus, for Milizia, style too has great bearing
on the way a play will be received by the audience, the minds of which must be
exercised in a positive and educative manner. Riccoboni makes a strong case that
3 9 ~this
t point, Milizia adds a very long footnote outlining the principle arguments regarding the
type of language to be used. His particular struggle is against those who adhere to a respect for the
classic Latin tongue thus halting the progress of modem Italian. In this regard, Milizia praises English
as a liberated language freely borrowing from others and creating new words. This was the natural
progression that Milizia encouraged in his native Italy.
seeing a Tragedy, it is because they are under an habitual Illusion, in
which Truth has no share?
scheme, looks at it as something ridiculous. '11 Ridicoto consiste ne' difetti. che
cagionano vergogna senza cagionare dolore . . . scelto con destreua, espresso con
derived from comedy Milizia sees as explained by a feeling of pride in the spectator in
comparing himself with an inferior on stage, since we view the defects of those similar
to us with kindness mixed with contempt. It is this observation that leads Milizia to
For this reason, Milizia treats comedy as unavoidable but clearly secondary
~rnana."~'
human maliciousness but, given the unlikelihood of doing that, at least one sure benefit
could occur by using this vice to help correct the many other human vices. In his words:
"press0 a poco come s'impiegano le punte del diamante a pulire il diarnante s t e s ~ o . " ~
In this endeavour, Milizia breaks down comedy into three distinct divisions? The least
41 Trattato, p.25.
"lt is important to note that. in the work of Italy's reformist playwrights, social distinctions were
being brought to bear in the depiction of the ridiculous. Heinz Riedt, in assessing the contributions of
Goldoni to 18th century theatre reform, observes his tendency to portray society on three levels:
distinguished of the three types is the "comedy of situation" which evokes the kind of
laughter one would experience when witnessing someone tripping. The second type,
"pathetic comedy," renders common virtues loveable and the exposure of these traits
to danger creates interest. The third type of comedy, however, "comedy of character,"
is the most difficult and therefore the most rare. This is also the most useful type of
comedy, says Mifizia, because it presents a mirror to man which makes him blush
according to the image he sees in it. 'What is the end of philosophy," asks Milizia, "if
not to strike us with the fixed point of virtue?" Following this line of reasoning, Milizia
considered the character comedy even more admirable when united to the comedy of
Milizia breaks down the representation of the comedy of character into three
differsnt manners. The "comico nobile" represents the vices of the grandee which are
less coarse and are coloured with a politeness that forms the character of a likeable
person. The "glorioso," ignorant of true glory, falls into this category. The second group
characters reek of pretension and, although, in style, they approximate the nobles, their
coarseness hasnY the air of the "Bel Mondo." Finally, the "comico basso" embodies the
merit of the truth as he imitates the basest level of society. Low comedy, however, must
(1) the decadent aristocracy, with its "condescendingmannerisms,' its pretentiousness (*What good are
titles? Why all this vanity? Nothing but prejudices!'); (2) the aspiring middle class with which he felt at
home, but criticized wherever necessary (he takes us into their houses, not into the luxury dwellings of
the aristocracy); (3) the common people, whom treated him with affection - and as a valid partner, on
stage as well as life. Heinz Riedt, Carlo Goldoni, p. 22.
170
not be confused with coarseness as in it one can find a kind of grace that, according to
As he did for tragedy, Milizia devised a specific set of rules for comedy by means
of which he hoped to govern its presentation. With regard to levels of subtlety in the
ridicule. Milizia is quite firm in stating that coarse ridicule must never be exhibited in the
theatre. Rather, in didactic fashion, the multitude must be elevated to laugh with finesse
and with spirit. In recounting the history of comedy, he criticizes the ancient Greeks for
maestra d'ogni cultura, si abusb per lungo tempo della Commedia col convertirla in una
clearly possessed the critical acumen by which to choose between what was useful and
what was not amongst classical dramatic works. With respect to comedic presentations,
Because comic subjects are more familiar to the audience than tragic ones,
defects in verisimilitude are more easily discovered. For this reason Milizia emphasizes
as his second rule that verisimilitude should be approximated with a pretense of reality.
has its limits. For him, then, the picture presented on stage becomes wrong if the
spectator perceives that nature has been surpassed and this argument too is indicative
of the theorist's perception of the dramatic event as impacting on the rightful ordering
171
of the spectators' minds, as we have previously discussed with relation to Algarotti and
de Kerckhove.
character. Ease and simplicity in the weaving of the plot must be exhibited. Truth of
sentiment is also necessary for, as Milizia says: 'se il fine principale della Cornmedia
Also, all sense of art must be concealed in the linking up of the situations. From this
artifice results the illusion of the theatre. Finally, the comic style must be humble and
modest according to the habits of the language in which the comedy is performed.
In establishing the above rules Milizia was applying, to a social phenomenon, his
rationalist concepts in an attempt to create a more perfect system for all. In answering
the question, ''what does the quality of the entertainment mattef?",he first defines what
he perceives to be the three levels of society. Milizia's theories were based on a very
level contains the honest and polite folk who demonstrate, in the decency of their
costume, a certain intelligence and delicate sentimentality. Finally, the third class
attempts to exhibit the gentility of the second in what Milizia labels a display of vanity,
but in reality, this class is pulled toward the lower classes by a natural force. It is against
this force that Milizia has positioned the theatre and out of this conceptualization arises
his belief that farce must not be permitted, even to the lowest classes, since it is a
172
destructive force. It must be remembered that Milizia derives his interest in dramatic
theory from the very real civilizing effect the theatrical experience has on the audience
which chooses to enter a theatre. The Trattato, thus, dwells on the theatre as a civic
About the pastoral Milizia has very little to say, although he has taken the pains
creates peace and tranquility. The basic rule laid out by Milizia is that the representation
must be simple and natural. Perhaps because it is not instructive, it comes closest to
pure entertainment.
What Milizia dedicated more ink to is the outlining of the opera and the
contribution of music to the drama. He labels tragedy, expressed in verse and set to
music, as lyric poetry which is popularly known as opera. Opera, for Milizia is a musical
'Trattato, p. 90.
49~rattato.
p. 39.
173
The justification for this genre is given by the importance which the ancients
placed on music as presented in their spectacles where the esteemed language of the
gods was expressed in music. Militia devotes many words to the description of opera
as it forms the culmination of all other forms of theatre. To the opera, therefore, he
admits supremacy over all spectacles, with no other comparing in delight and utility. It
is only in this form of performance where all of the arts can be found combined."
Milizia makes the point that the French have been careful to conserve the precious gift
of opera which was brought from Italy by Cardinal Mazzarin and took up residence in
Paris.'' The Italians, on the other hand, are prone to quick changes in tastes and,
through the history of the opera, had, by unfavourable change, debased the dramatic
form. In setting the drama to music, however, there is a basic set of rules which Milizia
adheres to in order to make this complicated grouping of the various arts successful.
drama. Milizia implies that no clear improvement had been made with regard to the
control of the operatic event by the poet since Algarotti's treatise on the opera.52The
reform opera, since that time, had established itself as a new genre, the rules of which
5011
E che sarA questa Tragedia Musicale, corredata di Danze, di Pittura, di Scultura, di
Architettura, e della piu pomposa ricchezza di vesti, e d'ogni piu bella decorazione?' Trattato, p. 39.
In Lully, for example, 'recitative is still the climactic centre of attention, and the vital subsidiary
role is taken by the chorus, while little songs or "airs' are of mainly decorative interest. Venetian opera,
meanwhile, had completely debased recitative in favour of still rather primitive arias, and had completely
eliminated the chorus." Kerrnan, Opera as Drama, p. 54.
'* uThe contrast between the domain of public affairs and generally agonized, occasionally
rapturous, expression of personal feelings is as typical of reforrn opera as of opera sena. The new genre
particularly suited subjects in which an individual must be sacrificed for the common benefit; hence
Algarotti's choice of lphigenia in Aulis as an ideal subject for the reform opera." Julian Rushton,
Idomeneo, p. 63.
had been experimented with a long time before by Algarotti, Calzabigi, and Gluck.
Milizia demonstrates his indebtedness to Algarotti in repeating his call for a poet who
would act as the foundation for the construction of an opera; on top of which must be
erected the integral parts of the drama: the music, dance and decoration. The poet, as
author of the libretto, becomes the director of all these parts. As such, Milizia insists that
the poet reflect on two principles of the opera. Firstly, he must remember that the drama
is to be put to music. This means that a subject must be chosen to which music is
to fables, since it was supposed that the language of the gods was different from that
of men and much more adaptable to music. However, Milizia raises the issue that the
time for the presentation of such deities had passed. In an age ruled by human reason,
the arbitrary and unexplainable acts of the gods are not a fit subject for the masses.
?he recitative required even more than did the melody that the verbal expression should be
as simple, concise, and natural as that of the regular tragedy was the reverse; and, above all, it required
that the action of the play should be rapid and strongly marked. Lee, Studies of the Eighteenth Century
in Italy, p. 40.
?/emon Lee. in his Studies of the Eighteenth Century in Italy, observes that 'All political
subjects are excluded because there is no political interest in a country cut up into little despotic
governments, mostly of foreign extraction.' (p. 37)
55 ~rattato,pp. 41-42.
175
Milizia does himself credit by throwing away mythical fables as a fit subject for the opera
and in seeking libretti that are based in truth, with messages that are of relevance to the
society of his day. In instructing: 'all the study has to be in undeceiving the common
people, not in feeding them errors and prejudices; truth always, and in the Theatre
The other popular choice for the subject of an opera was found in history but
Milizia believed that historic subjects were not adaptable to the music. "Veramente un
Comments on the strangeness of such a juxtaposition had long been made, especially
abroad, where criticisms were raised against the Italian opera. Addison, for example in
The Spectator notes: "There is nothing that has more startled our English Audience,
than the Italian Recitativo at its first entrance upon the stage. People were wonderfully
In choosing the subject, the other important consideration for the poet regards
the placing of the required dance in the piece. The dances, thus, must be linked with
the subject of the opera. Thus, given many historical subjects, dance would be
unsuitable. "If, for example, in Titus the dance included Roman Soldiers, such a dance
"ln the introduction to John Gay's The Beggars Opera. the editors quote Addison to explain the
sentiment behind the growing English desire to satirize Italian opera. The Beggars Opera, ed. Loughrey
and Treadwell, p. 8.
176
would always be artificial and unsuitable . . . because dance is not an integrated part
of the action."59
Given the unsuitable nature of the above choices, Milizia advises that the subject
must be chosen to delight and instruct but without offending decorum. The action must
therefore occur in a remote and different place. If, however, the subject is very rare and
difficult to understand, it is best not to put it to music. Otherwise, the choice of a remote
place and simple subject allows the poet greater latitude in constructing a piece that
incorporates music and dance. Proper examples are cited by Milizia as having been
created by Metastasio. Thus, one need only study the work of the famous Italian to find
proper subjects. Milizia lists Achille in Sciro, Didone Abbandonata and Alessandro
Milizia suggests the Orient as a good setting for opera since this presents the
opportunity for exotic costumes and scenery. "In addition, there remain many subjects
to be extracted from the modem history of the East and West lndies that would present
a good contrast between our customs and those of nations very dissimilar to our's."60
In deciding how much is too much, Milizia instructs that it is enough to remember that
the essence of good art is the imitation of the best of nature. In defending the grandeur
of operatic spectacle he thus cites great artistic creations such as the Famese Hercules
and the Apollo of the Belvedere and asks where, in the real world, one could find men
--
59 ~raftato.
p. 42.
60 ~raftato,
pp. 42-43.
177
such as these?' The argument Milizia enlists to defend the opera against critics who
claim that it does not have roots in nature and is therefore both artificial and irrelevant,
is one in circulation at the time. If the opera is not a representation of nature, then
neither are any forms of poetry or drama. 'It is enough that men naturally sing and
dance on certain occasions; art can make use of these natural operations to combine,
in all its marvel, pleasure and utility, in that which does not naturally exist?* The
in Greek art and put forward by the very influential Winckelrnann, whose work Milizia
would have been very familiar with. In his Thoughts on the Imitation of Greek Works in
Painting and Sculpture (1755), Winckelmann revels the basis of Greek concepts of
beauty and nature in art as the attempt to 'form a just resemblance, and, at the same
The rules of the application of music to drama are different, of course from those
pertaining simply to the regular tragedy. Milizia observes that, since the components are
more numerous and diverse in the musical drama, then the rules must be even more
rigidly adhered to in the attempt to create order and harmony in the event. Milizia lists
6'"~oiche,dove. e quando mai si B trovato un uomo di quella mbusta simmetria che si ammira
nell'Ercole Farnese, ed un giovane di quella svelta eleganza del18Apollodi Belvedere?" Trattato, p. 43.
63Winckelrnann. "Thoughts on the Imitation of Greek Works in Painting and Sculpture.' Found
in Lorenz Eitner, Neoclassicism and Romanticism 1750-1850, p. 9.
I. Fill the subject with interest, and arrange it in the simplest manner.
II. All must be shown through action, with a tendency towards great
effects.
Ill. Since rapidity is inseparable from music, the pace of the Lyric Poem
must be rapid. This is because long and boring discourses are not
convenient . . . The poem must unravel as it runs, developing with all its
power, without embarrassment and without interruption; all successive
developments must be presented to the eye of the beholder.
IV. Every scene must offer an interesting situation; and offer true
occasions to sing.
V. The Aria must be reserved for grand scenes, and so that it has its
fullest effect, it must be used with taste and judgement, and be correlated
to the depth of a subject. The secret of grand effects here, as in painting,
does not consist of the boldness of colours, so much as in the art of the
gradation of coloun. A series of extremely expressive and varying Arias,
without interruption and rest, would soon be wearisome to the ear, the
more it continues and the more passionate the music. The passages from
Recitativeto Aria, and from Aria to recitative, are those which produce the
great effects of Lyric drama. Without this alternation, Opera would
certainly be the most annoying and false of spectacles.
VI. Equal to the management and development of the subject, the lyric
style must be simple and swift, without verbosity, without imposed
eloquence, precise, of few words, strong, natural, easy, gracious, and
distant from those treatises of spirit distilled in Epigrams and Madrigals."
Since the opera relies on music as a setting for poetry, Milizia is very careful to
outline the effects of music on the human senses and devotes several pages of his
asserted that, in an opera, "a libretto provides the framework, but the essential dramatic
accompaniment ideally reinforced the verbal message, but argues for the primacy of
"~rattato,pp. 43-44.
65~erman,
p. 34.
179
the poetry over music? His assessment of musical properties is couched in the
language of science. "Music is the science of sounds that pleases the ear ...a
movement of vibrations through the air that gratefully reaches the organ of our sense
of sound either through song, voice, or musical instruments."" It was Milizia's belief that
music could have a moral effect on human beings and could civilize savage people if
presented with unity, clarity, simplicity, vivacity, novelty and elegance. Lyric poetry could
not be properly written without a knowledge of music. In creating music for the opera,
however, it is imperative that the music be adapted to fit the poetry because, without
the poetry, the music would be too vague and indecisive? Just so, the actors are
expected to adhere to the lines given to them by the poet. They must not add more or
man that is true to his nature and, as such, has the power to express his inner
emotions. Music, thus, touches the inner soul. "Every living thing is called by the sense
of its existence to utter at certain instances more or less melodious accents according
661nthe travel notes compiled by Charles Bumey during his visit to ltaly in 1770, he formulates
an interesting application of the proper relationship of the music to the poetry in the opera. Finding
himself, in Naples, present at the first rehearsal of a new opera by Jomelli at the San Carlo theatre, he
remarks that "the talents of the performers, who tho' all good, yet not being of the very first and most
exquisite class are more in want of the assistance of the instruments to mark the images and enforce
the passion which the poetry points out." Bumey, Music, M?n,and Manners in France and ltaly 1770,
p. 186.
6 8 ~ i l i z icites,
a as an example of the use of music. Rousseau's Pigmalione, where music
successfully contributed to the depiction of situations. Trattato, p. 54.
180
to the characteristics of its own sound organs."" Singing having become a part of every
important ritual of the ancients, its incorporation as an art form followed. "From it the
ingenious artist has made imitative vocal music which is a language, an art of imitation,
to express with melody every sort of discourse, of accent, of passion, and to imitate
sounds produced by the human. "There are many instruments invented and artfully
inclined to express sounds in the absence of voice, or to imitate the natural voice of
man."7' Even the drum has a basis in the physiology of the human body. As studied by
Milizia, it was invented to imitate the sound of slapping on an empty stomach. Each
musical sound thus has a correlative human emotion associated with it which, as Milizia
observes, must be taken into consideration when composing music for a particular
libretto. "The low and lugubrious sounds of the horns," for example "announce in a
original condition is given by Milizia in the form of a plethora of examples from the
ancients. The Greeks especially held music in great esteem as they believed "that
music was one of the most valid and effective means of sweetening customs, and of
p. 45.
69~rattato.
70 Traftato. p. 45.
71 Traftato. p. 46.
72~rattato.
p. 46.
humanizing those peoples naturally rough and ~avage."'~
Milizia adds weight to his
argument by observing that all of the classical philosophers agree that the most
effective way of reminding man of his moral duties and to encourage him to practice
It is for this that Plato contends that one cannot change Music without
producing changes in the constitution of the state; and he maintains that
one can assign the sounds capable of eliciting the baseness within the
soul, insolence and that which is contrary to virtue. Aristotle . . . is of the
same ~pinion.~'
music, it seems, bears great similarities to the essence of painting. Both must be
executed with taste and decorum; painting expresses the appearance of animate and
can be divided into two parts; either it imitates and expresses non-passionate sounds,
that give sentiment, as does the narrative painting."" In either case, Milizia's reform of
the opera insists that the composer pay proper respect to the poet, whose words form
the base of the sentiments to be expressed and thus must be taken into account with
Music must by necessity follow poetry because music does not have
distinct means to explain the motifs of its varied impressions. Where the
imitations of nature and passion would be without poetry is very vague
and indecisive. Arias, tender and sweet, that could express love, could
equally express parallel sensations of benevolence, friendship and pity.
and how could the rapid movements of scom expressed in Music be
distinguished from those of terror and of other violent agitations of the
SOUI?'~
Modem composers, laments Milizia, have lost respect for the librettist and enlist the
composed score. The aria is the part of the opera where the composer is most guilty
of such a practice, so much so that the opera can be called "music without poetry." The
proper adaptation of music to poetry is thus the most important step in the resurrection
Within the music for the opera Milizia discusses three particular moments
important to the proper forwarding of action: the overture, the recitative and the aria.
With regard to the overture, Milizia observes merely that, in common practice,they have
very little to do with the setting of the proper emotional intensity and, in fact, are so
inconsequential in the overall scheme of the performance that it is often difficult to tell
one from another. The recitative, as already discussed with reference to the aria, must
be performed in a more natural manner; with attention paid to the quality of the
discourse and to the breaks between its recital and the commencement of an aria?
The aria marks emotional climaxes in the opera which require a performer who is
qualified as both an actor and a singer. Such performers, observes Milizia, are very
77
It is strange that Milizia expresses admiration for the work of Metastasio while, at the same
time, especially with regard to the juxtaposition of aria and recitative, argues for a reform of the
excesses promoted by this very style. Metastasio created a style of libretto that relied on a series of
short scenes, in which secco recitative was used to present new information, each scene building to an
aria; often with the result, characterized by Kerrnan as "the constant shock of arias jarring in and out of
recitative." Kennan, p. 63.
rare. In any case, with stupidities such as the ritomelli for which the virtuoso must wait,
hands in pocket to finish, in order to resume what had been a subtle outpouring of
emotion of the soul, the integrity of the scene has already been destroyed through no
The dance in opera had, by Milizia's day, become a problematic part of the
performance. On the one hand, the dances were hugely popular and enjoyed by the
audience; on the other, they had become distractions in themselves, detracting from the
dramatic integrity of the work and creating a lack of balance in the whole. Especially in
France, a new category of perfonance, the opera ballet, had arisen, "employing music
throughout but lacking a continuous plot; in it, drama was clearly sacrificed for
proposed a reform of dance itself; a new 'ballet d'action,' which provided theorists with
the tools to criticize the dancer for a perceived lack of discip~ine.'~In Italy, Milizia
obsewed that, in the opera, the dance should be subject to the spirit of the music but
"ln Mozart's reformist opera, ldomeneo, the results of a careful attempt at better integrating the
aria and recitative, as set out by Algarotti, are brought to fruition. The nature of the relation of the
recitative to the aria, and the diminishment of the ritomello were central concerns of the opera reformers.
Julian Rushton demonstrates the amount of work that went into the successful integration of the
recitative 'Quando avran fine orrnai' and the aria 'Padre, gerrnani' from ldomeneo. T h e closure of the
recitative into the first bars of the aria marks the channelling of Ilia's problems into the emotional therapy
of measured music." Rushton, ldomeneo, p. 107.
'?he first important op6ra-ballet, L'Europe galante by Andre Campra (1660-1 744) was given
at Paris in 1697. See Grout, p. 133.
