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Period: 1500 to
Renaissance Italy (1500-1800)
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1545
Sebastiano Serlio Published "Architettura"
"Sebastiano Serlio published Architettura, in which he showed how to create a performing space within an existing room. He included drawings showing his versions of Vitruvius's tragic, comic, and pastoral settings and comic settings." (Brockett, et al., p. 117). The artist created space and distance on a two dimensional surface, causing the perspective to later be adapted to stage use in the 16th century. -
A New Form of Opera
A new form of opera originated in the 1950s in an attempt to recreate relationships between music and speech. "Opera soon became a popular form, combining drama, music, dance, spectacle, and special effects. Opera became the primary medium for popularizing perspective scenery and the picture-frame stage, both of which had developed in the rarefied atmosphere of the Italian courts" (Brockett, et al., p. 118-119). -
The First Opera
"The first opera, "Dafne", was written by Ottavio Rinuccini and Jacopo Peri. It was performed at the pre-Lenten Carnival of Palazzo Corsi. This opera may not have been the first, but it was the first on record. It consisted of 6 scenes and a prologue. It was produced by the Camerata Fiorentina" (The Italian Renaissance - An overview of theatre: The History of Italian Theatre, StudyMode.com)." (Renaissance Italy) (McKenzie B, N.D., para 1). -
Italian Intermezzi "masques"
An intermezzi is the entertainment between scenes or acts. These were just small performances like songs, dances, and more. "Masques, performed solely for court audiences, were similar in all important respects to Italian intermezzi, Stuart masques took their subjects primarily from classical mythology or historical legend."(Brockett, et al., 119). However, Ben Jonson wrote the short English texts for the masques. -
Commedia dell'Arte
"Commedia dell'arte", short for "commedia dell'arte all'improvviso", is professional and public unlike a lot of theatrical activity in Renaissance Italy. It is comedy that is actually improvised. They do not know quite when or where commedia dell'arte was created, however, by 1600 it was popular in Italy, Spain, and other European countries. This was viewed by anyone, not just royalty" (Brockett, et al., p. 120) (Mckenzie B). -
The Building of Teatro Farnese
Built in 1618 in Parmar, Italy by Giovanni Battista Aleotti stands the oldest surviving theatre "with a permanent architectural arch", the Teatro Farnese. (Brockett, et al., p. 117). This theatre has a "picture frame stage" which is the most common stage to this day. This stage "allows a curtain, orchestra pits, more effects, backdrops, and more graceful exits and entrances to be used." (Stages through the Ages, N.D., para 1). -
Opera Becoming Public
"An opera house in Venice made what was once only available to a select few people who were royalty or had a name for themselves, available to the general public." (McKenzie B, N.D., para 1). "The Venetian opera house were in many ways the prototypes of subsequent theatres, not only for opera but also for drama" (Brockett, et al., p. 119). The opera house was so successful that they ended building three addition houses making a total of four. -
"Manual for Constructing Theatrical Scenes and Machines"
The "Manual for constructing theatrical scenes and machines" was published by Nicola Sabbattini. Nicola was the man who discovered stage lighting techniques. He learned "dimming mechanism to darken the whole stage, directed spotlights for illuminating certain parts of the stage" (Nicola Sabbattini, 2018, para 2)."Asked to design the sets and stage machines in 1637 for a play in the Teatro del Sole in Pesaro, he used this knowledge to achieve perspective effects (Nicola Sabbattini, 2018, para 2). -
The Death of Italian Theatre
"By 1750, Italian theatre started to become less popular and theatre started to become more popular in places like France and England. Opera in Italy remained pretty popular, but the rest started to die off and by 1800, it was dead. This picture shows an old theatre that has fallen apart over the years representing the death of Italian theatre." McKenzie B, N.D., para 1). -
Death of "Commedia"
"Commedia" was a comedic and fairytale-like form of theatre that was performed for over two hundred years prior to its downfall. This form of theatre became out of date after so long and some found it to be too predictable and the eighteenth century was more refined and found the humor too unrefined for their taste. "Commedia" would later come to resurface in the twentieth century, but until then it would no longer be practiced" (Brockett, et al., p. 123)" (McKenzie, N.D., para 1).