?he leading advocates of bal/ef d'action were Gaspero Angiolini and Jean George Noverre.
Angiolini is perhaps best known for his collaboration with Gluck in Vienna, staging the dances in the
opera Orfeo ed Euridice. Novene, in his Letters on Dancing and Ballets (1760). argues that ballets
should be unified works of art in which all aspects of production contribute to the main theme, that
technical display for its own sake should be discouraged, and that such impediments to movement as
heeled shoes and bulky skirts should be discarded. Jack Anderson, Ballet and Modem Dance, pp. 60-
61.
184
that, in reality, the dancers were more prone to be directed by the sound of applause:
"Such beautiful Opera is cut by two Dances - for which all the spectators are attentive
and mute, as if seeing them with their ears - the dancers jumping more and contorting
their feet and lives more, the more applause they receive. The second Dance finished,
although a third of the drama still remains, the major part, if they don't leave, all take a
break.'' This is the unfortunate effect of an improper balance in the union of the dance
with the poetry and the music "which all have one principle in common; the imitation of
Milizia speaks in terms of a connection that existed between the decoration and
construction of the theatre and the audience's enjoyment of the performance itself. It
is only recently that semioticians such as Marvin Cadson are beginning to analyze the
Milizia, however, was well aware of this relationship in his own time and
perf~rrnance.~
raised issues now considered "semiotic" two hundred years before Carlson. In his
analysis of ancient theatre building practice, especially in his Principles..., Milizia makes
the case that examining the constructions of the Greeks and Romans is not "an
"Trattato, p. 40.
84 principles..., p. 367.
185
use of the period, the nation and the subject is encouraged as much as is conveniently
possible. The same rule applies to the construction of the scenery. Every residence
must exhibit characteristics of the person living in it. The ancients adhered strictly to the
unity of place and constructed the tragic, comic and pastoral species of scene design
to indicate the genre. Milizia observed that, in his day, however, the creation of
spectacle demanded many scene changes with the result that, in the words of
Ferdinand0 Bibiena's disciples, the bizarre has started to take hold in set design, with
no regard for architectural reality.85To remedy this, Milizia insisted that the illusion of
the scene must be maintained by the correct placement of objects in order to give the
therefore be used to avoid fantastic excess. If, for example, a scene requires a garden
or rural vista, adequate examples can be found in Chinese or English gardens thereby
alleviating the need to create from the imagination. Other examples could be found in
Unity and attention to function become, for Milizia, the central principles to be
observed in attempting to reform the theatre, both as cultural icon and social event. In
systematically deconstructing the event according to its various genres and then
affiliation to principles of functionality that find their basis in the artistic debates of the
circle surrounding Lodoli. The idea of questioning the function of societal convention,
in all of its manifestations, had been put forward by Lodoli, who in tum had been greatly
influenced by Vico in his development of a curriculum that was meant to educate the
decaying society. The drama. from its inception, is interpreted by Militia as being
of its component parts, emotional response in the audience which, in turn will
laws of decorum by one unlfying force (in theatre: the poet; in society: the enlightened
The work of Francesco Algarotti and Francesco Milizia has much in common.
Both men wrote treatises that were unique in their time. Both men also concentrated
on the study of theatre as a complete event, breaking it down into its component parts
which ranged from the type of building materials used to the role of the poet in co-
ordinating the staged event. As Architect-Poets, they infused into both their
architectural and dramatic treatises a rationale and rhetoric which revolved around their
dedication to the principles of Lodolian functionalism. For them the word "function"
signified the use of a raw material in accordance with its properties. This they borrowed
from Lodoli who thought of representation in architecture as the ""individual and total
expression that results from the material used if the latter is disposed according to
geometrical, mathematical and optical laws for the desired end."' The term, and the
design concept that it represented, were useful to Algarotti and Milizia by virtue of the
number of applications to which it could be put to use. Thus, in their treatises we see
the idea of functionalism applied equally to the study of the theatre building and to the
architectural representation is derived from the inherent limitations and potentials of its
materiality. Each architectural material has an inherent disposition that dictates its
order. Both Algarotti and Milizia, for example, speak at great length regarding the
differences between stone and wood, each of which allow for construction at a different
1
Krufi, A History of Architectural Theory, p. 199.
187
188
spanning horizontal lengths. Likewise, in the theatre, each genre is subject to a specific
style of dramatic representation, each with specific requirements involving the structural
Both Algarotti and Milizia had received educations that included elements of
man-made artifacts as the repositories of the cultural systems that created them. Being
display of Baroque and Rococo exuberance that had left its imprint in the palaces and
churches of the urban centres they occupied, Algarotti and Mifizia advocated a new
approach to conceiving of their environments which even today informs the work of
such famous architects as Aldo Rossi. Exploring the uses of the different parts of a
building, and event, they pared away the dysfunctional encrustation of structurally
of its true function. In so doing, they began to perceive the representational qualities
inherent in the arts as something vital to the well-being of society. Borrowing Lodoli's
formula, they applied it to the exploration of the theatre, exposing the individual parts
and revealing the harmony that could exist in the event of a more rational participation
The nature of their work was, of course, influenced by the social and political
climate of their times. Italy, in the middle of the eighteenth century, was merely a
the Arcadian Academy, based in Rome and supreme among the many others. The
realization by many Italians that there could be real benefits to the implementation of
as : "a gradual waking up from lethargy and a shaking off of its bad effect^."^ What,
however, had become clear at the very outset of the academic debates taking place
was that there was a great need to reintegrate the arts with the society that surrounded
these arts, especially after such a long encounter with the excessive design flourishes
of the Baroque period. This was best done through the development of new criteria by
which the arts, in their multiple forms, could be judged as good or bad. Algarotti and
Milizia stepped into the large openings created by these needs, revealing themselves
the quality of art. In so doing, they established themselves in the wider European
debates of their day as two of the greatest Architect-Poets of the eighteenth century.
The contributions made by these theorists are among the first examples of a
With a growing trend in the research of theatre semiotics, the theatrical treatises
of Algarotti and Milizia have become more pertinent to the present day. As modem
theorists apply new approaches to the analysis of theatre as a total experience which
-- -
can be deconstructed into its component parts, which in turn can be explored for their
cultural signification, we are reminded of the techniques of the two eighteenth century
Architect-Poets who, more than two hundred years before, had done something very
similar.
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APPENDIX
Note to the Appendix: I have followed, in this translation, the format layed out by Milizia in
the Trattato of 1794. Accordingly, page numbers located in the upper-left corners refer to
Milizia's original pagination system.
TRATTATO
.COMPLETO, FORMALE E MATERIALE
D E L
T E A T R O
FRANCESCO M I L I Z I A .
IN V E N E Z I A ,
* ~ ~ ~ s l S s S ~ ~ ~ *
.NELLA DI PIETROQ. GIO: BATT. PASQUAU.
STAMPLRIA
M D C C X C I V .
C O N L l C E N t d DE' S Z I P E R I O R I .
TRAlTATO
COMPLETO, FORMALE E MATERIALE
DEL
TEATRO
(THE COMPLETE, FORMAL AND MATERIAL TREATISE ON THEATRE)
BY
FRANCESCO MlLlZlA
Published in Venice
Printed by Dl PIETRO Q. GI0:BATT. PASQUALI
MDCCXCIV (1794)
Licensed by the Superiors
CHAPTER I
On Theatre in General
Opposing Views with respect to Theatre
Ideas to Reconcile these Views
Origins of Theatre
Its Purpose
Its Divisions
Poetry
Beauty
Drama
Rules Common to each Drama
CHAPTER II
On Tragedy
Rules of Tragedy
History of Tragedy
CHAPTER Ill
On Comedy
Rules of Comedy
History of Comedy
CHAPTER IV
On the Pastoral
CHAPTER V
On Musical Works
CHAPTER VI
On the Subject of Musical Drama
CHAPTER VII
On Music
Influences of Music
Essence of Music
On the Symphony
On Recitative
On Arias
On Choirs (Chorus)
On Burlesque in Music
CHAPTER Vlll
On Actors
CHAPTER IX
On Dance
CHAPTER X
On Decoration
CHAPTER XI
On the Material Aspects of Theatre (Buildings)
Descriptions of Ancient Theatres
Descriptions of Modem Theatres
Comparison of Ancient and Modem Theatres
Concept of a New Theatre
CHAPTER XI1
Causes of the Defects of Theatre, and methods to reestablish it
WE REFORMERS
W e give license to Pietro Pasquali, Printer of Venice, the right to re-print the book
entitled: Trattato, Completo, formale and materiale del Teatro, by Francesco Milizia;
observing the laws in printing matters, and presenting customary copies to the Public
Libraries of Venice and Padua.
Theatre stands between the criticism of the serious world and the applause of high
society. The moralists, both theological and philosophical, do nothing but perpetuate
that foolishness, dissipation, and scandal, result, finally, in a source of sin and vice, and
cry out at the destruction. Meanwhile the theatres are always crowded with every rank
of person; and the ordinary citizens, the Nobility, the Ministers of State alike experience
one of their principal delights: a delight boastful of innocence which is, on the contrary.
one of utility.
Between these two extremes would one ever be able to find again something
half virtuous, that would reconcile the two divided opposites? It would be a thing to
satisfy everybody. Let us put it down to a search for this Philosophical Stone.
One cannot deny to the venerated moralists that the theatre, if it is full of defects,
causes great harm. Therefore it should be destroyed. But it does not appear that it will
allow itself to be destroyed: on the contrary, one continually erects new theatres, and
a city, if deprived of theatre, is reputed a very wretched clty: because not even one can
deny, that the theatre is a great delight. Thus the refon. Theatre should be eradicated
of the defects that infest it, and it should be reduced to the maximum usefulness, to the
maximum capacity to please.
The theatre, like many other things of this world, traces its origins to boredom,
the general and powerful spring which excites the biggest movements in the human
breast. Someone extremely bored (as many princes surely have been) had the first
idea to represent on boards the misfortunes, errors and foolishness of our fellows to
pass the time and to feel the insipidness of one's existence a little less.
You need not spend a lot of time to notice that others' misfortunes or stupidities,
represented like this, consoles, or cures people from their own. The actors render
human life for the spectators, and by it they feel the weight and bitterness of their own
life lessened.
The first effect of theatre, then, is to be like a plaything given to adult children
that are suffering, that is a pleasure to distract from the boredom, from the inertia, and
from the disgust of life. This pleasure, that in its origins can be regarded as negative,
has become afterwards, positive and real, to measure the representation of some
interesting and curious action of human life and see if it is done in the manner most
alive and most natural: exactly as in the way that the recognition of living expression on
canvas or in some marble production of man or of nature gives true delight.
The second effect of theatre is utility because one such representation
necessarily warns the audience to correct their vices and defects, and to suffer with
patience their own misfortunes.
These two effects, pleasure and utility, always united, and amalgamated
together, form the object of theatre. Its greatest object consists in the moral posted
pleasantly in action to rouse and animate the audience to virtue.
There are four principle kinds of representations that are produced in the theatre:
tragedy, comedy, pastoral, and opera.
3 . The rustic life, represented with all its charms, forms the Pastoral.
These four kinds of theatrical representation form that part of poetry that is called
dramatic poetry. For a greater understanding it is necessary to develop all the
definitions.
Poetry is the imitation of nature expressed with measured discourse with the
purpose of instructing and delighting. Prose or eloquence is the same nature expressed
with free speech.
Perhaps since the world is the world, it has not given us a beautiful thing like the
Venus de' Medici; nevertheless all the parts of this statue are lovely, though in reality
they exist only separately in nature, and the artist must do no more that to choose
judiciously and unite them together, to form one beautiful work. In this way Zeusi, to
paint a perfect beauty, did not make just the portrait of one beautiful woman, but from
many beautiful women he chose the most beautiful traits. In the same way the Miser
of Moliere is a perfect miser, who in the world does not exist. Therefore, it is said that
the fine arts are those which have as their object the beauty of nature. The story and
eloquence represent nature such as it is, and make an image of it; but poetry exhibits
nature as it should be, it makes the description.
Therefore, the imitation of the beauty of nature is really the essence of poetry.
The other of its parts then, expressed with measured discourse, namely the
versification, do not make the essence and the foundation of poetry but are simply an
embellishment, and for this reason are called the colouring. They can, therefore, form
part of poems in prose, like the Adventures of Telemaco; and there are things that are
not poems in verse, like that of Lucretius' Of the Nature of things.
Poetry is divided into two general categories. Poetry either tells of things that
happened elsewhere, and this is the object of the Epic Poem; or represents things as
they would actually happen before your eyes, and this is the object of the Dramatic
Poem.
The Greek word, Dramma, means to act. This type of poetry has been given
such a denomination because the action is nct narrated but is performed by people
who act and represent action.
If nature desired to show herself to mankind in all her glory, that is, in all her
possible perfection in every subject, merely imitating her would have been all the value
of art. But since she has played the game of mixing her best traits with an infinity of
others of inferior type,
(*) Verses, but not rhymes. To afl it is well known that rhyme is an invention of barbarous peoples,
these not knowing how to mould the verses harmoniously, they felt some type of pleasure in the rhyme.
In fact in the most uncultured quarters of Asia, America, and the Laplands, rhyme is found firmly
entrenched. And perhaps it existed even in Greece in times preceding Homer. At the meeting of the
elegant Greeks and the Latins, quibus dedit ore rotunda Muse loqui, they escaped it with equal study,
with which their ancestral inculcations, and the other rudenesses were looking. With the launch of the
Latin Empire, rhyme came from Scythia to take Latium by storm, and with troops with duels, with feuds,
and with many other barbarities, that are inaccurately called Gothic, in more foggy times the Leonine
Verses disappeared, which would have made Virgil and Horace die in spasms. But Dante, Petrarch and
all the modem poets, imitators of this rusticness, liked it very much. In this way rhyme was introduced
close to us, that we might conserve it dearly in spite of our supposed good taste, and of our progress
in every sort of culture. So great is the strength of habit!
But if rhyme is disgusting in prose, how can it become beautiful in verse? It will please only those
who have taste, and a spirit altered by habit. In effect it is worthwhile to have an abundance of spirit, only
to lose it in the frivolous, obscure search for rhyme, which enfeebles the thoughts, and often says that
which was not intended.
And why go like this of good need to knock against many rocks to slice trifles? He who attempts to
surmount a difficulty solely for the merit of surmounting it, is crazy, on par with some charlatan who
strings grains of millet through the eye of a needle. How extensive is the difficult inutility! The motto of
good sense is,
Rhymers, song writers, you already know, that your Homers, Anacreons, Theocritus's, Euripedes',
never dreamed of adorning rhyme, nor to hinder verses in a number capriciously prescribed. Their study
and the study of Virgil, of Horace, of Lucretius, of Catallus, of Terence, was not of rhyming; but to
season their verses with rhythm and with harmony. But the poor French without rhyme would remain
almost without verse, They think so. But our greatest Italian poets have rhymed, they were liked, and
are liked; therefore rhyme is followed: Here is the language of those who do not want taste subdued to
reason.
there is necessity, therefore, of a choice; and this choice has demanded some rules
regarding taste.
The drama, therefore has its rules, some of which are general and applicable to
every form of drama, others are particular to each of the four types.
Rules Common
To Every Form of Drama
I . Delight and instruction always together. In nature and in the arts things touch each
other much more, how much greater rapport they have with us. Whence the works will
have with us the double rapport of utility and of pleasure, and will create a sensitivity
to those who do not have but one of the two:
The end of poetry is pleasure and pleasure moves the passions. But to give us
a pleasure both solid and perfect, one must never be moved except by those passions
that make us feel alive, and not those which are enemies to wisdom. The horror of
crime, behind which walks shame, dread, repentance, with a long train of other
torments: compassion for the unhappy, of a great benefl to all humanw; the admiration
of great examples, which leave in the heart a stimulus to virtue; pure love, and by
consequence legitimate: these are the passions, which for their unanimous and
constant consensus in all the world, must be dealt with in the drama, and in general
with poetry.
Poetry was not made to foment corruption in corrupt hearts but to be the delight
of virtuous souls. Virtue situated in certain situations will always be a moving spectacle.
At the bottom of even the most corrupt hearts there is a voice that speaks always for
it, and which the honest understand with much great pleasure, much more that they
find a proof of their perfection.
The great poets have never claimed that their works, fruit of much vigilance and
perspiration, would be destined to entertain the lightness of a vain spirit or to awaken
the drowsiness of a lazy Midas. With such an aim how could men be great?
Ill. Unity of Subject, Place and Time. What is drama? An action. And why not
two, three or four actions? Because the human spirit can not embrace more objects at
one time. If more, the interest divided is enfeebled. Therefore a play can have but one
subject.
The unity of subject demands that of time and of place. One plots against
Caesar? If this conspiracy took place over a month, it would be necessary to recount
everything that happened in all the month, and the conspiracy would not go along
quickly anymore. The spectator does not stay in the theatre but four or five hours; a
long time, then, would the action last, or more and more extend to the duration of a day.
And since the spectator does not change place, therefore everything would have to
happen in the same space that is in front of them, that is in a piazza, in a street, in the
courtyard of a palace. To begin an action in Rome, and to go to Mexico to finish it, is
to weaken by travel. The marvellous then is in the Threefold Unity.
IV. Simplicity and Variety. It is not enough that an action be singular, it is also
necessary that it be neither too complicated so to puzzle the spirit nor too simple so to
weaken it.
Its situations, its characters, the concerns if made too uniformly would be
disgusting. But if the action was crossed by some foreign element, and poorly
intersected at that, the pleasure would be interrupted, because the soul set in motion
does not like to be arrested, and greatly deviated from its aim.
It is necessary then that the action be within time, of the same variety and
solitary; it is worth saying that in all its parts, although with differences between them,
are mutually linked, in order to compose one whole that appears natural.
Very often a dramatic character in some prison or garden says that he wants to
sleep and suddenly the good, kind sleep invests his eyes, and he sleeps melodiously.
Where is the naturalism here? And what kind of naturalism is there in the frequent
suicides that they look to make in the name of love? And for love to renounce
frequently kingdoms, I do not know if this ever happened in the world of the rulers.
V. Number of Actors according to the need of the Subject. A big variety brings
confusion: a very small number, insipidness.
To make use of useless characters, to fill up space and then to make them
disappear or remain, without being called for of necessity by the action, is contrary to
the principle of unity.
VI. Distinct Characters. It is nature which prescribes this. She has posted a
notable distinction in all things. Hence every author will have his particular character
distinct from the others; each always maintains his own, after the principal he has
manifested, and each one will create that which he must create.
VII. Contrast in the Characters. It stands out greatly the difference of characters
and the paragon best made if you introduce, for example, one indulgent brother and the
other inflexible, a miserly father to face a prodigal son, a fierce hero and a humane
hero, namely a false hero face to face with a real hero.
VIII. Spiritual Images. Jove thundering, Neptune with his trident, Apollo, the
Aurora, Venus, Diana, these are decrepit images which bespeak the overused images
of a false system. On the contrary, for us they are insignificant and insulting. The
description of material things, of spring, of a storm, speak only to the eyes but they do
not instruct. It is the images of the spirit which enchant us, teach us, and which talk to
the heart. To call sycophants tyrannical idolaters of the King, what a beautiful spiritual
image! Everybody sees that the flatterers do not adore the Kings, but use them in the
service of making themselves masters.
These are the primary general rules common to every species of drama.
True drama, therefore, is a school of virtue, and all the difference between the
well-purified theatre and the books and lessons of morality consists in the fact that, in
the theatre, the teaching is in action, is interesting, is demonstrated through grace and
delight.
You now enter into the details of each type of drama.
CHAPTER 11.
On Tragedy
Tragedy is the imitation of the life of heroes, the topics for the most part because of
their elevation to more violent passions and catastrophe.
Even vice enters heroism, and the vices are heroic when they have as their
principle some quality that supposes a boldness and a steadfastness which are
uncommon, such as the boldness of Catalina and the strength of Medea.
When the poets show us great men preyed on by bigger agitations, one must
of necessity feel terror and compassion.
Despair throws us into the danger all the same. Terror hits the spirit, destroys
it in some manner and cuts off the use of all one's faculties in a way in which you
cannot escape the danger, so you throw yourself at it. A bolt of lightning will create fear,
but the misfortunes of humanity afflict us.
This mix of compassion and of terror makes tragedy. It will be truly tragic when
a virtuous man, or at least more virtuous
than depraved, is a victim of his duty, or of his own weakness, or of other peoples'
passions, or of a certain fatality. By fatality, however, one must not take it to mean more
than a contest of unexpected and unknown causes, to which all men are subject.
If the atrocity of the action unites with the splendour of the greatness and with
the elevation of the personages, the action will be tragic and heroic at the same time
and will produce in us a great compassion mixed with a terror more sensible because
we see men, and men grander than ourselves, more powerful more sublime
personages, princes, kings, oppressed by the misfortunes of humanity.
In this way one has the pleasure of excited emotion which does not end in pain
because this is the sentiment of people who suffer: but the excited emotions that to put
it this way, is to cause reflection; it stays at the point in which it must be to give us
pleasure.
The poets have profited from these two phenomena that is in the misfortunes of
the great, and the sensibility of the spectators to excite horror to great delight and the
love of sublime virtues. This is the great goal of tragedy.
Rules
Of Tragedy
I. Noble and heroic subject. The more the subjects are elevated, the more they are
interesting. Therefore the choice of characters, and above all the protagonist, must fall
upon people of high status, who once involved in the gravest of misfortunes, will make
a bigger impression.
Even the mediocre ranks are subjected daily to tragic occurrences: and,
therefore, the greater number of spectators, who are in middling condition, and nearer
to the unhappy who suffer, would seem to have more interest in a citizen-like tragic
event than in an heroic tragic event. Therefore, should we write tragedies about the
merchant and the blacksmith? Tragedy does not consent to
this degradation. The object of the fine arts is to embellish nature; whence the tragedy
must incline to the great, the noble and its subjects are always sovereigns or gentlemen
of the first sphere, on these to attach more strength and more happiness, and they are
the means more valid to augment terror and compassion.
II. Respectable Personages. One cannot have interest in someone whom one
does not first hold in esteem. If, therefore, the poet wants us to have interest for his
characters, he will render them likeable and estimable first, and then make them
unhappy; and in this way we are inspired to a veneration for them which makes us want
to cry.
Therefore, the principal character in tragedy must never be a wicked one for
whom one cannot have an automatic compassion; he will be an unhappy hero for
someone else's sake. A wicked person can enter the scene to contribute more to the
principal subject.
The less interesting misfortunes are those which occur by pure fate, like those
of Oedipus. These cause a certain horror but do not interest anybody. From Oedipus
and from other similar tragedies one does not take away anything but a disgusting and
useless knowledge of the miseries of the human condition.
III. Well-known Subjects, but distant or ancient. Antiquity and distance render
the personages more estimable: for the near and especially for the contemporary one
does not have great respect. Therefore the choice of subjects and characters of some
antiquity but traditionally well enough known will always be the most suitable for
tragedy: characters of recent times could introduce the excitation of hate.
IV. Interesting Characters. Not only the character of the principal personages
must be interesting but the mishaps that they will have must be so great as to
reasonably distress and dismay a courageous man.
An action either is heroic for itself alone, when it has a great topic such as the
presewation of a sovereign, of a city, of a nation: or is heroic by the character of those
who create it, when they are monarchs or subjects of the highest class. That a Roman
Emperor 40 years old despairs to have to forsake a woman beloved by him for a long
time, will this ever awaken great compassion? And tragic Tito will be historic Tito? It
would be the same to paint Cato a gallant and Brutus a dandy.
V. Love that is modest and with sobriety (Moderation). Of all the human
passions the most general is that of love. There will not, perhaps, be anyone who has
not felt it at least once in their life; more than enough to interest them in the
representation. But so that the love will be worthy of tragic theatre it is necessary to be
the essential knot of the argument, and not only pull you by force to fill up some vanity.
It must, therefore, be either a passion really tragic, regarded as weakness, and troubled
by remorse; or it must lead to misfortune and to crime, to make us see what a
dangerous beast it is.
The theatre, nevertheless, can be wonderful without some shadow of love. The
ancients never admitted it to the drama pehaps because women did not act. We have
introduced it to you both directly and indirectly, we fostered it, and with too much
cowardice. Therefore, not to wrong our tragedies they are blamed for lessons of love,
and much more how much better they are judged. One is characterized pure love but
with dignity, and it teaches you to evade it or to guide it well.
VI. Terror and compassion. The errors of the great are almost public calamities.
But to excite the tragic sentiment it is not necessary to shed blood. Ariadne,
abandoned by Theseus, is in a position more cruel that if she had been massacred.
And how many punishments are more terrible than one's own death?
One can more and more suffer in theatre some quick death, like some suicide;
because such mishaps are extremely vivid and instantaneous, and the spectators are
not much disturbed by it, especially when the dead are quickly carried out of view.
VI I. Hatred of vice, love of virtue. Here is the great object of tragedy. This is its
primary and indispensable obligation. The biggest use of theatre is to render virtue
lovable to men, to accustom them to it, to make it interesting for them, to give this fold
to their hearts and to propose to them grand examples of firmness and of courage in
their misfortunes to fortify them, and to elevate their sentiments. If the vice stays at
times unpunished it must always go highly detested, and be rendered very odious; and
virtue, if it cannot be always triumphant, will be always lovable and glorious (').
(*) The style of tragedy must be solemn, and composed of noble and great sentiments, and not
overly clever and far fetched. The words will be level and simple, as becomes serious people, who
consult among themselves regarding very important affairs: no thing is more unbecoming to them than
the desire to make clever display.
In Italy a certain affectation called Purity has erected a tribunal that pronounces a sentence of
barbarism on anyone whose writing does not serve of the words registered in a fat book named for a
tired metaphor the Dictionary of the Crusca. (Accademia della Crusca) A living language is a form of
mercury that all the Cruscas of the universe do not know how to fix. Some ancient words out of
necessity are abolished, verborurn vetus interit atas, and of them are born the new, et juvenum ritu
florent mod0 nata, vigentque; or because the concurrence of circumstances shows other words with
other peoples which seem more expressive; or because it improves the national ear, ancient
pronunciation is corrected to disfigure the word, to give more harmony. And who would like to use now
unquanquo, guari, chenti, vaolo, and other out of date words? And why does one not use words that are
new and rare, so that they will be understood by every Italian and will explain the thought well? The
principal end of the Dictionary is not to teach languages but to explain the significance of voices and
their strength; in this way the Crusca is a reservoir of terms and phrases that were and are generally in
use; whence one should at least every twenty years reprint with the addition of new expressions. The
Neapolitans believed the Italian language to be dead (now they believe it alive) and they. . .
These are the principal rules of tragedy. These together with many others are
not learned from the pedantry of poetic precepts but from the original works left by the
great poets.
History
Of Tragedy
And who would believe that the majesty of tragedy traces its origins to drunkenness?
. . .are therefore compelled to write, as if they lived in the 15th century, esteemed as the Golden
Century, although it was like the Iron Age. How many phrases and words French, Spanish and
Provenpl are not seen clearly in Boccaccio and in other writers which we call classics? And now for us
they will be deadly sins the Gallicisms, The Anglicizations?
Woe to that language, which is not enriched continually with new words! If it is true that words
are signs of ideas, it will be likewise that at the rate at which ideas increase, so should the number of
words increase at the same rate. So it has been for some 50 years now that we have seen prodigious
progress made in the science of reasoning, calculus, geometry, mechanics, astronomy, metaphysics,
experimental physics, natural history, commerce, war, and styles! This is a manrellous source of new
terms unknown to ancient languages. And if the new ideas are drafted by foreign peoples why does one
have loathing to adopt a new vocal sign? The words, therefore, cannot be but in a perpetual mobility,
as well recognized and expressed by Horace:
And what of this novelty, this use, this freewill born, if one does not have the courage to get out of this
servile pedantry? The English, free in everything, want also to liberate their language which is, therefore,
the richest, the most epic, the most energetic, borrowingfrom all languages, all the arts, all the sciences,
the words, the transpositions, the inversions, that are necessary for them. All is naturalized
carts, with glasses or with jugs in hand, and half drunk howled the praises of the god
of drinkers, with all the crowd making the chorus. From this time comes the most noble
of the dramatic poems.
Aeschylus was then the first to give a little more of an order to this
representation; when from the praises of Bacchus and of the other gods, he extended
it to represent the actions of the heroes; yet nevertheless always conserving the
denomination of its origins calling it tragedy which means Song of the Goats or of the
Billy Goat. Aeschylus moreover invented the decorations and the machines. He
adorned the scene with pictures, with statues, with altars, and with tombs. He
introduced the shadows and the Furies with snakes for hair. He brought us the sounds
of trumpets, and the crash of thunder. He gave to his actors honest masks, their shoes
the cothumus, and the clothes of
among this nation free and learned. And we that adopt the most frivolous styles, why don't we imitate
one with reasonable liberty? Excessive respect for the Latin language has made us neglect the progress
of our Italian, which would be very enriched and improved if ltalian authors were to always write in Italian
like the Latins always wrote in Latin and the Greeks always in Greek. And more than that, our ltalian
speech would be spread in all Europe, and even a little further than that if Rome, instead of its
barbarous Latin, would use it on all its documents. Italian music has done our language such service.
The principal care of a writer must be clarity; one does not talk but to be understood. But the precision
of terminology is the distinctive character of great writers. So how can one use the property or
convenience of words when one does not have the liberty to choose the most expressive and the most
suitable wherever they can be found? Everybody knows that real synonyms are not given and that
delicate difference that is observed in natural things that seem the most similar one discerns also in the
words which appear the same but are not. Therefore the property of the diction requires novelty and
abundance of words. From this property then is born precision, elegance, energy, according to the
nature of the subjects which are dealt with, or of the objects that they would depict.
In order to write well it should be philosophy that enriches us with ideas. Truth, simplicity, the
natural; these are what every writer must always have in front of his eyes. Therefore, farewell Crusca,
Farewell rhetoric, Farewell poetics. Pedantry . . . farewell.
skin so majestic that these theatrical clothes were converted to priestly use on days of
ceremonies. Aeschylus did not have need of a Master of the Chapel since it was the
same person who composed the music and the dance for his tragedies. By order of the
magistrate he diminished the chorus, reducing it to fiieen people, because of the
discomfiture produced by the Eumenidies which was composed of fifty people
representing furies in a manner so terrible that many women and children died of fear.
Sophocles reduced it according to the rules of decency and truth, and taught
them to be content with a noble and quiet bearing, without pride, without pomp, and
without that gigantic fierceness that is beyond the truly heroic. To engage the heart in
all the action, he worked the verses with success. He raised the event with his genius
and his study to a point that his works have become the true rules of beauty. The
applause of his master work, Oedipus, made him die of joy. He was, however, in his
90th year.
Euripedes marched down the same beautiful tracks, and enriched his works by
the maxims of Anaxagoras his teacher. Socrates was never missing at any new
representation of this great poet. Cicero always carried in his pocket his [Euripedes']
tragedies, and when the hired assassin arrived who killed him, he was reading the
Medea of Euripedes. Singing the verses of Euripedes saved the lives of those Athenian
soldiers who were defeated in Sicily on an unhappy expedition with Nicias. Having
returned to their country the first care that they had was to run to the house of the
author of these wonderful verses, to which they owed life and liberty. The rejoicing
which was shown Euripedes is the greatest which can be felt in the human heart.
Greek tragedy is simple, natural, little complicated, and easy to be judged. The
action is prepared and unravelled without effort. It seems that it was made without art
and, therefore, it is the paragon of the work of art and genius. Such it must be.
Hence it appears that dramatic poetry does not come from Egypt, from where
almost all of the arts and sciences sprang. The Egyptians and the Hebrews never knew
the theatre, as is claimed by M. Racine when he says that Moise gave the first idea of
drama in the book of Job, for the magnificent reason that this book was written in a type
of dialogue. It is true, however, that Jerusalem had a theatre and even an
Amphitheatre, but not in the great age of
Solomon but under Herod the Great when it was under the subjection of Rome.
Rome knew the drama very late. 390 years had already passed since its
foundation when, afflicted by a fiery pestilence, it appealed to the gods. In order to
satisfy the gods, the wise Senate did not find a better expedient than to bring from
Etruria the histrionics, so called because they played the flute, which in Etruscan is
called hister. These people, without reciting some verse and without imitation, using
discourse, danced to the sound of flutes and gestured in various ways. The young
Romans then followed in the imitation of these histrionics, adding verses without
measure and cadence, verses which made even the dogs possessed. From this was
born the satire, of which this is not the place to argue. Finally Livio Andronico (Livy), of
Greek birth, brought to Rome, 514 years after its foundation, the knowledge of dramatic
poetry. In this way the Romans, imitating the Greeks, had great theatres, but never
great dramas; a fatality which still endures. Such is the ordinary destiny of imitators.
The Romans were original in the art of war and in commanding subjugation of a big part
of the world, but in the sciences, and in the arts, they were the disciples of the Greeks.
They never had any worthy men, and of those few who existed, Cicero, Virgil, Horace,
Titus Livy, Vitruvius, Seneca, Plinius, not one was really Roman. Modem Rome has the
same destiny. She cannot take pride but in a Metastasio, and a Giulio Romano,
although top men in every manner, being foreigners, have always lived among the
seven hills. The Latin tragedies were poor and Seneca, next to Euripedes, is a child.
(*) After Justinian until the 15th century one does not find either tragedies or comedies composed.
In the 12th century there was an operetta entitled Ludus Paschalis de adventu et interitu Antechnsti
staged. Put into the scene was the Pope, the emperor, the kings of France, of Germany, of Greece, of
Babilonia and company, the Antichrist, and the Synagogue. Many kings were left fascinated by the
Antichrist, but at the end the Antichrist is always defeated. It is not known if such elegant drama was
performed.
In these very dark times saltimbanks, histrionics, charlatans, mimes, and poets of the people were
very popular. Clowns of every type, they assautted the crowds at the courts, especially during the great
feasts. As reward they were given arms, horses, cloths, money; and the princess and the great ladies
added frequently their favours. Like rascals, although in abjection, nevertheless they existed almost
everywhere.
in the last century the great Comeille restored tragedy to its Greek base , raised even
more controlled by sweet Racine, and maintained in a rich progress by Crebillon, by
Voltaire and by other philosophical poets.
Italy, which in the rebirth of the sciences and of the fine arts has emulated
Greece in training the European nations, had good tragedies before the others and she
has yet those of the famous, like the Sofonisba of Trissino, the Rosimonda by Rucellai,
and the Merope by Maffei. But they are condemned in the libraries to the entertainment
of the moths. In public theatres they are no longer suffered. In Italy it has been
implanted like an axiom that at the theatre one must go to laugh and to cheer up and
not to be inflicted and to cry. Crying is an embarrassment.
In France the populace which certainly does not suffer from melancholy, loves
to be entertained more by crying than by laughing; and it is marvelous that the Italians,
apers of the French in many puerilities, blush then to cry at a tragedy.
But what does the tear or the laugh matter, provided that it gives pleasure and
instructs? Some, however do not understand how tearful tragedy can bring delight. It
is very easy to understand it. Tragedy is an imitation, and every imitation is always
pleasant. We like in a painting objects of the greatest melancholy and the greatest
terror for no other reason than they are well imitated. Moreover, we like the novelty and
the extraordinary greatness of objects, and we like much more, when our curiosity is
piqued with the challenge of unravelling them. The difficulty augments more of our
passions; it makes us more attentive, producing in us a pleasant excitement. Hence it
is that every pain, whether pity, or indignation, or tears, that the poets, the orators, the
musicians, the painters can cause us; every sadness, in short, produced by the fine
arts, entertains us a lot, and brings us great delight.
But also here the ne quid nimis has a place. Therefore, a havoc of death and of
blood will convert, as it is said, sad pleasure to an unpleasant horror. Tragedy, then it
is well agreed, afflicts us too. It terrifies us. It makes us pour out tears; but it gives us
delight and it will be useful to us.
The shame, then, of crying is a false shame. The greatest heroes are never
ashamed to scatter tears. Achilles, Alexander, Marcellus, Scipio, and Hannibal knew
how to cry. And how can crying dishonour a great man if the sensibility it produces is
a virtue? The tears shed by Aneas, for his joyous feelings to see honour returned to his
country and to its brave warriors who were courageously defending it, were tears of a
well-born soul. Sunt lacryme renrm says Virgil. From this spring are derived tears,
whether of sadness or of tenderness, of joy or of admiration, it will always have the
quality of its origin; and will be virtuous, and commendable, if such will be the cause of
it.
The first reproach, then, which the Italian theatre rightly merits, is to be devoid
of tragedy, a useful and beautiful part of dramatic poetry.
CHAPTER Ill
On Comedy
If tragedy examines vice with respect to how much it is hateful, comedy examines it in
so much as it is ridiculous.
The ridiculous consists in defects that cause shame without causing pain: it is
a deformity of customs which offends propriety, the accepted traditions, and also the
morals of the polite world. It consists, in short, in an assortment of things, which were
not made to go together. Stoic gravrty would be ridiculous to a child as gallantry would
be to a magistrate.
This ridiculousness, chosen with skill, expressed with jests, refined and light, and
represented in a most spicy aspect, makes us laugh, because foolishness, which does
not have painful consequences, is ridiculous.
The laugh derives, ordinarily, from pride. Comparing ourselves with an inferior
raises in us a secret elevation, that causes laughter. The foundation, then, and the
principle of comedy is malice, and human malignancy. We view the defects of our
peers with a satisfaction mixed with contempt, when these defects are neither afflictive
enough to give us compassion nor shocking enough to arouse terror. The images of
such defects make us smile, if they are depicted with finesse; make us
laugh, if the traits of this malicious joy are sharpened by surprise.
2. Called Pathetic Comedy, when communal virtues are represented with traits
which render them loveable, and are exposed to dangers and to disgrace, which
renders them interesting. Such a style of comedy instructs because it interests us, and
the examples that it proposes to us move us more sensibly.
This third type of comedy is the most difficult, and as a consequence, the most
rare. Expecting of its author an accomplished study of the customs of his times, a just
and ready discernment, and a strength of imagination, which will bring together in only
one point of view the traits which his penetration could not understand as separate.
One needs, then, a philosophical eye that connects not only the extremes but
also the middle of things. Between the wicked hypocrite and the credulous devout
person is interposed the upright man who unmasks the wickedness of the one and who
pities the credulity of the other. Between the corrupt customs of society and the
ferocious integrity of the misanthrope, appears the
moderation of the sage, who hates vice but does not hate mankind. What is the end of
philosophy if not to strike us with the fixed point of virtue?
Who knows well to study the customs of the times, finds an inexhaustible fount
of Comic subjects of Character. To unmask the Hypocrisy of Virtue, the Friend of the
Court, the Magnifico living in poverty, the Short-livedModesty, the Mistrvsfful(person),
the Fashion Plate, the Sybarite . . . and where does not one find the ridiculous?
Politeness veils the vices with a type of fine drapery, the opposite of which the great
masters know to draw the nude.
1. Noble Comedydepicts the customs of the great, which are not differentiated
from those of the populace except in the form: The vices of the great are less coarse,
and for this are more well-coloured with politeness, that succeed in sometimes forming
the character of a likeable man. They are candied poison that the spectator shares. But
few are capable of studying them, and even fewer understand them.
The greatest part of the ridicule of the great is so well composed that it is barely
visible. Their vices have, I do not know what of the majestic, that escapes the jest: they
put the usual situations in play and then betray them.
The Intriguer who cowardly creeps over the land to better his position, the
Swaggerer ignorant of real glory, the Feigner of Sincerity, the Mysterious One of
frivolous trifles, etc. Are they not good subjects for a noble comedy?
2. The Civic Comic consists in a false air and in pretensions. The progress of
the polish and taste he has approximates the Noble Comic but without uniting it and
confusing it together. The vantty which he has taken in citizenship raises him a thunder
higher than before, he treats as boorish everything that does not have the air of the
refined world.
3. The Low Comic imitates the customs of the low populace namely of those
called plebs. This style can have, like Flemish painting, the merit of vivacity, of truth, of
joyf
like also he has the finesse of grace, and is susceptible to every honesty and to every
delicacy: and gives also a new force to the Civic Comic, and the Noble Comic, when
contrasted with them. You must not, however, confuse low comedy with coarse
comedy: This is a defect of all the types, as now you shall see.
The three types of comedies, treated in three separate ways, have the following
principal rules.
Rules
for Comedy
I. Subtlety of Ridicule. There is a certain vile ridicule, which either annoys us or makes
us nauseous: this is Coarse Ridiculewhich must never have access to the theatre. The
true ridicule that is dramatized, must be always pleasant, delicate, and never productive
of some worrisome secret. The most pleasant and most difficult comedy is this, that is
only comedy of reason. This beautiful species of comedy does not look to excite
awkwardly an immoderate laugh in a coarse multitude, but elevates, rather, this
multitude almost in spite of itself, to laugh with finesse and with spirit.
!I. To approximate with verisimilitude the pretence of reality. The tragic action
has often some element of truth: at least the names are historical. On the contrary in
comedy everything is pretence, and even the names are fake. This pretence, however,
in order to make a profitable impression, must all be likely. And because comic subjects
are more familiar than tragic ones, the defect of resemblance is easier to discover in
comedy than in tragedy; whence, also, for this other motive, it requires an exact and
rigorous verisimilitude.
VII. Hide every art in the linking of situations. From this artifice results the
theatrical illusion. That which happens in a scene must be such a natural picture of the
society that it makes us forget that we are at a performance. The prestige of art is to
make artifice disappear in such a manner that the illusion not only precedes every
reflection but repulses it and distances it.
VIII. The comic style must be humble and modest, with those habits, however,
with those graces, with that taste of the urbane, and with those jests that are suitable
to the language in which the comedy is written.
Each nation has its own particular comic taste dependant on its particular
constitution of government, and on its own customs, on fashions, on manners, etc. and
so what is ridiculous for one country, will not be for another, although the foundation will
be always, for everyone, the same, that is utility and pleasure. There are, however,
subjects commonly comic for all nations. These are planted in the common characters,
and in the radical vice of humanity. The miser of Plautus has his eccentricities even
now for everybody, and he will have them always. Stinginess, that insatiable greed that
one deprives all in order to miss nothing; Envy mixture of esteem and of hate for
advantages that one does not have; Hypocrisy vice disguised in virtue; Adulation
infamous commerce of baseness, and of vanity;
all of these and infinite other vices exist perpetually wherever there are men. Everyone
will disapprove, in their peers, of these defects, of which one will believe himself free,
and will take a malicious pleasure in seeing them humiliated; this assures forever the
success of the comic, who attacks common customs.
The local and contemporary comic then, is restricted to place, to time, to the
circle of the ridiculous that he attacks; and this is frequently more laudable, and more
effective because destroying his models hinders ridiculousness from spreading itself
and perpetuating itself.
But one will contest, perhaps, the utility of comedy for the reason that men do
not recognize their own images in the defects of others? False reasoning. One believes
to deceive others but never deceives oneself. And one who is expecting a position,
would dare show himself to the public, if he believes himself to be as well-known to
others as he knows himself?
Moreover, everyone can be made better through comedy. Make good comedies
and you will see frequent corrections similar to those we have already seen. If the
interior is incorrigible, at least you will see the exterior; an advantage that is not
insignificant. Men, for the most part, whence the superficial, therefore there would not
appear a small profit if they could reduce the depraved and ridiculous people to not be
that way except in themselves. Good theatre is for vice and for the ridiculous that which
for crimes are the courts and sentences. And if the vices, crimes, and repugnant
situations subsist nevertheless and will subsist as long as there will be a world,
therefore theatres, laws, sermons, and history are not useless.
History
of Comedy
But did comedy never exist, written in any country with its double praiseworthy object,
and in all regularity?
Athens, teacher of every culture, abused the comedy for a long time by
converting it into a personal satire: and in this defected manner Aristophanes shone
falsely. Finally the magistrates banished from the theatre this bitter and indecent
imitation of persons, and the comedy was restricted, like every necessary insistence,
to the general depiction of customs: And in this praiseworthy genre Menander rose to
the most glorious celebrity.
Rome had almost the same destiny. From the beginning its comedy
was satirical and obscene; and Plautus bore unhappy resemblance to Aristophanes.
Then it was corrected and Menander served as model to Terence.
Finally, in Italy, the fine arts rose again (*). Comedy was also revived, but
irregular and licentious; and as such was diffused throughout Europe with a train of
defects corresponding to the respective character of each nation.
In France around the middle of the last century it was rendered pure and
irreproachable by the works of Moliere, who would have been admired by Terence and
Menander themselves, and that other Raphael in painting it
(') The restabilization of the sciences and of the fine arts in ltaly is fixed after the fall of
Constantinople. It has been thought that some Greek refugees came to be doctors in Italy, and to
transport to us the seat of literature. But in Constantinople there was little science and little art to carry
away, and these few wandering Greeks could not teach more than a little Greek. Already, some
centuries before, the Italian geniuses were woken because after a long sleep it is suitable to wake up,
and the causes, that shook this great lethargy, were the good effects of the fanaticism of the Crusades.
From that chasm of many millions of Europeans, derived healthy effects, that is it began to weaken the
barbarous feudal system, and to raise the commercial, and in consequence the legislation, and the
culture. The great epoch then of happy change must be fixed in the 11th Century. In that time occurred
the invention of paper. An extremely important invention, although now it appears to us as nothing.
Before this time they could no longer have the papyrus of Egypt. Because of the Arabs one could not
write but on parchment, which was so expensive, that very often they were made of sponge, and old
parchments, already written on, were shaved in order to rewrite something new on top. In how many
codices are there not found the old characters not well erased with other new ones on top? Here is one
of the many causes of the loss of many ancient works. And who knows if the works of Livy and Tacitus
were not erased, to give place to monastic legends. Paper, then, with commercial refinement and with
the other good effects of the Crusades, was the most effective medium to reawaken the Italian talents,
whence the Dantes, the Petrarchs, the Boccaccios, the Bartolis, the Baldis, the Brunelleschis rose
before the fall of Constantinople, and ltaly continues then to ffower for the other very interesting
invention of printing, and for the care of the Medici, of the Popes and the generous patrons, that we
could use now.
became the model of true comedy. Even England knew how to form a comic theatre
that is simple, natural and reasonable, that observes a rigorous verisimilitude, although
often at the cost of decency.
And Italy, one time legislator of every taste and of every literature in all of
Europe, how has she treated so carelessly the role of drama? Ican not speak it without
the most melancholic blush. The intrigues of the lovers, the mimed grimaces, the
cunning tricks of the servants, have made the essence of its comic subjects. It is
believed to be adorned and heightened with an opposition of national customs coming
from the communication and from the reciprocal jealousy of small states, into which
Italy, for better or worse is divided. It is shown in the same entanglement the Bolognian
[Dottore], the Venetian Pantalone, the Pulcinella of Naples, the Aflecchino of Bergamo,
etc. each one with the dominant ridiculousness of his country, and everybody
exaggerated in their mottoes, in misunderstandings, in blunders, in scumlity, in clothes
and gestures of buffoonery, which turn men into a monkey.
Such a peculiarity for its novelty: and like this Italian comedy after the Calandr(i)a
of Cardinal Bibiena, and the Mandragora (Mandragola)by Machiavelli, was condemned
to the coarse type containing all the defects of drama, to an interweaving devoid of art,
of sense, of spirit, of taste, so that in its immense collection there is not one comedy of
v~hicha man of spirit could support the reading.
But this barbarism perhaps existed once. Once the other nations are cleaned up,
Italy herself, the worshipper of trans alpine styles, will have purified her comic taste. In
fact, Moliere was translated into Italian and represented in almost all of our theatres.
In Milan there are some comedies presented by Maggi full of continuous honest
laughter, and of a solemn correction of customs. Thereafter, Goldoni and some other
poets attempted to reform our comedy in some manner, and their productions were
received by the public with applause. But, meanwhile, the histrionics, the puppet-shows
and the most villainous comic, rampant, silly, indecent, in a word the farces exist
nevertheless, and exist imperiously and making their way as far as our most
conspicuous capitol cities.
The Spanish theatre is pliful. The Autos Sacramentales, those absurd mixtures
of the sacrosanct and clownish, were once liked, but are liked no more, one of which
was used to
celebrate the mass, on the stage between devils, angels, and whores, and then to finish
the representation, Ite comzedia est.
And some say: what does the quality of the entertainment matter? It is enough
that the public is amused, enough that one laughs with an open mouth at the theatre.
This is the same as saying: A n d what should it matter to the parents the quality of the
food of a child? It is enough that he eats with pleasure.
But at least for the people, a few coarse pleasures, like food, are needed. To
understand if this is true, consider the populace in its three classes. The first embraces
the plebes, without any culture of taste and of spirit, but which is very susceptible in
some degree, and which would have much need. The second contains the honest and
polite people, who unite to a decency of customs a purified intelligence, and a delicate
sentiment of good things. In the third class is the state of the middle,
larger than is believable, which for vanity strain to be like the cultural and honest class
of people but for a natural slope are transported in the direction of the plebs. The
politics of tyranny consist in rendering humans beasts; everything, therefore, must tend
to ignorance, to stupidity, to slavery. But in a constitution founded on justice and on
beneficence, one has not fear of expanding reason, to illuminate it and to ennoble the
sentiments of a multitude of citizens, of which look at the same profession requires
often to nobles, delicate sentiments and cultured spirit. There is no political interest,
then, in maintaining in the populace the depraved love of bad things, and a
sluggishness of spirit. The farce then must not be permitted not even to the most vile
dregs of the populace: [Teatruccoli], histrionics, puppet masters, zanni (clowns),
saltimbanks, etc. poisons of taste and of morals, uproot them and destroy them and
plant and propagate the regular comedy, directly to a noble pleasure, and to the
correction of morals.
The theatre of Denmark was, until now, without tragedies, but has many volumes
of comedies by Baron Holberg; these comedies are all in prose and have merit.
But since many are in the fine style of Magot of China, it would be suitable to say
something also about the dramatic taste of that immense nation. The Chinese do not
have material theatre, but for more than three thousand years, they have enjoyed rather
comic and tragic dramas, mixed with songs, in which in the middle of ordinary
declamation they come to improvised songs, this song tends to express the great
movements of the soul, joy, pain, anger, desperation. These dramas are without the
lace-work of unity, and devoid of the other essential rules, like the monstrous farces of
Shakespeare, and of Lope di Vega that are said to be tragedies; but their aim is to
touch the heart, and to inspire the love of virtue and the horror of vice. They are then
of the troupes, each one composed of five or six persons who create the mystery of
representing dramas, and they are called for by the Mandarins and by other gentlemen
of quality to the great feasts, which they give in their homes. After the dinner the players
come, introduced into the great banquet room, and amongst great ceremony, in which
the Chinese are perpetually absorbed they present a book containing various dramas;
this book travels ceremoniously through the hands of each of the guests, until a drama
is chosen to the taste of everyone. The representation is without apparatus, reducing
all the decoration to a carpet that is layed-out on the floor of the room; from a nearby
room exit the actors, and the women and the servants crowd to the doors of the other
rooms to see. In the great account that the Prince of Halde gave about Chinese things,
there is a tragedy entitled the Orphelin de Tchao, that has then produced the Eroe
Cjnese by Metastasio, and the Orphelin de la Chine by Voltaire. The dramas of Japan
are of the Chinese taste.
If one searches the dramatic poetry among the Persians and the Indians, that
pass for inventive peoples, one will search in vain: it never arrived. Asia was always
content with the tales of Pilpay, and of Locman, which contain all the morality, and with
allegories instruct all the nations and all the centuries. Although it seems, that after
having made the plants and the animals talk, one will not have to make but a step to
make men talk, to introduce them to the stage, and to form dramatic art in the
meanwhile those ingenious peoples never think about it. Africa with all its Memphis,
Thebes and Carthages never saw theatre; and probably not even America has seen
it, although in Peru it is believed some traces are recognized. Therefore one must infer
that the Chinese, the Greeks, the Romans are the only ancient peoples who knew the
true spirit of the society. No custom, in fact, renders men more sociable, softens greatly
their customs, perfects their reason more, so uniting them, to create their taste together
the pure pleasures of the soul. In Russia, scarcely civilized, St. Petersburg was
constructed, theatres were established; and more than Germany it is cultivated, and
has adapted more of the scenic spectacles of the other more cultured nations.
CHAPTER IV
On The Pastoral
Rural life, represented with all its possible charms, is the object of pastoral drama. But
it is not enough to wreath some subject with flowers, huts, and sheep: rural life must be
put in a living picture, ornamented only with those delights which it can receive.
Therefore all that happens in the countryside, is not worthy of pastoral drama.
One must not represent and paint
(') In Europa Letteraria, a journal that is printed in Venice by Fenzo; this is an extract of this booklet
del Teatro of the first Edition, and between the censors all judicious and civil, there is this: We dislike
to find out that our Author, who seems to intend the truth of the ridicule of things not universally derided
attempts to describe the golden age with these verses:
This creates the childhood world, and puts if to sleep in a cradle in a forest, which must have been very
big, and outside the world where probably
that which cannot please and interest. Therefore exclude coarseness, hardness, the
minute details, the useless and mute images, and all, in short, that does not have the
spicy and the sweet. With stronger reason they must exclude atrocious and tragic
occurrences, improper to the life of the shepherds, who must not know the vehemence
of such passions. They must be all moderate. A wicked man, a notorious sly man,
would be unbecomingto this type of poetry. A shepherd would be insutted ifhe saw this
with his eyes.
Shepherds deign to be simple and natural. All their actions and conversations must
not have anything unpleasant, anything affected, anything too subtle; but at the same
time they have to demonstrate discernment, skill, and more spirit, but all naturally.
forests are not found, seems to me a crazy quarrel, that can be pleasing to the ears, not to the reflection.
Also to use these verses seem always ridiculous, and I wanted to refer to them expressly, to show what
were our most famous Italian poets. These verses are from Guaniri's Pastor fido 4th Act. The Chorus.
If I had cited the author, perhaps it would not have developed the gracious censure of the journalist.
Without the great names, that many impose, how many good critics more would there not be! I am very
obliged to the Author of the above-mentioned extract, although he will not be convinced demonstratively
of the perfectionof his work, that is this worthless book, much less am Iconvinced about it; and aithough
the Gallics, and the Roman (in his words) give little thanks the sound style to who has taste of good
language.
I thank the journalist of this good announcement, and I will make every effort to derive profit from
it by reading the best Italian authors to learn, if it is possible, a style less thankless to delicate ears. I
thank again this favourable extract, that he was compelled to create this poor rhapsody: and 1
congratulate with him his doctrine and good taste.
The style of pastorals wants to be simple, that is, ordinary words and phrases
without ostentation, without apparatus, without aiming to please; but at the same time
it must be sweet and gracious, and without the appearance of being studied. It is a
difficult style, so difficult that it cannot be executed but by men of spirit, who with
difficulty know to hide it.
The ancients who had excellent writers of pastoral poetry, (Theocritus, Mosco,
Bione, Virgil), did not know this species of drama. They had, instead, the satirical
theatre that consisted of a comic representation created by satyrs, Silenus's, gods,
semi-gods, and by heroines. This semed at one time the intermezzo of the tragedy, as
to moderate the sadness. Aftewards it was executed separately and alone.
Italy has some pastoral dramas, and the Aminta of lasso, and the Pastor Fido
of Guarini are notable. of which, for their completely amorous and little-purged subjects,
do not seem created for theatre, although at one time they were put on stage. France
also has made dramas, and there are many pleasant ones by the celebrated
Fontenelle, if, however, they merit the name of pastoral, since in reality they are no
others but the witty courtesans of Versailles costumed as shepherds. The theatre, in
sum, is entirely devoid of one beautiful representation which would now succeed more
than ever before, since agriculture is in great esteem, and the life of the city-person is
much poisoned by the dissoluteness of luxury.
CHAPTER V
On Opera
To resurrect the fine arts, some Italian poets, Orazio Vecchi Modenese, Ottavio
Rinuccini, Emilio del Cavaliere with the beginning
of the last century, began to compose dramas, drawing on the subjects of mythology.
Only the marvellous was put into action. Posted in motion all the divinity of Gentilism,
the spectator's sight was transported to upon Olyrnpus, or in Elysium, or down in
Tartarus. They made dramas that were in music, esteemed language of the gods, and
represented them in the courts of princes, and in palaces of great gentlemen, to
celebrate nuptials, intervened with numerous C ~ O N S ~ and
S dances of various sorts.
Cardinal Mazzarin transported this species of opera to France, where, above all,
it is conserved, and all the other nations have had a similar opera in music in their
language.
But in Italy tastes change very quickly. Perhaps these celestial personages cost
too much to make them come down to earth; and perhaps seen from nearby they
conserve little of their celestial majesty. So they thought, therefore, to abandon this
superhuman marvel; and the opera in music was reduced to a real tragedy, displayed
with pomp by the music, by the dance and by a variety of even richer decorations. This
is the Italian opera elevated to this grand concept, that rules the theatres of Europe,
apart from France. It will certainly be a great, beautiful thing.
If tragedy is in itself the most sublime production of dramatic poetry, to bring one
to detest vice with honor, and for inflaming the soul to the most masculine virtues; how
will it be expressed with music? By that art of the enchantress, by which Orpheus drew
behind him men, the wild beasts, the forests, the cliffs, and for which he built cities,
penetrated into hells; he bent the judges of that rigorous voyage, suspended the
torments of the unhappy, overcame the barriers of death, transgressed the irreparable
decrees of destiny. And what will be this musical tragedy, equipped with dances, with
painting, with sculpture, with architecture, and with the most pompous richness of
clothes, and of every most beautiful decoration? All the fine arts are placed in fusion
for this spectacle. If the Merope of Maffei touches me, moves me to pity, moves me to
tears, it is necessary that in opera the anguish, the mortal fears of that unfortunate
mother, pierce me to the soul. It is necessary that all the phantoms, by which it is
assaulted, strike me, and that its sadness and its delirium, tear me and rip the heart.
The Opera will then be the leader of the work of spectacles, the non plus ultra of
pleasure and of utility. Let us go in to see it.
it is certainly the Italian opera; magnificent folly, prepared with great study and with
great expense, but always folly. Such folly can be compared to the water of that spring
of Thessaly, which for its stupefying property, could not be contained but in asses
skulls. (*)
But from whence does it come that from a thing so excelient in itself, as is
tragedy, united with many seasonings, each in itself exquisite, instead of resulting in a
perfect whole, what emerges is a spiritless dead head of complete uselessness?
(*) Apostolo Zeno condemned the lyric drama, although many had been written, because they were
all full of abuses, and contrary to every good taste, not searching for more than a vain auricular
pleasure.
In examining the opera part by part, the drama, the music, the actors, the dances, the
decorations and the theatre itself, one can discover the seat and the quality of bad in
all these parts, and can apply the proper remedies.
CHAPTER VI
On the Subject of the Musical Drama
The choice of subject, or that of the libretto, is the foundation of the musical opera.
Above this foundation, as if planted a building, so you have to erect the music, the
dance, the decoration. These things are integral parts of the drama, and must create
a total work. Therefore the poet, author of the libretto, will be the director of all these
parts, that is, the Master of Chapel, of the actors, of the dancers, of the machinists, of
the painters, and the decorators. Each one of these will follow his respective task,
according to the mind of the poet, who alone understands the whole of the drama, and
those parts, that are not executed by him are nevertheless by him foreseen, dictated,
and directed.
Therefore the poet. having given a kick to mythology and fairy tales, cannot but
resort to history from which to draw his subjects. It is worth saying, he must create a
tragedy. But historic subjects are not very adaptable to music. Really, a Cato, an Attilio
Regofo in ariettas and in trills, is a denial of their characters.
2. The other principal object of which the poet must never lose aim is that the
dances must be linked with the subject of the opera. Or is it possible that a dance could
refer to a historical subject? If, for example, in Titus the dance included Roman
soldiers, such a dance would always be artificial and unsuitable like an English patetlj,
because dance is not an integrated part of the action.
What subject, therefore, must the poet choose to achieve his principle ends
without difficulty; that is to delight and instruct without offending decorum?
But there will emerge here a great objection, already held against the singing of
our opera. And when, and where, those people say, do men sing when they speak, and
sing as well in their greatest anguish, and finally when they are going to their death?
These are objections that are more noisy than powerful. It is enough to reflect that the
essence of fine art is the imitation of nature. It is enough to remember what is natural,
and all of the difficulty is soon dispelled. Where and when will there ever be found a
man of the robust symmetry that one admires in the Farnese Hercules, and a young
man of such svelt elegance as the Apollo of the Belvedere? And where have ever
occurred these events so intertwined, and these traits of characters that the poets
compose in their poetry and in their dramas? And in what country and in what time did
men make their lengthy discourses in verse? Art does all that which nature does only
in part. And art is joined to its aim if one knows how to choose and combine well the
parts close to nature. It is enough that men naturally sing and dance on certain
occasions; art can make use of these natural operations to combine, in all its mawel,
pleasure and utility, that which naturally does not exist. It will shortly be seen that we
will be completely freed from this objection. For now, it must be examined how it is
possible to suitably apply music to drama.
In order that this application can be well executed, it is necessary that the poet
keeps the following considerations always in view:
I. Fill the subject with interest, and arrange it in the simplest manner.
II. All must be shown through action, with a tendency toward great effects.
Ill. Since rapidity is inseparable from music, the pace of the lyric poem must be
rapid. This is because long and boring discourses are not convenient. Semper a d
eventum festinat. The poem must unravel as it runs, developing with all its power
without embarrassment and without interruption; and all of the successive
developments must be done under the eye of the spectator.
IV. Every scene must offer an interesting situation; and there must be those that
offer true occasions to sing.
V. The aria must be reserved for grand scenes and, so that it has its full effect,
it must be collocated with taste and judgement, and always treated from the depth of
a subject. The secret of grand effects here, as in painting, does not consist of the
boldness of colours, so much as in the art of the gradation of colours. A series of
extremely expressive and varying arias, without interruption and rest, would be soon
wearisome to the ear the more they continue and the more passionate the music. The
passages from recitative to aria, and from aria to recitative, are those which produce
the great effects of lyric drama. Without this alternation, opera would certainly be the
most annoying and false of all spectacles.
VI. Equal to the management and development of the subject, the lyric style
must be simple and swift, without verbosity, without imposed eloquence, precise, of few
words, strong, natural, easy, gracious, and distant from those treatises of spirit distilled
in epigrams and madrigals.
But what do you mean, more rules? The true rules of the lyric style are the
dramas of Metastasio, which would be a perfect legislator if there were less love
spread, and if there was more liberty enjoyed to conduct and articulate tragic subjects.
The bizarre tyranny of our impressarios has already been noted. Moreover, the
Emperor Charles VI had a complete aversion to t i e catastrophes of tragedy, and
desired that everyone exit from the opera happy and tranquil. Therefore, the poet
Cesareo had to accommodate all to this end, and the construction of his poem was
necessarily influenced by these bonds, and the force of custom necessarily vanished
with this predicament.
Music is the science of sounds that please the ear. By sound I mean a movement of
vibrations through the air that gratefully reaches the organ of our sense of sound, either
through song, voice, or musical instruments. Hence, the distinction between vocal
music and instrumental music.
It did not take long thereafter to invent instrumental music. The first musical
instruments must have been of the wind type. Hearing the whistle of the wind in tubes
of cane, and in other tubes of vegetation, men must have created out of necessity
flutes, horns, trumpets, etc. Sonorous strings are so common that everyone must have
noticed their different sounds, and here is a iist of string instruments: lyres,
psalteries {zithers), harpsichords, violas, violins, etc. Finally, the sonorous din of hitting
an empty stomach led to the invention of percussion instruments, drums, timbals
(kettle-drums), etc. All these instruments are none other than different voices that
speak to the ears. There are many instruments invented and artfully inclined to express
sounds in the absence of voice, or to imitate the natural voice of man. There does not
exist a phenomenon in nature, a passion or feeling of the human heart, that cannot be
imitated by musical instruments. However, not all instruments are equally appropriate
for some imitations. If the acute sounds of the little flutes make themselves heard as
the interval in the painting of a tempest, they express it with much truth. The low and
lugubrious sounds of the horns announce in a terrifying manner the apparitions of
ghosts and shadows. With the string instruments one must at times sustain sounds and
at others touch the strings, to express different effects.
The union and pleasant accord of several sounds is that which is called
harmony, since melody is the ensemble of pleasant songs. Therefore, all the perfection
of music consists of the expression of every effect both physical and moral with melody
and harmony united together.
Music has a great influence in the physical and moral. Considered trembling vibrations
sent through the air by the voice and by instruments, music influences both inanimate
and animate bodies.
Mersenno and others, basing their work on obscure steps taken by Saint
Augustine, and other fathers of the church, have dared to say that the fall of the walls
of Jericho, which was a prodigy, was completely natural, and caused by the sound of
trumpets and other instruments. What instruments! What walls!
The effects of music on animals are even more notable. With music, bears are
tamed, and donkeys are made to dance to the sound of certain instruments. Camels
in the orient sustain long and painful trips as a result of certain sounds
which, when stopped, the camel's pace slows down, and sometimes they stop
completely. In our own environment, we put bell-ringing collars on our coach animals.
Some music offends many animals as soon as they hear it. There is the case of the
dog that, upon hearing the acute sound of the violin, screamed out with terrible
lamentations to the point of convulsions, spasms and finally death as the music
continued to play in efforts to see its final effect on the dog.
But particularly, in that animal called man, music exerts physically its major
influence. A certain Cavalier Guascone could not hold his wine at the sound of the
bagpipes. Boethaave speaks of a deaf man who felt tremors throughout his entire body
every time an instrument was played beside him. Pythagoras, great promoter of music,
was the first to apply it to medicine, and the history of antiquity boasts of admirable
healings. Sciatica, gout, hysterical effects, phrenetis, phthisis, and even the plague;
they find in music an allegedly sure antidote. Even now we know its effects on those
bitten by the spider from Puglia called the tarantula, and it is also accepted as effective
against venomous snake, scorpion and rabid dog bites. In the history of the Scientific
Academy in Paris, there is mention of a musician healed of his violent fever by a
concert played for him in his room. The Americans use music to treat practically every
illness, to reanimate the courage and strength of the afflicted, and to dissipate the fear
and anxiety brought on by illness, often more fatal than the illness itself. We
Europeans, who have spoken so badly and well of America, could have transported
even this detail, which might be more effective than any cure of our Aesculapii, who are
all determined to cure us, tuto, cito e jucunde. But in reality the smallest of illnesses are
made gigantic by the nauseating apothecary shops, by the flooding of waters, by the
severing of veins, and by brooding on the illness in gloomiest melancholy. Terminally
ill Queen Elizabeth had several musicians enter her room to mitigate the horrors that
in the social state are produced by the termination of life, and by the dissolution of the
machine, this terrible change is considered in every aspect.
It is in the morality of man that music must explain its major influences. Music
was held in the greatest esteem by the people of antiquity, and especially by the
Greeks.
This esteem was proportional to the power and the effects that are attributed to it. They
believed that music was one of the most valid and effective means of sweetening
customs, and of humanizing those peoples naturally rough and savage. They attributed
the sweet sobriety of the Arcadians to music, though they lived in sad and cold air,
whereas the people of Cinete, because they neglected music, surpassed all the Greeks
in cruelty and crimes.
Music was a principal part of the study of Pythagoras who used it to excite the
laudable spirits and actions, and to ignite the love of virtue. Narrasi, whom Pythagoras
saw as a possessed man, in the act of lighting the house of his unfalhful lover on fire,
had a spondee sung, and the gravity of that music quickly calmed the anxieties of the
desperate lover.
In ancient times there existed two types of musical arias; one was called Frigia,
which excited fury, anger, and courage, and was likely made use of on the Field of
Mars. The other, called Dorica, inspiredthe opposite passions, and brought the agitated
spirits to a state of tranquility. Consider Galeno, who after infuriating a group of drunk
young men with an aria Frigia, began to play a Dorica and they immediately calmed
down. Ateneo assures us that all human and divine laws, the exhortation of virtue, the
cognitions that concern God ane man, the lives and the actions of illustrious figures, in
short, all things most remarkable, were written in verse, and sung publicly by a chorus
accompanied by the sound of instruments. It is for this that Plato contends that one
cannot change music without producing changes in the constitution of the state, and
he maintains that one can assign the sounds capable of eliciting the baseness within
the soul: insolence, and that which is contrary to virtue. Aristotle, who it seems wrote
his Politic for no other reason than to oppose the feelings and thoughts of his teacher,
is nevertheless of the same opinion. So all of the classical philosophers and historians
agree that music is the most effective means of impressing on the soul of man the
principles of morality, and to animate him to practice his duties; and it was even used
as an anti-venereal measure. Absent husbands, instead of maiming their wives or fitting
them with chastity belts, a very popular practice in many countries right now, would
leave them with musicians in the countryside whose song and music would placate their
desires which would otherwise
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[page 491
have been satisfied at the expense of their honou sbands. Take the case of
Egistus, who, when trying to seduce Clytemnestra, killed her musician, Dernodaco, left
to her by her husband Agamemnon to guard her pure heart with music. These and
similar stories seem like fairy tales to us. Our music is very different from that of the
ancients! One should not believe, however, that classical music was always managed
with useful robustness. Even the ancients used soft music, producing bad effects; and
this is what Plato, Quintilian and Plutarch detested so much.
And what influence does modem music have on our hearts? It gives us a sterile
delight, and nothing more. But is there much diversity of effects between one and the
other?
Those who have analyzed both ancient and contemporary music, have found
that classical instrumental music is significantly inferior to our own, both for its
imperfection and its number of instruments. The ancients knew little or nothing of
counterpoint, that is harmony, the true foundation of melody and modulation. Therefore,
modern music (meant to mean Italian) is in all its parts farther reaching, richer, and
more learned. How is it then that with all of these advantages it is poorly influenced.
It is precisely from its richness that its disadvantage derives. The confusion of
the parts, the multitude of different instruments that appear to insult one another, the
noise of the accompaniment that confounds the voices without sustaining them, is the
beauty of our music. What energy and what effect can remove it from this chaos? The
ever simple music of the ancients, entirely imitative, went to the heart and effectively
moved the passions. Our uproarious and insignificant music does not make it past the
ears. Classical singers sang without straining themselves and so they knew how to
soften and delight the heart. Now the false and empty sounds, and the sounds of a
voice that exceeds itself, do nothing more than skin the ears, and upset the spirit. Our
music will always be a vain noise if you professors do not penetrate profoundly to
consider its essence.
On the Essence of Music
The essence of music lies in imitation. The essence of imitation lies in the true
expression of sentiment that wants to manifest itself. Every expression must be exactly
those things that one has to express; it is like a suit cut upon one's body. Whence every
expression requires unity, truth, clarity, simplicity, vivacity, novelty, elegance. Painting
with delineation and with colour expresses the appearance of an infinity of animated
and inanimate bodies. Poetry with its verses expresses that which is in nature. Music,
with its songs and sounds, expresses verse, that is, expressions of poetry. Therefore
music can be divided in two parts. Either it imitates and expresses non-passionate
sounds and so corresponds to that which in painting is a landscape, or it expresses
animated sounds that give sentiment, and so is a narrative painting.
The composer is not freer than the painter. He is always subjected to the
comparison made between his works and those of nature. If he has to paint, for
example, a storm, a stream, a zephyr, his tones are in nature; it is from there that he
must take them. And if he has to paint something which does not exist in nature, like
a lowing of the earth, or a shiver of a shadow coming from a tomb, his ideas must
always correspond and assimilate natural things. Art can neither create nor destroy
expressions. It cannot be removed from nature. It only regulates expressions; it fortlies
them; it cleans them, but the base must always remain natural.
Or if music is a painting, what painting would it be, where the painter would have
thrown bold sketches on the canvas and masses of the most vivid colours without any
resemblance to any notable subject? So what would songs and sounds be that express
nothing? Music most monstrous would express everything contrary to that which it
should mean. Music is a universal language that speaks by means of sounds. If used
for what it is not intended, this is an infallible sign that art has failed nature. As much
as nature is enriched by composers, if one cannot comprehend the meaning contained
in their expressions, it is no longer riches, it is an unrecognizable idiom, and in
consequence, useless.
Music must by necessity follow poetry, because music does not have distinct
means to explain the motifs of its vaned impressions. Where the imitations of nature
and passion would be without poetry, is very vague and indecisive. Arias, tender and
sweet, that could express love, could equally express parallel sensations of
benevolence, friendship and pity. And how could the rapid movements of scorn,
expressed in music, be distinguished from those of terror and of other violent agitations
of the soul? Music, therefore, must always be faithfully attached to poetry; and as such
was ancient music, that followed it step by step, neither exactly expressing the number
and measure, nor was poetry applied except to give the music more spfendour and
dignity. If the declamation, better still, the simple reading of an excellent lyrical drama
digs up our tears, what energy should not be acquired from the spell of music when it
is embellished without oppression? And what impression should not be produced in a
sensitive audience?
But our music that once was from subordinate perFormers, and must be from
poetry, has become despotic and tyrannical. The current musicians no longer intend
art to imitate the harmony of verse, and to exhibit poetic grace. They ask instead for
small verses from poets that are cut down, mundane, irregular, without number or
harmony; and at times they join them with such extravagance, that they first compose
their arias, and then set them on fire with words that are the fantasy of some bad poet,
so that it is soon discerned that our opera is sung in verse, and can with reason be
entitled music without poetiy.
Since our music has shaken the yoke of poetry it is no longer imitative. Nothing
more is expressed, and no more effects are produced. It became a collection of
thoughts, excellent, yes, but without connection, meaning or convenience; in fact like
the Vatican arabesques of Rafaello, very precious and very irrational. Music, better
calculated in all its thunder, more geometric in its harmony, if it does not have any
meaning, will be like a prism that presents the most beautiful colours but does not make
a picture. It is pleasing to the ears, and surely annoying to the spirit.
So then if one wants to reestablish music to its double objective of delighting the
senses and moving the heart to beautiful virtues,
one should let oneself be directed by poetry that expresses sentiments. Then the
common criticism that the heros of opera are troubled, and go to their death singing
and trilling would stop. Such a criticism is founded upon the incoherence that ordinarily
alternates between songs and words. Where the passions speak, the trillings must
remain silent. If music were well adapted to poetry all improprieties that currently
nauseate in opera would disappear. But to do this it is necessary that either the poet
is a composer, or that the composer is a poet. Without reuniting these rare talents,
the composer must at least have the fine discretion to understand the poet, and to
persuade himself once and for all, that music is a stronger, livelier, warmer expression
of concepts and effects of the soul expressed in poetry. Lulli, in fact, depended upon
Quinault; Vinci on Metastasio. If the composer conducts himself in this manner he will
be secretly pleased with his music, which will be more expressive, and in one sense
more definite without ambiguity or obscurity. The worst music is that which does not
have any character.
Finally our Italian music must guard itself against another evil: that is the one of
continuous newness. Music that was well liked twenty years ago is not now tolerated.
Once in the theatre, even Apollo as composer of an opera would be God if brought
back twice within thirty years. The same drama may be presented as many times as
desired, but the music must always be different. This is one of the main reasons why
music has become a passing fashion, full of daydreams and whims. It is asserted that
after Vinci and Pergolese, music fell like architecture did after the time of Borromini.
That is, the desire to surprise with novelty has led music astray from its straight path
of imitating nature to please and to be useful.
After these preliminary notions about music, let us consider its application to the
various parts of the drama.
The Symphony
The symphony is the opening of our opera, and its first disturbing circumstance as well.
A couple of allegri, an austere element, and a deepening uproar are the ingredients of
every symphony. If you
have heard one you have heard them all. It is meaningless to permit it at every drama.
It is no less obvious that the symphony should be like the exordium of the opera;
and everyone knows that the exordium must be taken from the essence of the subject
that is to be represented. As a result, two necessary consequences arise.
1. (That) each opera should have its own particular symphony which announces
the action in a particular way and prepares the audience to receive the impressions of
affections that result from the drama.
Our current symphonies are not that meaningful as is evidenced by the fact that
any one symphony can be applied to any type of drama. Any music that does not
depict, is nothing but an uproar, and music that perverts nature would not provide
pleasure but from harmonies and sonorous words, lacking order and connection. The
famous Tartini did not compose song that neither expresses some Petrarchian
composition nor loses focus of the subject at hand. These songs however, for all their
meaningfulness do not have but a half life, lacking the expression of song that is the
soul of music.
On Recitative
The recitative follows the din of the symphony. It is so ignored and neglected by
composers and actors alike that no one bothers to listen to it anymore. It is truly insipid
and intolerably monotonous. And yet it is the foundation of opera. All things of this
earth, particulariy human passions, have their moments of rest and intervals. The art
of the theatre thereby follows in the way of nature. One can neither always laugh nor
cry at the theatre. The main characters are not always agitated by the same intensity
of passion; they have alternative passions and calmness. The secondary characters,
as much as they may be involved in the action, can never exceed the passions of the
heroes. Finally, the most pathetic situation does not become so if not in stages. It
requires preparation, and its effect depends in large part on the things that preceded
it and conducted it.
The teachers of the art have proven that the foundation of recitative must be a
harmony that follows nature step for step; that is something in between ordinary
speaking and melody. It must therefore be vaned, and must take its form and soul from
the quality of the words. It must sometimes run with speed equal to that of the
discourse, and sometimes proceed slowly. Above all it must pick out those inflections
and emphasis that the violence of affections has the power to impress in the
expressions.
In order to convince oneself of this truth one need only look to the recitative,
accompanied by instruments, and called the obbligato. Why does one listen to it with
attentiveness and pleasure, if not for its naturalness? So all recitative should be done
like this and it will be converted from boring to delightful, so much more delightful, as
well as so much more natural and expressive.
Another advantage would result from a harmonious recitative, and that is the fact
that it would avoid the unpleasant separation that exists between ordinary recitative and
the aria, which burst suddenly on the scene like an uncontrollable rocket. There must
certainly be a notable difference between the recitative and the aria, but not such a
difference as large as the
(') In the lyrical scene of Pygmalion of the one and only M. Rousseau, performed at Lyon with great
success, the words were not at ail sung, and the music did not serve but to fill the rest intervals
necessary to declamation. Rousseau wanted to give with that performance a sense of the Melopea of
the Greeks, and of their ancient theatrical declamation.
distance that separates the ground and the sky. Who engages in transports of passions
without first having experienced it for some time to varying degrees?
On Arias
The Aria begins, not at the point of singing, but from the start of the preliminary
ritomelli, always useless, and often inopportune, debilitating the whole action; since that
character is in the meantime forced to remain with his hands at his side; waiting for the
ritornello to end,(that does not finish at all soon), to give release to the passion that
bums within his heart.
He sings finally, but a crowd of instruments oppresses the voice so much that
it is heard only from time to time as distant shrieks and screams. And why is there such
a rabble of violins? And why banish the violette [small violins with three strings], which
are something between the violins and the basses? And why not put back the lutes and
the harps, which with their piuicati give the ripieni a certain spice?
The arias then, in which the voice competes with a trumpet and an oboe, and
between them exchange blasts and responses to the point of exhaustion, receive
applause. But what is being imitated? What poetic affection is being expressed? Every
aria should be soberly accompanied by different instruments in such a way that each
instrument should suit the nature of the words in order to capture the right expression
of the affection.
The singer who gives more in the high notes is thought the most talented, even
though the least melodious,
(and) who does not see that the high notes are to Music what strong lights are to
painting?
And those frequent passages from one extreme to the other, when they are not
called for by the passion and the words, are true interruptions of the musical meaning.
And those eternal repetitions of words, verses, and parts that are obstructive,
disorderly, and re-mixed, are always a labyrinth. The words are not to be replicated, if
not dictated by the order of passion.
The first part of the aria seems like fireworks, the second part seems like a cat's
lamentation, after which a retum to the first part is made which is repeated in its entirety
four times, and separately in indentations without number until each spectator leaves,
each having had their fill. The most intelligent in the musicaf field cannot tolerate this
much music.
Ordinarily the Masters of the Chapel are extremely careful to express the words
of the aria. They sweeten the notes for the words calm, groom, father; they express the
word heaven with loud thunder, and the words earth and hell with lows; they hurry
impetuously over the words lightening and thunder, and with a dozen vocal hurlings
they explain the term furious monster. But it is not this and other similar childishness
that express the situation of the soul, and the meaning of the aria; these do not explain
more than a few words, and they completely spoil the meaning. The same drawbacks
are found in the duetti.
The choruses are performed in an even worse manner. They have become so
insipid that nobody can bear listening to them. Even if they were to be destroyed by the
poet, and they were to express with simplicity the sentiments of a people who detest
short curses, and the cruelty of a tyrant, or applaud with acclamations of joy a
beneficent hero, they would become pleasant and interesting, if however, they were
performed with expressive music.
Even in tragedies, the choruses can sing, as was common at one time at Ferrara
in Geraldi's Egle, in Lollio's Aretusa, in Tasso's Aminta. These tragic choruses should
always go about praising virtue, to condemn vices, to comfort the unhappy. These
choruses should be joined by music that is sometimes mournful and sometimes joyous,
sometimes mixed, according to its different subject. This gives pleasure and relief to
the listeners, at times tired and full of vigorous effects, that tragedy impresses: this way
they breathe and rest at the end of the acts,
serving those choruses as befitting intermezzi, and not as those improper ones that are
currently used in tragedies and comedies.
From what has been said so far, it is easy to see that the great evil of today's
Italian music is its excess. This excess has caused ornamentation. cuttings, bits,
centrings, peculiarities, that have made us lose sight of the principal object of music,
which consists of expressing in the most natural and simple way the sentiments of
poetry, so that the heart is touched more vividly. Do you really want touching little arias,
so that they engrave themselves in everyone's memory? Make them so that they depict
and express the sentiment of the poet; make them as natural as possible, and as is
often said, Parlanti. Only beautiful simplicity can imitate nature. It was this simplicity that
made Vinci and Pergolese famous. The desired ornaments of art surprise, but do not
go to the heart.
If one wants music to be simple and touching, more melody should be used, and
less counterpoint. Contrappunto is made up of various parts: one of acute and quick
movement, the other, serious and slow, and both must work together and assault the
ear at the same time. How then can the counterpoint move within the soul such a
determined passion, which requires a determined movement? Mirth requires fast
movement and intense and acute tones; sadness requires slow movement and serious
and resewed tones. At the meeting the melody proceeds always at a pace and tone to
the same end, and it is for this that melody is so helpful at activating every passion
within us. Melody does not need much profound doctrine, like counterpoint does, but
demands instead a fine taste and an unlimited amount of wisdom.
On Actors
If the composer must be subordinated to the poet, the actors must be subordinated to
both of them. It is not enough that something has been well conceptualized, it is still
necessary that it be well executed; and the execution depends on our virtuosos. The
first virtue that they must possess is an exact and docile resignation for what the poet
has expressed in verse, and to the well-known Master of the Chapel.
They must not, therefore, take the minimum liberty to add, remove or alter any
of the arias; and this is precisely where they take the most unrestrained license. In the
cadence, especially, is distilled the most virtuous of all his musical treasures, thinking
that the cadence is as the Girolandino of Saint Angelo's Castle. But the cadence must
be dealt with from the heart of the aria itself, of which is like the epilogue. It is up to the
master to dictate it, and the musician to execute it.
It is still the responsibility of the master to make the arias singable for all that
must be sung, according to the sentiments
of the poet, the musician executes it. Liberty can be accorded only to that rare Apollo
who is the master of his voice and understands poetry and music perfectly.
It is an axiom in music that he who does not know how to control the voice does
not know how to sing. And in fact, how is it possible to cause effects if one cannot hold
oneself up and cany the voice at will? Nevertheless, most singers do just the opposite:
their principal plan is to cut up the voice, hopping from note to note, warbling, harping,
and with passages, trilling, fragmenting, and rushing to embellish, cover and disfigure
everything of beauty. In this way, one is no longer singing. and all of the arias resemble
those of the women of France who, with their lipstick, all look like they are in the same
family.
But what is of the greatest importance is that music must remember that is
representing a character. It must, therefore, move in correspondence with this
character, and what is being acted. If the appropriate actions are missing, all of the
most excellent poetry correlating with the most well intended and well executed music
is betrayed and unsuccessful. Demosthenes made all of the force of the art of oratory
exist within the actions, in the tone of the voice and in gestures. It is probably because
of this that ancient eloquence was much superior to the modem. What is the passage
with which Cicero, in the oration pro Ligario, made the hand of condemnation, already
resolved, fall on Caesar? One cannot make such a request unless, with words, it is
possible to transmit the tone and gestures of an orator.
CHAPTER IX
On Dance
The principal part of gesture is dance, which consists of regular movement, jumps,
measured steps, done to the sound of instruments or the human voice.
If feeling produced song, sound and gesture, stronger feelings, happy or sad,
must have produced a certain extraordinary excitement in the body. The body thus
excited, the arms were either opened or closed, the feet would have taken slow or quick
steps, the features of the face participated in these different movements, and the entire
body corresponded in position, attitude, and shaking to the sounds which touched the
soul. Therefore, dance is a development of these strong feelings, which are roused by
sound and song. So dance is as natural to man, as is song and gesture. Therefore, if
there was dance at the beginning of the world, there has always been dance. Ancient
dance was sacred accompanying joyful songs of praise and thanks offered to the
beneficent Creator.
The word Ballo has been derived from balla or palla, to which game the Greeks
united dance, always attentive to accompany the pleasant
with the useful, and more attentive to shape the body to make it agile, robust, and at
the same time gracious in its movements.
The way to produce dance that is exhibited clearly is that every dance must have
a meaning, and as one cannot have sound or song that is not imitative and expressive
of some sentiment, so one cannot have gesture or dance that is not an imitation.
Dance, then, has to imitate and express, by the method of the musical movement of the
body, the quality and affects of the soul. It has to speak to the eyes, and to paint with
motion and gesture. With great reason then, Sirnonide calls dance a mute poetry, and
as such, has to instruct and please.
These origins of dance are very similar to those of Lucian who derived the
motion in cadence of the heavenly bodies, the different conjunctions of the planets, and
the fixed stars, and the harmony of the celestial bodies.
The strict union of dance and music does not have the permission of these two
arts to have separate processes. They have taken an equal step toward that level of
perfection that connects them with more cultured people. As music, so dance, are both
received in the ceremonies that compose religious culture, military functions, weddings,
harvests, and in all that has a special rapport with the most notable joy.
With the Greeks, dance reached such a great majesty that Themistocles danced
with his triumphal corps; the grave Lacedemonus never tired of dancing, and finally in
the marches and parade grounds, terrible and exhausting Phyms exercised, that
military dance in which in cadence to the sound of flutes, all the
battle methods, for attack as well as defence, are practised. Even Socrates attempted
to learn to dance. But what dances must these have been? They were dances that had
found a place in the philosophy of Plato, Aristotle, Plutarch and Lucian, in which they
had viewed dance as true imitation, executed by single movements of the body to
represent human action and passion, imitated with steps and figures, and indicated with
gestures, all subjected to regulated cadence. In good times in Greece this type of
imitation was not applied except to proper subjects that inspired the most
commendable passions, and to regulate customs. The prostitution, then, of dancers by
the most despicable people, corrupts and serves to reawaken and nurture the most
sinful passions.
If dance has as a subject the common feelings of life, it can be called comic; but
if it has as a subject, heroic feelings, it is called tragic. The Greeks, in fact, applied it to
both tragedy and comedy. But in Rome under Augustus, one or another brought to
excellence the work of two celebrated dancers. Batillus of Alexandria invented dances
representing cheerful action, and incorporated them in comedy. Pilade introduced
dances representing pathetic and grave actions in tragedy. These dances came to be
performed by pantomimes, who are professional in natural representation, and paint,
so to say, with gestures, attitudes and the motions of their face all the actions of man.
Lucian, to justify the praise he gave to this type of dance, recounts what
happened in Nero's time to Demetrius, a cynical philosopher, who condemned this art
sustaining that it was not but a useless accompaniment to music with which are
associated vain and ridiculous postures to entertain and surprise the enchanted
spectators with the beauty of the masks and costumes. Then a pantomime, who was
outstanding in his art, asked the philosopher to condemn it after having seen it. And
imposing silence on the voices and instruments, he settled on the representation of the
love of Mars and Venus, expressing the Sun that discovered them, Vulcan who
intended to trick them and catch them in a trap, the Gods who watched the scene,
Venus bewildered, Mars amazed and suppliant, and the rest of the fable expressed with
such vitality, that the philosopher exclaimed that it seemed that he had seen the real
thing, and not just a simple representation but one in which his entire body spoke.
Lucian adds that a prince of Pontus came to Nero's court for some of his affairs
and saw this famous pantomime dance with all of his art. The prince asked the
Emperor to give him this dancer to bring back with him, and when Nero demanded to
know for what use he wanted him, this prince responded: My state borders a barbarian
people, with whom no one can communicate, but this man will be able to interpret for
us by means of gestures.
Also dance requires its exposition, its heart, its freedom, and must be a hearty
compendium of actions executed rapidly in a variety of situations. And as it is not
natural that in opera one sings from the beginning to the end, it would be of similarly
unnatural in dance for one to be always dancing. Dance must also have tranquil
motions, and very passionate motions: they must be distinctly two manners to express
two moments so diverse.
Dance, therefore, cannot be dictated but from the poet, it wants to be regulated
from a sound composed from a master hand, and it would turn out even mote
expressive if it were animated by some choir of singers. In this the French understand
better than us. If the dance teacher and the dancers know the depth of their profession,
they will find sound in all of their gestures noted with the succession and the gradation
of all movements, that are not certainly pirouettes, capriole, nor vulgar jumps and
without end.
Of that which dance should be, it easily appears that oufs is a complexity of
absurdities. At the end of an act, the stage gets filled up with dancers who start to jump
until they are out of breath. After a concert a few young men become detached from
the troupe, that play various jests, that steal a bouquet of flowers, go into rage, make
peace. Each invites the other to dance, and they dance; that is, jumping around the
whole theatre in obscene ways, and often dishonest. After come the bigger ones called
coryphaeus to do similar insipid movements in twos or in threes; and finally it closes
with another concert or contradance of the same taste as the first. Who has seen one,
has seen them all. The costumes of the dancers change, some pantomime changes,
but the character of the dance is perpetually the same. Ordinarily the dance of opera
has much connection with the argument of the drama, as much as dreams have with
the lottery. The action will be in Carthage and the dance will be a Venetian
rnascherade.
Our theatrical dances are instead academies of dance, where mediocre subjects
are practised in representing, breaking up, reconfiguring; and the older dancers
demonstrate the most difficult studies in different aptitudes, gracious, quick and
learned. But what would one say of those painters and sculptors who in a public
exhibition of their works would display studies of heads, arms, legs, and perspectives
without ideas, without application, without precise imitation? All these things certainly
have their virtue. They are necessary studies from which paintings are made; but in the
public's eyes school studies should not be exhibited.
One should exhibit complete works that are the result of various detailed studies.
Even if the dancers are liked, and they are well liked, so that many only go to the
opera to enjoy the dances, enjoyed equally are the [Magot Cinesi], tightrope walking,
and other deformities. The empire of bad taste is most vast of all empires.
An impossible union, most would quickly say. Singing is such a difficult art, and
requires much study and application, that one can hardly hope that a great singer could
be a great actor, much less could succeed as a great dancer? The execution and
expression of song already occupies a singer too much to permit him to give the same
attention to the action. Often the movements that the situation requires are so violent
that they do not permit singing with grace or with the necessary force. Especially in the
last throes of passion, how can the same singer sing with warmth and the necessary
enthusiasm, and at the same time, lose oneself in dance to delirium, and the great
confusion of passion? And who then could execute this? Who for the magic of the voice
has made the biggest sacrifices, for which he is rendered shapeless and cadaverously
married?
The usual followers conclude, then, that this reunion is of a palpable impossibility.
Pondering upon this impossibility, it seems at first sight impossible that which
sometimes reflection or chance afterward renders feasible; Andronicus, a famous
Roman actor who is both a singer and a pantomime, becomes hoarse, not only for
affectation, but because of the applause that demanded more encores. The public no
longer knew how to enjoy theatre without Andronicus. He performed again the next day
with all his hoarseness, gesticulating and dancing, and he made a young man situated
below in the orchestra sing for him. This expedient was liked, and from then Andronicus
was dispensed from ever singing, and dedicates himself with more intensity to gesture
and dance. From that instant, Ooera was performed in Rome with two types of people,
that represent the same subject at the same time, with the same arias, with the same
measure, in the same scenes: one by means of song, the others by means of gesture
and dance, and these were the pantomimes. The pantomime does not sing except with
his hands, the singer does not gesture more than with the voice. Voice in agreement
with sound explains the singing of the subject, meanwhile dance in agreement with the
measure of song and sound executes the same subject with gesture.
That which a risk established one time at the theatre of Rome, should be
adopted in reasoned imitation in the execution of our lyric poems. Our castrated
singers, who are ordinarily excellent singers, and tenible actors, and all other singers
could be positioned immobile in the orchestra like speaking instruments. They would
perform like this the part of song with a superiority impervious to distraction, meanwhile
the dancers would perform the part of the action with expressive manners and intensity.
More than it penetrates the spirit of opera in music, more fervour is derived from
this idea. Opera executed like this will not (as it actually is) an auricular entertainment
for those few excessively sensitive and intelligent about music. It will be an incantation
that will touch the heart of the most ignorant of the common people; because the
concern of the pantomime would be to translate the music word for word, and to render
intelligible to his eyes, that which to his ears he could not comprehend.
This manner of executing lyrical drama would render to the poet and to the
composer the command, that they have usurped the singers and the impressario. All
that is not born directly
from the depth of the subject, is no longer tolerable in such theatre. The whole figured
and epic style would disappear from dramatic opera. And which gesture the pantomime
would find for the expression of such words and of such arias? And how, wlhout giving
in to the ridiculous, would one know how to express himself, to resemble an indomitable
steed, or a ship left abandoned in icy waves? Pathetic situations would no longer be
weakened by cold and subaltern episodes. The poet, little embarrassed by the duration
of the performance, and the number of actors, would conduct his argument with an
intrigue, simple strong and rapid, to the catastrophe indicated in the story or from the
nature of things. Rendered like this, all animated, united and collected, opera would
make a more profound impression, more entertaining, and more useful than the
theatres of Rome and Athens have ever done.
For a long time it has been said of poetry, music and dance, that the three are
fine arts with a common principle which is the imitation of nature. They also have a
common end which is to communicate to others the ideas and feelings of our spirit and
our heart. Therefore, maximum grace rests in their re-unification. Artists can separate
these three arts, but only to cultivate and cleanse each with particular care and
attention. However, they must never lose sight of the first principles of nature nor
believe that the one can stand alone without the others. Nature and good taste require
that all three must always be harmoniously united. This union, however, also has rules
that regulate it.
In all things a common centre must be found; a point of recall that will hold
together the most remote parts. If it is poetry that provides the basis for the spectacle,
then poetry must dominate this centre. Music and dance must not enter it, except to
give a more rigorous expression to ideas and feelings already expressed in the verses
of the entertainment. Music and dance must make poetry stand out, not obscure it. And
this is the case with opera.
If it is the case that music (permitting this digression) forms the basis of the
spectacle, as in some resounding sonata; it would be a very cold experience without
at least some light poetry to explain it. In fact, what do these great sonatas say to the
heart? Sonate gue me veux . . . tu? says Fontanelle. If there are sonatas and singing
together as in music of the church, in the oratories, etc, the effect is weak because it
is lacking the essential part of dance, using gesture,
which is the soul and life of every spectacle. It is not necessary to speak of the
hundreds of sounds and songs which are dead and without action, as the academies
do. If these are studied as exercises, it is fine; but if they are performed for pleasure,
in ordinary practice, it would produce a false pleasure.
Finally, if it is dance that provides the celebration, music must not shine with
prejudice to it; but only to take it by the hand to distinguish its character and movement
with more precision. But how is the dance bom as an expression of joy if this joy is not
first prepared and inspired by some subject? One goes to a festival to dance; and one
dances for the desire to move one's body, or to demonstrate one's ability and agility;
or also for mere civility. As for the rest, the dance is never produced by its true cause,
which is a feeling of excited happiness and those measured movements that express
these internal sensations. It would be necessary then that dance proceeds from some
bit of poetry which is sufficient to produce it. It is required that first the songs and
sounds prepare it, and that the product also accompanies it. At one time, one used to
dance to the melody of the voice, and the words had the same measure as the steps.
The changes of the sounds, changes made with rules and gradations, would produce
a variety of dances, and always significant dances. These would be the dances of the
ancients in their celebrations of joy, in which the philosophers would intervene, as
would the greatest of the republic, as reported by Senofonte who never failed to report
with gravity the most minute details of the dances which were practised on these
occasions.
Are our celebrations like this? High society studies and spends great sums to
amuse themselves. They bore themselves in the midst of the most sumptuous parties,
and they then say that they had fun. Even our learned men say that they amused
themselves, recreating and stabilizing the reading of certain ancient books that
spiritlessly incense and cause death from boredom. The divine Homer, Dante's Divine
Comedy, and many others of our similar divinities. What kind of divinities they are is
dictated by common sense.
CHAPTER X
On Decoration
It is part of poetry, music and dance to present images of action and human passion.
It is part of the wardrobe, the architecture, the painting, the statues, in a word, the
decoration, to prepare the clothes, location and the set for performance.
The same suitability is requested for the set. It is the duty of architecture to form
these places, and embellish them with the help of painting and sculpture. All the
universe belongs to the arts. It may be arranged with all the beauty of nature, but only
according to the laws of appropriateness. Every residence must have the image of he
who lives there, in accordance with his rank, fortune and taste. This is the rule that must
guide the art of the construction and embellishment of places.
The ancients had three types of sets. The Tragica for tragedies was
representative of a royal palace with a temple with magnificent columns, building fronts,
and statues. The Comica for comedies was designed with a street with houses. The
Satirica for a type of pastoral was representative of a forest with paths, with a views of
the countryside, mountains, caves, and of other woodland things. They were
scrupulous in observing the unity of scene or place. It was inconceivable that a
performance could commence in a place, move to others, and finish in a completely
different part, far away. Every subject has a fixed scene. Each comedy of Terence is
performed in front of the door of a house, where the actors naturally meet one another.
Each tragedy is performed
in the enclosure of a palace. And as the ancients had their principle performances in
public, the set was in the open and huge.
Today we want variety at whatever cost, especially in opera where if there are
not eight or ten scene changes, it is considered poor. And what sets? We want them
to be finished with lavatories, and the prisons, as if the spectators were lynx-eyed and
could see everything that they have inside.
At least these sets should be suitably adapted to the places being represented.
The scene is in Carthage, and the architecture is Gothic. The set equally with the
costumes must be regulated by the poet, and if it is not practical to use the methods of
the ancients, consult a professional historian, but always avoid, however, pedants and
bores.
Regarding the painting and perspective of the set, Ferdinand0 Bibiena should
be studied, who in this was a grand master. But not to study him as his followers did,
who abandoned the fundamentals of art, they gave in to oddness, fantastic displays,
more great whims, ramshackle constructions, scalloping, trivialities, perforations and
every sort of strangeness; calling small rooms those that serve for enormous halls, and
prisons those that seem like a court. Also the architecture is badly developed. Columns,
instead of supporting an architrave or ceiling, are lost in drapery placed in mid air. The
vaults remain unsteady and decrepit, furthermore, from the side it cannot be seen
where they are supported.
Other architecture must not be applied to sets, than that which is masculine and
noble, which delivers the antiquities of Egypt, Palmira, Persepolis, Greece and Italy.
Also modem architecture can provide some sound ornament. And so it is that for every
subject the appropriate architecture can be had.
If the scene requires a garden and a countryside view, one cannot do better than
to imitate the Chinese taste, who in this are truly enviable, since they have gathered all
that is beautiful in nature in all its variety, their art cannot be compared. Of the same
model are the gardens of England. And without having recourse to remote regions,
grand masters for all in this genre are Possino, Titian, Marchetto Ricci and Claudio.
It must also be realized, and to be made a point, that the openings in the set be
such that the height of the columns
have a just relation to the height of the actors. To make the actors come from the back
of the theatre is the most disgusting inconvenience possible, because the size of an
object depends on the size of its image combined with the judgement that is formed by
the distance from it. In this way images of the same size can be positioned, the object
will be viewed as much larger as it is viewed from farther away. Therefore this is why
characters that appear at the back of the stage seem gigantic to us, because the
perspective and artifice of the set makes us view them as much further away. A
measure, then, of what to do in the front, they are diminished, and things nearby
become dwarfed. The same is true for the extras, who must never be allowed to go
where the capitols of the columns reach their shoulders or waists. The illusion of the
scene must always be maintained.
The first theatres did not consist in all likelihood but of four boards placed amongst the
trees, the branches and leaves of which served as the scenery, and opposite were the
spectators sitting on the grass amongst the bushes. They then began to take a form
more consistent, comfortable and regular; but for a long time they were made of wood,
until one was smashed to pieces during an act which compelled the poet Pratinas,
inventor of the drama known as satire, in which was represented one of his
compositions, the Athenians, to build a theatre of stone.
The architect, Agatarco, in concert with the poet, Aeschylus, built a great theatre
in Athens, the description of which existed until the time of Vitruvius, and served as the
model for the construction of theatres.
This theatre was different from that of Bacchus, begun in Athens about 330
years before the vulgar era, by the celebrated architect, Filone; then completed by
Ariobarsane, and restored by Hadrian. The remains can still be seen. Its greatest
diameter was 247 Parisian feet and that of the orchestra was 104. It was all of white
marble, and its stairs are in great part supported by surviving stone of the citadel of
Athens, by which at times they were sustained.
C. Curione was not able to create so much expense to commemorate the death
of his father (the Roman Nobility, at the death of their relatives, gave scenic spectacles;
we prohibit them) imagined a grandiose plaything of mechanical wonder. He
constructed two ample theatres of wood adjoining each other, and suspended and
balanced in the air over pivots, in such a way that they would turn with all the people
who were in it above, and the two parts could be joined together to form an
amphitheatre. To understand how this mechanism was carried out, see Hist. de I'Acad.
des Inscript. Tom. XXIII. To such excesses reached the temporary theatres of Rome.
Pompey was the first to found a permanent edifice of stone, based on the design
of the theatre of Mitilene brought from Greece, built with a capacity for forty thousand
people. He was also the first to provide seats for the spectators, and carries the blame
of the old declamations against softness and innovation. (')
The theatre of Marcellus was one of the small theatres, containing not more than
twenty two thousand people. The largest of ours scarcely manages to contain three
thousand. But the population of Rome,
(*) The first theatres of Rome date from 599, after its founding during the time of the Messala
Censors and Cassio, but were then sold at auction by Scipione Nasica, and ordered by a Senato
Consulto that in the city and for a mile outside of it, one could not construct seats, nor could anyone sit
at spectacles. Rome, all military, abhorred every seed of softness.
one answers quickly, was not the population of a city but of an entire nation. Rome
contained millions and millions of inhabitants. This is easy to say, but not to
comprehend. It seems that the confusion lies between the number of inhabitants of
Rome and the number of Roman citizens, who certainly amounted to millions more; but
these were dispersed throughout the Roman Empire, and not only restrictedwithin the
walls of Rome, whose population, due to space limitations, must have been less than
that which Pan's has at the present time. Its circumference, which was little more than
eight miles, was much inferior to tr~day'swhich has approximately thirteen. The height
of the houses could not exceed 60 feet. The palaces were at ground floor level, and
isolated in Chinese style with big gardens. The Aurea de' Cesari house was immense.
The temples were not few. The streets were rendered spacious and regular; and then
the forums, the circles [Cerchi], the porticoes, the baths, the theatres, the
amphitheatres, the naumachiae, the gardens, and many other spacious public and
private enclosures. It seems to prove that ancient Rome at the time of its greatest
luxury could not have contained more than four or five hundred thousand inhabitants,
with the inclusion of its suburbs.
The interior of the ancient theatre was a construction of semi-circular shape, ending in
one part in a half-circle and in the other in a diameter. The amphitheatre then was an
entire circle or an ellipse, it is of value to say it comprised two theatres unitedtogether.
In the middle of this enclosure there was a piazza, which is that which we call
platea of partere, and which the Greeks denominated orchestra, which means to say
to leap, because that was the space for their dances. The Romans followed in naming
it orchestra; although for them it no longer served for the dances, but for the seating of
senators and of the most distinguished magistrates.
Around and around in a semicircle rose steps, hand in hand, on whose risers sat
the spectators These risers were raised not less than twenty nor more than twenty-two
inches, and their height was between two and two and a half feet
In large theatres these steps were interrupted in proportion to the size of the
theatre by one or two landings called precinzioni. At the top of the steps, there was
another landing around which ran a high portico, as high as the scenery. This portico
also had seats in gradation for use by the spectators, and particularly the women. All
the risers and the landings of the aforementioned steps were disposed in such a
manner that a line drawn from the first to the last riser must have touched all the tops
or the comers. It is thought in this way that the voice could not be reflected at the top,
and that it would be heard equally by all.
Every part of the theatre had a separate convenient entrance and exit. To get
to the orchestra one went by level corridors, which had different outlets called vornitoria.
To ascend to the seats, after having arrived at the landings by the internal stairs,
there were diverse small stairways, each leading to its own destination. These
stairways divided the seats into many sections, which by their form were called wedges,
assigned to different orders of people, for the magistrates, for the aristocracy, for the
young, for the plebeians. Those who were expelled from the theatre were called the
unwedged.
In the stairways cells were formed where were placed vessels of bronze or clay,
of shapes suitable for making the sound of the voice better.
At the diameter of the semicircle was the stage called pulpit0 or Proscenio, on
which operated the actors. The height of the stage was five feet, so that the actors
could be seen comfortably by those sitting in the platea.
The height of the scenery was relative to the size of the theatre. Ordinarily in
large theatres the set was of three levels, in small ones, of two. This set had three
doors; the largest which
was in the middle was called the Royal Door, and the other two on the sides were used
for the Guests; because the houses of the Greeks were effectively such that the
entrance in the middle served for the owner, and those on the side for the guests. The
Romans were in everything imitators of the Greeks. At the two sides of the stage were
situated the decorations consisting of triangular versatile machines that represented
three types of decoration, streets, piazzas, or the country, according to that which the
subject of the drama demanded.
This Theatre did not have other covered parts but the porticoes at the top of the
stairs and also the scenae frons; all the great rest, that is the stage, the platea, the
stairs, remained uncovered. The spectators were not night-birds and enjoyed all the
spectacles by day; to take shelter, however, from the burning sun and from the rain,
they covered their theatres with canvas awnings. But for strong and unexpected rain
they took shelter inside the double arcades made expressly long and behind the
scenae f rons.
From this portico behind the scenae frons one went to certain boulevards and
to parterres, where the public walked to wait in attention for the spectacles. Therefore,
the interior of the ancient theatre was composed of three big pieces: the part used for
representation; the part used for seating spectators; and the porticoes under which to
cover oneself until the time of the spectacle.
(') Pausanias put forth another difference between the Greek and Roman theatres. These, he says,
exceeded in ornaments those of all the other peoples, and in size that of the Arcadians, that is set in
Megalopolis. But in taking account of proportion and of beauty, what theatre can compete with that of
the Epidaurians, designed by the famous Polycletus?
("') Sometimes the total form of the ancient theatre was entirely circular. Pausanias reports that
Trajan built a big theatre of all circular parts; and Belli, as Maffei reports in his Verona Illustrata, iound
some of similar shape in Candia.
buildings, is here inopportune to report; and as for their external grandiosity, it is
enough to look at the admirable remnants of the Theatre of Marcellus.
Therefore, the theatres among the ancients were superb buildings in which was
united utility and the pleasant in a magnificent manner, and able to transmit to posterity
the idea of their major grandeur.
Our Theatres do not suffer description, but to create blushes, and to animate us to
correct them. Everywhere is found poverty, defects, and abuses.
The entrances, the stairs, the corridors, seem to lead not to a place of noble
entertainment but to a prison and to the most filthy brothel. Even the materials
correspond to so much rudeness; being for the most part of wood badly combined,
uncomfortable, and for every care, so unsafe that the longest life of a theatre hardly
arrives at fifty years, provided it escapes frequent fires.
Such are today's theatres. From this common misery, however, I exclude a few
which are constructed soundly of stone, and include some comfort, and also refinement
in terms of the accessories; like those of Torino, of Naples, of Bologna, of Berlin, which
is the most sumptuous of many theatres existing in Europe. All, however, sin in the
interior shape, irregular, uncomfortable, and with the most inconvenient use of palchetti.
Only the Teatro Olimpico, which Palladio the Vitruvian embellished his native Vicenza,
can be esteemed a good theatre. In confirmation of
what was mentioned, a short description of the principal modem theatres is added.
The city of Venice numbers seven theatres. That Republic was never committed
to create a public Theatre worthy of its greatness. Those that there are were casually
erected by patrician families; and for the most above the ashes of bumt-down houses
or on the ruins of some ancient building. Hence it is that all are between houses, and
streets that are the most abject and narrow in that city. All of their magnificence is
restricted to the interior. That metropolis, from the most remote times had the highest
enthusiasm for spectacles, with pomp, and celebrity of the companies of the Accasi,
Sernpitemi, and celebrated Calza, is not in a better condition than the other cities of
Italy, because they are all of bad shape. Those erected in the sixteenth century by
Sansovino in Canareggio, and by Palladio at the Carita for the above-mentioned
company of Calza, because they have not existed. Neither the celebrity of these, nor
that of their architects was enough to remind the builders of many theatres there then
erected, that their shape must be of a half-circle. That which was the least different
from it, and was the largest of any other, was the theatre of Saint John Crisostomo, in
the past celebrated in all Europe, for its musical dramas always represented with regal
magnificence. But who? The great multitude of people, who came together at these
dramas, promoted the desire to multiply the number of boxes. Three of them were
added in each level on both sides of the proscenium. And this lengthened the theatre,
and lost that merit, that it had above all. The other six theatres have the same defect;
a defect that almost each year becomes a crescendo for the passion for always
augmenting the number of these same boxes. The theatre called Saint Benedetto, not
having been built many years, is much decorated in the interior, but in its shape it is not
better than the others. In this way Venice, which was the first of the cities of Europe to
have beautiful theatres in the fashion of the ancients, and which in this was perhaps the
master of the other nations, nowadays is of the same condition as many other cities
greatly inferior to her.
1. The Teatro Olimpico of Vicenza built in 1583, was designed by the prince of
modern architects, Andrea Palladio, with the taste of ancient theatre. His shape is a
half-ellipse, it could not be, because of the narrowness of the adapted site, a semi-
circle. This semi-ellipse is encircled by risers of fourteen steps of wood
for the spectators, neither intempted by landings, nor by small stairways, nor by
vomitories, its greatest diameter is 97 % Parisian feet, and the smallest ending at the
stage about 57 Pi. At the top of its risers runs a loggia of Corinthian columns which, for
the same narrowness of the site were not allowed to be placed everywhere; whence
the wise architect, with the good advantage of practice, created in the middle and at the
extremes some niches with statues. The entire loggia, then, is crowned by a balustrade
enriched with statues. The scena is of stone in three levels, the first two are Corinthian
(I do not know the motive for the repetition of the same order), and the third is an Attic;
each division is ornamented with variety and with richness. There are in the scenae
frons three frontal exits, and two in its sides; each one with internal views as required
by the perspective. The extremitiedends of the risers do not have a view of the entire
stage. Pity that a building in this way ingeniously designed should be without
convenient exterior decoration; but it was built, not at the expense of the Senate, or of
the Roman Emperor, but by a group of Vicentine Knights of the Olympic Academy.
3. The back of the Theatre of Milan begins from a curve of 72 feet in diameter,
this curve which becomes gradually wider into two straight sides, the stage is seventy-
seven feet in width; the opening of the palco scenario is 69 feet and the length of the
platea is 140 feet which is almost double its width, that is why it seems so excessively
long. The shape of this theatre is completely opposite of the majority of other modem
theatres, because all the modem theatre are designed to get narrower in toward the
stage while the Theatre of Milan becomes wider. Given that the stage is so wide, the
audience can see more. (with irony the author says) Even though the theatre is not
worfh such atfention. This theatre is decorated with ordinary boxes. None of the
theatre's features are as remarkable as a small closet found in the boxes. Between the
boxes and the closets runs a big corridor.
Between the audience and the scena there are doors leading to the orchestra,
as were used by the ancients. The door should not be placed in front of the scena
because the sound is compromised, because the voice is low. Aside from its exterior
ceiling there is also an interior ceiling made of planks and in certain places it is
engraved as a result (this type of ceiling) is instrumental in enhancing sound in the
theatre. There are comfortable stain at the four angles of the theatre; the comdon and
the rooms are convenient; but the principle entrance is on the side. In the Philharmonic
Academy is preserved a model of a theatre modelled after a greco-roman style. This
model was built in the beginning of this century. While they were attempting to construct
it, there was a lack of courage, in spite of Maffei and many other erudite aristocrats,
with which Verona has always been abundant. They chose a new trend; they
abandoned this model and selected Bibiena's model and as a result Verona had
deprived itself of a beautiful ornament that would have emphasised its splendour. It
would have demonstrated a marvellous ancient style which Verona is capable of
presewing.
6. Rome has about a dozen theatres. They should be superbly modelled after
the many monuments built by Augustus during the Golden Century, and especially after
Teatro Marcello. It should be this way, but it is all to the contrary. The worst theatres in
Italy are those of Rome. They are all irregular and indecent in their form, defective and
inconvenient in the accessories, and improper to the point of suicide. And in the
meantime, Rome thinks she has the most beautiful theatres in the world.
7. The Theatre of Tordinona, built in the last century by Carlo Fontana, and
rebuilt in this century under Clemente XII, has a figure that more than any other comes
close to circular. Its greatest diameter is 52 Parisian feet, and the smallest, 48. It has
six levels of boxes; the last of which is in the sides. Of the comfortable interior, and the
exterior decoration, there are no words to make even an allusion.
8. The most recent theatre of Rome is the Argentina, designed by the Noble
Marquis Girolamo Teofoli, with six levels of boxes. Its figure is neither circular nor
elliptical, but of those irregular forms that are horseshoe-shaped. Its greatest diameter
is 51 Parisian feet, and the smallest, 46. Location, staircases, corridors, entrances,
everything is miserable.
None of these three great Roman theatres has a theatrical facade, and they are
all made of wood.
10. The Royal Theatre of Torino, erected in 1740 by the Count Benedetto Alfieri,
Gentleman of the Court and first architect of S. M. Sarda, has an oval form. The platea
up to the scena (stage) is 57 Parisian feet long, and approximately 50 wide. There are
six levels of boxes with wooden partitions which are, perhaps, over-decorated. The
Royal Box embraces 5 boxes on the second level, adorned with balusters and a grand
canopy, occupies three boxes on the third level, and protrudes externally, in a convex
form remaining below the principal entrance of the platea (house). The last level, known
as the pigeon-coop, has the parapet of balusters, in the front it has amphitheatrical
flight of stairs. For the people without livery, the left side is for the public, and the right
is divided for the servants
of the Court and for those of the Ambassadors. At the two extremes contiguous with
the proscenium there are two loggias for the people of ordinary service of the theatre:
with the exception of these two loggias, the boxes of this last level are not separated
by the grand encircling corridor. Under the orchestra is a concave with two conduits at
the extremes, which rise up to the height of the stage, to end by render the sounds
more sensitive. The ceiling is concave and on top is the room of the scene painters; but
the convex form of the ceiling is covered by tenacious bitumen, in order that if water is
spilled, the paintings underneath will not be damaged, and at the extremes, cases are
formed and continued around and within the cornice smeared with bitumen and filled
with the finest sand, to absorb the little water that could fall by accident: a necessary
precaution to keep the ceiling paintings unharmed. In all the modem theatres the
chandelier ordinarily descends from a large opening in the middle of the ceiling of the
house, with grave prejudice of the principle painting, the voice, the sight-lines of the
boxes, and above all those underneath who are exposed to dust, dirt and some non
indifferent danger. To avoid all these inconveniences, here, the chandelier descends
from the middle of the ceiling of the proscenium. The proscenium is decorated with two
Corinthian columns on each side, elevated on a simple pedestal; on their
intercolumnation, there are two loggias for the actors, one on top of the other: the
pedimentlfronton on these columns and the principle fronton that crowns the
proscenium seem problematic , and not well balanced. The entrances, stairs, rooms
of various sorts, galleries and corridors are truly of magnificent intent. For the scenic
apparatus there is all the space desirable with convenience to mount beasts on stage,
and operate fireworks. There is no lack of pits, drains, storerooms, wardrobes, boilers
and they even thought of furnaces with pipes that extend out to the platea to heat it as
required. This considerable theatre did not have its own facade, but shares one with the
Royal Palace with which it is connected.
11. The Theatre of Bologna, completed in 1763, was designed by Antonio Galli
Bibiena, son of Ferdinando. Its interior has the unfortunate shape of a bell section; the
length of the platea is 62 Parisian feet, and the width of the proscenium is
approximately 50 feet. There are five levels, each having 25 boxes, in addition to an
enclosure around the platea
four steps high and capped by a balustrade. The loggias of the first and second levels
are located centrally, those of the next two levels, and those of the fifth are made from
the lunettes, and are without balustrades. There are four levels over the doors, but
these are of a smaller size. The shutters and pillars that separate the boxes are
abundant with cartouches and other strange things: the parapets have terrible
balustrades and worse overhangs. The two frontispieces of the side entrances
terminate in a line of support for the first level of boxes, intersecting sharply with the
pillars and the parapet. The other frontispiece of the central entrance is stuck below the
principal box, and arrives at the line of support but not more than that interior
decoration that is a barbarism of architecture. It is said, that the dispute, opposition, and
rebellious satire at the choice of Bibiena's design, has caused very detrimental
alterations to the theatre. The exterior facade is decorated with two well delineated
orders. The first is of single Doric columns, on whose capitols sit barbarous arches,
probably to render the porticos on the same level more distinctive; the second order is
of a composite Ionic, interspersed with windows with pediments, which are not missing
at the windows either, that are already inside the aforesaid portico.
13. Montpellier has a theatre in the shape of a bell, with an interior length of
approximately 44 Parisian feet, and a width of 30. The orchestra is surrounded with a
portico, over the columns of which rise more levels of loggias with spacious corridors
inside, and in the back is full of various steps to descend the stairs, that are inside this
theatre, form an ordered edifice which has a good exterior appearance, but that does
not announce its internal use.
14. The Opera Theatre in Paris, built in 1769, according to the designs of M.
Moreau, is an elongated oval, with four
levels of loggias without interruption, and there are other loggias between the columns
of the proscenium. The orchestra is 39 feet wide, and 32 long, and has a flight of steps
in front. Outside it has simple decoration, with a convenient portico.
15. Inside the Palace of Versailles in 1770, the architect of the king, M. Gabriel,
has erected a theatre in the old fashioned taste, with a semi-circular shape with internal
staircases crowned by a loggia. The court occupies the parterre, in the centre of which
sits the king.
17. The Covent Garden Theatre, which is also in London, is of the same style
as the preceding theatre, and has approximately the same capacity. This building,
however, has more harmony as the staircases connect in good order, and return in the
loggias, arid these with the Royal loggia, which are here and there within the orchestra,
and the proscenium.
The Royal loggias there are not those that have two columns per part, containing three
boxes each, one over the other, with risers. These risen are continuous in the loggias,
which are also of three levels. It is observable that the risers, as the parterre, as all of
the front of the theatre, are not perfect sections of a circle, but are sections of a
polygon, commendably expedient, so that the spectators at the extremities can be
seated more comfortably and to view the scene without craning one's neck. This
theatre is also copiously furnished with convenient and elegant accessories.
18. In St. Petersburg, under Czarina Elizabeth, a grand theatre was erected
inside the Imperial Palace, designed by Count Rastrelli Veneziano. The stage is
approximately 72 Parisian feet long, and the rest of the theatre, which is a type of
ellipse, has a length of 103 feet. There are five levels of loggias, each one divided into
18 boxes. The first level has a balustrade, the second has boxes with central openings,
the third has dressing tables with toilet mirrors, the fourth with lintels, and the fifth is
completely open with no divisions. The Imperial Loggia, which is in the front, created
by M. della Motte, a French architect, is decorated with four columns which support it
and a baldacchino, which extends for all of the third level. The court sits in this loggia
to enjoy dances, but to hear the opera better, they sit in a box next to the orchestra.
The proscenium is adorned on both sides with two columns and two staircases to
facilitate communication between the stage and the orchestra and the house.
Comparison
Of Ancient With Modern Theatres
From the succinct description made of ancient and modem theatres, a very humiliating
comparison becomes visible for us, which makes the method more evident, if for the
principle requirements of theatre are established solidity, comfort and convenience;
requirements common to every well-intentioned work of architecture.
No building can be solid, but if it is not protected from humidity, damage will
occur no less to the building itself, than to the health of the people. As well, in one
particular theatre, as soon as it was completed, it was found that all of its fundamental
structure was rotten with humidity, I do not know how many advantages this gives for
the health of the spectators. Necessarily it will happen in all of these theatres where the
orchestra is equal to or below the level of the streets.
(*) The common Roman attributes the ruin of his noble ancient buildings to the Barbarians. But who
has destroyed the beauty of the Theatre of Marcellus by placing an ugly house and villainous shops next
to it? Who has transformed the Pantheon into a church, stripping it of its bronzes and marbles,
embellishing it with colours, with adding two miniature bell towers on top, and smothered it with a riff-raff
of poor houses. The massive structure of Hadrian, the Septizonium, and many other superb structures
are no longer recognizable, because they have been stripped of their columns and their ornament in
order to make use of them, God knows how, in modem constructions. If Sixtus the Fifth had lived a little
longer, goodbye to the Colosseum; it is so badly reduced, because everyone that has had control of it
has never cared for its conservation: in worse conditior: would be the Arena of Verona, if the action of
the citizens was not vigilant to consenre it, as is demonstrated by its steps, that are largely modem. The
principle thought of Rome is to sanctify the Pagan monuments, and sanctifying the Colosseum, the
Baths of Diocletian, and many other antiquities, f do not know what good service this renders to the fine
arts. It is incomprehensible, that modem Rome has known to profit so little, especially in architecture,
from many of its ancient treasures, that are truly the masterpieces of all the countries of Europe. She
certainly has grand and rich public and private buildings, and supercedes in this any other capitol; but
the grandness and richness are not to the extent that exists with the beauty of architecture, and little
Vicenza with only Palladio is incomparably more beautiful than great Rome, not flaunting its Bramante,
San Galli, Buonarotti, Peruai, Vignoli, places already obligated to Fontana, Mademi, Bemini, Borromini,
followed by a host of others, that like the Tartars trample upon the beautiful Greek and Roman
architecture.
learned instruction, it is clear that it must be situated in a place and in a manner most
convenient for the access of the citizens. Therefore it wants to be in the centre of the
city. The Colosseum, and the theatres of Pompei and Marcello were not in remote
comers.
The multitude of our carriages, an effect caused more by our vanity and
weakness, than by our comfort and need, requires in our theatres a situation most
favourable. It is not enough that many wide streets conduct them expeditiously to every
part, the interior of every square, and various particoed squares are required, some for
covering the carriages and servants, and others for the shelter and security of the
majority who make better use of their own legs.
The theatre must be filled and emptied with the utmost speed possible. A look
at the ancient type, furnished with many doors, with passages (vomitodi) and stairs,
would not make us know the embarrassment that is suffered in the access of our
modem theatres.
But real theatrical convenience consists of a situation where one can see and
hear equally well. The constant semicircular figure in all ancient theatres, and the
interior stepped from top to bottom, was of the most admirable simplicity so that
everyone was comfortably disposed to see and hear equally well; in this manner each
person was able to see everything, and everything was seen by everyone.
Our different and strange forms of theatre, and especially the use of boxes,
which are called palchetti, stacked one on top of the other, allow little to be heard, less
to be seen, and no comfort in their arrangement.
This absurdity is brought in many theatres to such excess, that the stage is
drawn forward into the orchestra, to diminish the inconvenience of hearing too little:
where from many boxes the actors are only seen from the back.
3. For convenience is intended the use of ornament and proportion that are
suitably adapted to the buildings according to their respective use, in order that their
exterior and interior appearance is pleasing and beautiful.
The Theatre of Marcellus, even though it was a small theatre, had a regular and
noble beauty on the exterior, that made it possible to have an idea of the richness of
the interior.
In every building the facade should quickly announce the use of the interior. It
is an embarrassment to speak of the facades of our theatres. This miserable exterior
is
believed to be well compensated for, however, in the interior which is completely
painted, and covered in gold with great copies in crystal and wax that create a
wonderful enchantment for the eye; childish beauty beside that virile and solid
ornament with which the ancients adorned the porticoes with columns and statuary; and
for all of the rest, marble steps separated by landings and alternatively divided in the
shape of wedges, must have created a grand effect, especially when the theatre was
full of spectators, who formed an ornament and another very charming spectacle. On
the contrary, our boxes do not display but a chaos of heads and half figures.
Therefore the ancient theatre for solidity, convenience and beauty is far superior
to the modem, as good is to bad, and beautiful is to ugly. One advantage that our
theatre has to it is in the roof, that conveniently both covers and beautifies it, (') but
also creates unhealthy conditions, as the closed air is filled in little time with a great
quantity of animal odours very damaging for their quick corruption; so that within one
hour one breathes nothing but human odour: into the lungs is introduced infected air
emanating from thousands of chests, and expelled with all of the corpuscles often
contaminated and foul smelling, that is able to be transported to the inside of many
people. In our theatres, as in hospitals, prisons, ships, etc. it is suitable to use fans.
But for a great advantage one must still exalt our use of boxes, with continuous
corridors, having noble comfort and freedom for movement, staying still, leaning
forward, withdrawing, hiding, and doing whatever one wants, as if one was in their own
toilet feeling at ease to enjoy the theatre, and at the same time to enjoy a particular
conversation, that is continually repeated. Admirable, applaudable invention!
Exactly in this esteemed invention lies (if I do not err) all of the problems of
modern theatre: problems which produce the most injurious symptoms. Here they are.
(*) Also the ancients had theatres entirely covered. Plinius Book 36, Chapter 15 makes mention of
a theatre designed by Valerius of Ostia permanently covered: probably this was a theatre of wood. And
Filostratus says, that Erode Attico made one of cedar. Porn +heatrum Atheniensivus super Regitta, cum
laquearibus ex cedro confectis Herodes statuit: Theatrum subaqueatum quod Corintiis edificavit,
A theniensi longe inferius est.
cut in a thousand ways the sonorous aria, reverberating it in various infinite directions,
and its weakness is confusing, in order to create the essential defect of hearing little
and poorly.
In the ancient theatres, which were certain to have a floor space much more
spacious than ours, that were all of stone and uncovered, and that operated in the
daytime, one could hear marvellously, as was related by Vitruvius and other classical
authors. However, they used two expedient methods: bronze vases situated in various
locations on the theatre steps, and mask for the actors, the mouths of which were in
form almost megaphones which increased notably the natural carving capacity of the
voice. Our theatres have neither bronze vases nor masks to magnify the voice: but they
are, however, much smaller, they are covered, they are of wood, material better
adapted to carry sound, they are used at night, and meanwhile result in such poor
sound. What is their great defect? The irregularity of the shape is surely a reason, but
the greatest lies in the numerous apertures of the boxes, which create many angles
inside.
2. How uncomfortablethese boxes are for seeing the scenic representation, and
all of the theatre, is not necessary to prove. This great defect could be remedied by
removing the side partitions up to half their height, or by removing them completely: if
they are so lessened in some manner, but not completely eradicated, especially in the
higher levels, from where the stage is viewed in the poorest manner.
But these are not so bad for so-called physical defects; there are much worse.
4. This much praised convenience, that the boxes furnish to flatten and render
as invisible, is certainly not an occasion conducing good habits.
5. But the consequences still worse derive from the freedom to move from box
to box, and to make many small clusters and conversation groups in each one. From
this is born the entire ruin of formal theatre. Therefore Italian theatre has no more
tragedy, therefore good comedy does not flourish, therefore opera in music have been
reduced to barely one hundred. And how is it possible to represent good drama, which
requires attention to follow it from beginning to end, if our theatre goers do not give their
attention except to manage their peepholes for the observation of their stars, to jump
from loggia to loggia, and to allow them to be seen up and down! Now they dive, now
they are lost, then reappear and perpetually move, cutting up, commenting,
complimenting, flirting. Then the farces, the pulcinella, the intermissions; and of the
heroic opera, some aria and the duet: these serve for rest, and later as nourishment for
chatter.
It's very probable that the boredom of bad drama produced the boxes; but the
subsistence of the boxes has increased the dullness and absurdity of drama, and has
brought it to such a limit that the drama in no longer a pretext to go to the theatre; the
real motive is the conversation. Therefore to destroy the boxes would be the most
commendable end for the most noble of spectacles, or else they convert it into a bundle
of nonsense, and deface the theatre itself.
The simple consequence of this parallel is, if frivolous conversation groups are
not wanted at the theatre, if what exists now is conserved, but if a courteously good
theatre is desired,
one does not have to do other than model it on that of the ancients. Of such taste is
formed the design added at the end of this worthless book, hoping that it will be
appreciated especially by the nobilw, in whom is dawning (I am not flattering) a system
of education, budding sobriety, useful knowledge, and good taste.
To Mr. Vincenzo Ferrarese belongs the idea and the design of this theatre, which is
comprised internally of a circle, of which half is for the spectators, and the other for the
stage.
The seats on the steps are disposed in such a manner that all can be seated
and see comfortably over wooden seats placed on steps half a foot high: this did not
occur in all of the parts of the ancient theatre, especially in those close to the stage, as
appeared in the plan of that of Herculaneum, and of others obtained from Vitruvius, and
of many ancient monuments reported by Serlio. If also such theatres could have been
made as presented by us. The Marquis Galiano in his Vitruvius represents two walls at
the end of the steps contiguous with the pulpit (stage), that would have impeded the
view of a large part of the stage for a good proportion of the spectators seated in this
part of the steps. In the plan, that M. Boindin Mem. de I'Acad. des Inscript. Tom. I.has
given of ancient theatres, these walls are not seen, and then it is fine, because some
parapets have been placed there.
The steps formed in the ancient theatre present a great mass, for which there
was a necessity of resonant vases. To avoid this inconvenience, under this mass we
make a continuous ramped vault without any interruption, and at the wall at the lower
springing point of the vault, we make some openings corresponding with certain shafts
under this vault. Then, all the interior steps of the theatre are covered in fine woods,
and equally seasoned, as also the vault and the loggias, it renders the whole sonorous,
without producing an echo.
The set of the ancients conflicted with all the rest of the theatre; neither do I
know, nor do I care to know, how it agrees with the versatile decoration, that was
behind it. In our design the stage, and the half-circle of spectators form a whole united
together, for which we resort to the same orders of architecture, that support a single
vault.
The grand order of the scenery is managed proportionally with all the rest of the
building; because it is equal to the radius of the theatre, and together with l s foundation
and the vault forms a height equal to the diameter of the theatre. If the teaching of
Vituvius would have been adopted, which said that in round temples the height of a
column is as much as the diameter of the entire cella, would here create a gigantic
order completely out of proportion with the other parts. If then was imitated the practice
of the Pantheon, in the interior of which the columns are not as high as half the radius
of this temple, it would have given small ones equally out of proportion with the
remainder of the edifice. Who with eyes closed and submissive enters the Pantheon,
and joined to the foot of the colonnade, looks from bottom to top, remains struck with
the perceivable error that occurs between the smallness of these columns, and all the
great rest of the structure, that they support. Therefore, the inconvenience of the attic
is caused by the two arches.
To avoid these and other inconveniences, the [scena] is formed by only one
grandiose order of architecture, in the guise of a triumphal arch. The stage of the
ancients were of two and three orders, and also Palladio used the superimposition of
orders, but with required respect to many authorities, it seems a small, trite and
confused manner. The entablature and base of our order recurs inside in the entire
theatre, and the spring of the great half-arch recurs as well, and makes the division of
the minor orders, that are located in the loggias of this theatre, and in the niches of the
aforesaid stage. Beyond the three doors, or arches of the stage, are our mobile scenes,
to vary according to the variations requested by the dramas.
It is observed, that the set expresses in the design its supposed structure,
capacity to support the weight of the roof. But if it is desired to make it of wood, its size
would go a long way to diminish, removingthe intercolumnations of the small order, that
are at the entrance and acquire more space to see the mobile scenery. It is still
possible to form the scena with three grand intercolumnations of single columns,
disposed in a circle, or also in a straight line, and in such a case it could be convenient
to assemble the mobile scenery immediately behind the middle intercolumnations, in
a manner in which would be visible from both sides, because they are seen also for the
side apertures. To this effect, if such scenes were very wide, as occurs in the great
theatres, and it is difficult to manage them over the
carrimatti, it is possible to fold in the manner of a book, and connect at their opening
points in all of their width, in order to be seen in both parts. It is still possible to place
in the side openings drop-curtains [screens] of little depth painted in perspective, as
such to better manage the scenes of the centre openings. The management of the
scenery then is very simple and ready by the use of winches, wheels or counterweights,
with each machine the scenes either travel in a line up and down, or quickly slide on
the stage. This mechanism is noted enough, and in many theatres is executed with all
success, but in many others it has not been adopted for some reasons, which are not
reasons. And what major irrationality, that employs a multitude of men to do with
danger and instinct that which can be done easily, securely and readily with few?
The entire theatre is covered by a false vault made of wood to make it more
resonant. Its capacity is close to five thousand spectators that can all be seated
comfortably to see and hear with equal comfort. The great theatre of the Aliberti in
Rome contains just two thousand five hundred, stacked in the most suffocating manner.
It is true that in our theatre not all of the spectators can see each other, because
those that are in the loggias cannot see those above, who cannot even see the rest of
the listeners. The majority however can see each other; and all can see the stage,
which is the principle objective for which one goes to the theatre.
The other explanations of our theatre are to be read together with the designs.
The most learned Mr. Co. Enea. Amaldi of the Accademico Olimpico, has
provided an idea for a Theatre similar to the ancient Theatres, accommodated to
modem uses, which is with boxes. Decide between the beautiful ideas of Cavaliere,
and those of our Mr. Ferrarese. It has been a long time that the public waits for
something beautiful and new of this type from Mr. Go. Girolamo del P o u o illustrious
Cavalier Veronese, that among his rare qualities, candidly possesses good architecture.
To this our theatre is made perhaps an objection that is the stage placed on the
diameter of the semicircle, becomes too large. But what problem is caused by this
width? On the contrary, it produces a great advantage, which fully accomplishes
the three essential requisites of theatre, which are 1. to hear the voice well everywhere,
2. to see equally well from any point the scenic representation, and 3. to allow the
actors to move and present themselves in a more spacious area.
1. Physics teaches that the voice or the sound is not the air trembling movement
and vibrating from bodies to our hearing . The air so stroked is moved in infinite circular
motion as a stone thrown into still water, that are always more spread out and
becoming wider from the centre. However, says Vitruvius, the ancient architects
followed the vestiges of nature,
To this effect Mr. Tommaso Temanza, most learned architect of elevated mind
and exquisite taste, in one of his ideas for a theatre designed for his home of Venice,
and explained to me with his friendly kindness, has made the boxes in a graded
manner,
Those theatres, then, that do not require much space for the scenery, as those
usually used for tragedy, comedy and pastoral, could be divided into two unequal
segments of a circle; the large segment for the spectators, and the smaller for the
scene.
Less attention stiH is merited by the expense, that in a theatre, and especially in
ours, so decorated on the exterior, and on the interior enriched with porticoes, gardens,
and with other accessories for other games, could appear to be to some small soul
excessive, and could ask how much will this building cost? Narrow-minded question.
And what was the cost of the Baths of Diocletion, Versailles, St. Peter's Square with
many Sistine Obelisks? Dealing with public works,
298
:ularlythose that reunite together utility and pleasure, the cost sholuld never
be considered, as the [Lacedernoni] do not consider the number of their enemies.
Whatever enormous expenditure of this nature, that is made by the state, would take
very long to impoverish it, in fact it enriches it by the multiplication of industry, and for
the continuous revisiting of foreigners. Rome, eternal city, that perennial font of
richness does not have great woks of its ancient and modem monuments? All of the
cultured nations of Europe are needed to render them homage and tribute.
It will be said to me (what will not be said to me?) why unite so many other things
with the theatre, that have nothing to do with the theatre? To the building for scenic
games was attached one for gymnastic games, not because they could not be separate
in different places, but in order to collect all in one, and in a conspicuous site in the
heart of the city, would be a major convenience for the citizens to meet, and to pass
easily from this one to that one. The ancients had a great multitude of gymnastic
games. We , probably because we are stronger or always very busy, all of our games
are reduced to that of the ball variously modified, in the air, on tables, on the ground;
therefore, football, billiards, tricks, bocce. Therefore these and other similar games are
promoted, and are added the racing, jumping and especially riding, swimming. The
game of the pike and of the flag, that probably traces its origins to Medieval
Tournaments, is of a useless and insignlicant childishness. That of the shield is left to
the barbarians who produced it, and by now it would be also time to free the side of the
uncomfortable weight of the sword, also derived from more ferocious times, and
removed from peaceful and civilized business. A game is not, nor must it be more than
a recreation that is taken from time to time, to lift the spirit and body from tiring
occupations. Therefore a game must not produce even the smallest bad effect, on the
contrary it must produce good ones, and so these games are excellent that are both
pleasurable and useful. Therefore they do not merit the name of games those
sedentary with cards, the invention of which creates grand honour to the human
intellect, as well as dishonour in its use, often poisonous to the spirit, the body, the
possessions, and to the reputation. True games include exercise, playful and healthy
for those who
participate, and of innocent pleasure for the spectators. Those who preside over the
benefits of society, willknow that from the same games are derived powerful means to
greatly improve it.
CHAPTER XII
Cause of the Defects of Theatre, and Means
To Reestablish it
When the explanation is finished, it appears clear that our theatre is a collection of
absurdities. And without tragedy, and without pastoral: comedy turns the stomach,
opera with music is a monster: the fabric of the theatre itself is a formation of
uncomfortable and nauseating defects. In all it lacks both of its greatest objectives,
Utility and Delight. With great reason therefore it is censured by moralists, and with as
many reasons it is held in contempt by people of spirit and taste.
And why are many parasitic weeds twisted around to dissect and deform such
a beautiful plant, that is purely a parable of virtue, on the contrary virtue itself placed
in action and returned in a pleasing manner? The same question can be asked of all
the other good things. excellently conceived, and then dreadfully reduced.
As soon as a performance does not sewe but for entertainment for lazy people,
and to this choice of people in a nation, that is said Bel Mondo, it is impossible that this
acquisition will ever achieve a certain importance. For how much intelligence is
accorded the poet, it is necessary that the execution and a thousand details of his
poem feel the frivolousness of his destiny.
Sophocles in the composition of his tragedies, was working for his country, and
for the most august solemnity of the Republic. And why? Because among the Greeks
performance was an affair of the state. In Athens the Republic carried all of the
expense, an archon presided over it, all of the classes of citizens were involved,
Socrates was involved. The same occurred in Rome: an Aedile was in charge of its
management, special officers collected the taxes imposed on the populace to pay for
the expenses of the theatrical representations or for other performances, and it was a
capital crime to deviate this money to other uses, including war; all of the magistrates
and the likes of Cato himself attended.
Among ourselves, if the government gives a small thought to the theatre, it is for
petty external details, and to prevent overindulgence and controversy. The essence is
in lucrative art of some lazy people, and the irnpressario is the despotic lawmaker.
What a marvel, then, if it is so full of abuse!
Man's fate dictates that beside his most sublime efforts of genius, his smallness
appears. In the most serious affairs is placed much negligence and contradiction, that
is not to be surprised at, if more still is placed in an art of pleasure. The fate of the
Empire, and the fate of the theatre are the work of hazards, depending all on a jumbled
combination of circumstances both good and bad. It seems that in some parts of
Europe a truly great prince, acquired after his most benevolent efforts the right to
consecrate a glorious holiday to the culture of the fine arts: he will carry his aim to the
most beautiful of all, and dramatic art would become under his reign the greatest
monument erected to public happiness, and to the glory of human ingenuity.
Therefore, the Academies of poetry, music, and dance were established, not for
sonnets, popular songs, concerts and minuets, but because philosophy presides, it
directs in all of the perfection of drama, and the approval of the academy serves to
reward the production of rivals to enable them to be represented in the theatre. One
such useful academy which has already been established in Panna to look after that
well-educated sovereign; I feel that every type of drama has flourished evecywhere, and
so Italy could have in time its own true theatre, as Denmark has where that wise
sovereign has established similar measures.
The theatre once purged, and reduced, as it should be, by the schools of virtue
and good taste, the actors will also be corrected, who are now much discredited and
wealthy. The method is easy to make them aspire to the same honour as poets, of
which perform the works. Aesop was honoured equally with Sophocles.
Actors are not disgraceful because they are mercenary. And who does not
receive payment from their profession? From the farmer to the monarchs, everyone
works for payment. The theatre is not in itsetf dishonourable, as gentlemen, princes and
ecclesiastics, who take much pleasure in being shown on the stage, without telling of
blemishes or infamy. Because however, is not the representation of
infamy a theatrical art(')? This is w l h all reason, when one aspires to the corruption of
customs, or when one who practices them is immoral. If Theatre tries to reestablish its
noble ends, it disperses all of the principal cause of its discredit to the actors; and very
soon also the second will vanish, if the various magistrates do not permit to be mounted
on stage, the moderation of talent in the profession.
Where women appear on stage, their chastity is certainly more exposed, and
therefore Helen makes herself more glorious in preserving it, and it is preserved better
if not discouraged with contempt, and it is preserved even better if encouraged with
honour and rewards, as infamy and punishments are depreciated. In theatre the
esteem of distinction aspires to the erection of statues for those who are capable of
being excellent and honest artists. The most sublime talents without integrity, are
without basis; and the theatre must not aspire otherwise than to virtue and pleasure
always joined together.
(*) Each art produces in he who exercises it, both negatives and positives, not only physical, but
also moral. Of the physical ills that come from various professions, there is the famous Ramanini
whose notable book is entitled de Morbis Artificum. But of the moral influences, to which the professors
of any art are exposed, there is not as far as I know (I know but little) not even a short thesis. The
argument, furthermore, would be curious and interesting, to promote those professions that have more
beneficial moral influences; and to restrict those that have more evil influences or to present them with
good corrections. The farmer hunched over the hoe and plow all day, will become stupid and patient,
in the company of whoever exercises the most laborious trades. Calm will be the sculptor, and the
engraver; capricious and bizarre the painter, the architect will be thoughtful and couragious. All the fine
arts, however, ordinarily produce docility and sweetness; and the Theatre, if it should be well regulated,
has necessarily to produce a ceremonious and righteous character. The influences of physics,
mathematics and especially philosophy, are sweet and benign. Scholars, historians, speakers would
become presumptuous and arrogant without a good dose of philosophy, without which doctors,
surgeons, and criminologists would be unmerciful; judges hyper-critical and of bad faith, grammarians
doltish and constipated, courtiers as clean and stiff as statues. Of those trades, in which the principle
ingredients are facility, idleness, and subjection, pestiferous influences must evaporate for society;
therefore servants, soldiers, and many other idle slaves, not usually a flower of virtue.
EXPLANATIONS OF THE ILLUSTRATIONS.
ILLUSTRATION I.
General Plan of a fheatre, and of other adjacent Places for Sports.
ILLUSTRATION II.
Plan of the Ground Floor of a Theatre
1 Exterior Colonnade
2 Corridor for the Loggias of the first level.
3 Dressing Rooms for cupboards and wardrobes.
4 First level of Loggias
5 Landing of three entrances to be opened after the performance, with stairs at the
sides leading to the cafes.
6 Staircases which connect with the upper Loggias, with various conveniences nearby
and below.
7 Landing at the top of the risen.
8 Stairway
9 Stone risers with continuous bench seating for the Spectators of the Platea
10 Other landing, gently sloped like the risers.
11 Wooden seating on a slope.
12 Walkway to enter the risers
13 Orchestra
14 Stage
15 Three generous openings in the Scenery, which creates a unity with the rest of the
Theatre.
16 Scenery
17 Staircases that lead up over the apartments of the Actors, and over the railings of
the Scenery
18 Landings which connect the apartments
19 Corridors for the quarters of the Actresses
20 Corridors for the quarten of the Actors
21 For the Ballerinas
22 Landings of the principal staircases which lead to the upper loggias of the Theatre
23 Quarters for the sewants
ILLUSTRATION IV
Plans of the second and third Floors
1 Terrace.
2 Corridor for the Loggias on the second level.
3 Corridor for the third level.
4 Corridor for the fifth level, or the railing over the cornice.
5 Loggias
6 Small rooms in front of the Loggias on the second level
7 Landing, or connecting room
8 Quarters for the Servants
9 Principle staircases
10 Rooms for a Cafe and Refreshments
11 Gallery on the second floor
12 Rooms for games and entertainment
13 Small rooms for cloakrooms and conveniences on the second and third floors.
14 Courtyard
I 5 Dancehall, also for Opera rehearsals on the second floor.
16 Risen for Spectators between the second and third floors.
17 Railing at the level of the highest aforesaid riser, for the use of the Spectators and
Singers of the rooms below.
18 Gallery for rest.
19 Terrace.
20 Various openings cut in the base of the second level for use on the terrace.
21 Attic for the carpenters' tools, and for storing water in case of fire on the Stage.
ILLUSTRATION V
Various Sections of Interior Elevations
1 View towards the Stage. in which the forms of the two separate Vaults can be seen.
2 Section taken above the centre point of the circle, that shows the view of the Loggias
and the Risers. The first railing cuts the level of the columns: a small defect, that is well
compensated by the gaining of an advantageous site for the Spectators, and by the
correspondence of the interior apartments.
3 Longitudinal section of the entire Theatre interior.
ILLUSTRATION VI
Exterior Elevations