Italian Theatre - Itaria Engeki

Japanese: イタリア演劇 - いたりあえんげき

The origins of Italian theater can be found in the process of the development of liturgical drama in the Middle Ages.

middle ages

In the 9th century, "tropes" (parables), derived from antiphonal chants in churches, told stories about the Passion and Resurrection of Christ and the lives of the saints, and were accompanied by actions and props to form liturgical dramas. Over time, they left the church and developed into vernacular theatre performed by secular people in the streets. Also, "laudas" (hymns), which were born in the 13th century, gradually took on a more dramatic character, and in the 14th century "lauda dramas" reached their heyday. Holy history dramas, which originated from festival processions of laudas and patron saints, were performed in town squares by citizen theatre societies, independent of church ceremonies, and sometimes on extremely grand and splendid stages. The sacred history play flourished in the second half of the 15th century, especially in Florence, and produced many excellent works by unknown authors, including F. Belcari's (1410-84) Abraham and Isaac (1450?) and Lorenzo de' Medici's San Giovanni and San Paolo (1489). The sacred history play, which was supported by a communal group that united the author, stage, and audience, rapidly declined after the Synod of the 16th century.

[Hiroshi Akazawa]

Renaissance

Early humanists aspired to stage and write imitations of classical Greek and Latin dramas, but in the 16th century, the first regular plays were written in Italian, with works such as Trissino's tragedy Sofonisba (1514) and Ariosto's comedy Cassalia (1508). Later, Cinzio (1504-74) gave epoch-making life to tragedy, and Tasso broke new ground by weaving a romantic story into Trismondo (1587). Comedy, after Aretino's The Hypocrites (1542), gave birth to prose comedies with innovative plots by Della Porta (1535-1615). During this time, many tragedies and comedies were produced, but overall they could not shake off the influence of the classics. However, Machiavelli, a masterpiece of Renaissance comedy, the Mandragola (1513), which was imbued with cold realism, sharply criticized secular morality, and the philosopher Bruno, in his colorful satirical comedy, The Candlemaker (1580), demonstrated the deep skepticism that underlay the realism of the time.

The dreamlike, tragicomic character of Poliziano's "The Romance of Orfeo" (1480), the first theatrical work written in Italian, was passed down through Cinzio and others to A. Beccari's (1510-90) "Sacrifice" (1554), which established the pastoral drama. Tasso produced his masterpiece "Aminta" (1573), which, together with GB Griani's (1538-1612) "The Faithful Shepherd" (1590), is revered as a model of pastoral and tragicomedy.

Humanist theater did not merely revive the classics; it established theater in the modern sense, and, together with many theories of dramatic poetry, including the translation and study of Aristotle's Poetics, played a decisive role in defining later Western theater.

[Hiroshi Akazawa]

17th-18th centuries

Commedia dell'arte (masked improvisational comedy), which rapidly rose to prominence in the second half of the 16th century with the formation of a succession of professional theater companies, rejected scripts and developed its plays based only on plots, incorporating lines from classical and humanist dramas as needed, and created a popular comedy that made full use of all stage techniques, including dance, song, and acrobatics. Their comedies, based on the independent creativity of the actors, were quickly welcomed not only in France but also in the royal courts of Europe, including France, and many theater companies continued to tour various countries, leaving a significant mark on the formation of theater in those countries. Furthermore, their activities over two and a half centuries have not only influenced Shakespeare, Molière, and Goldoni, but have also left a widespread legacy in the world of performing arts, including opera and ballet.

Meanwhile, at the end of the 16th century, poet O. Rinuccini (1562-1621) and composer Peri created musical theatre with the intention of reviving Greek tragedy in its entirety, including its music and dance. This unique style was established by Zeno via Monteverdi, and Metastasio brought pastoral musical tragedies (melodramas) such as Didone Abandoned (1724) and The Clemency of Titus (1734) to full bloom.

In the mid-18th century, Commedia dell'arte finally started to decline, but Goldoni gave a revolutionary new life to comedy, breaking away from its vulgarity and masked stereotypes. He portrayed the Venetian masses vividly in works such as "Two Masters at Once" (1745) and "The Innkeeper" (1753), and promoted civic morality, becoming the basis of civic drama. On the other hand, Carlo Gozzi, who defended Commedia dell'arte and opposed Goldoni, won the support of aristocrats and conservatives with his dream plays such as "The Love for Three Oranges" (1761) and "Turandot" (1762), which made use of masks and improvisation in a fantastical setting, and was also highly praised by German Romanticists such as Goethe and Schiller as a pioneer of the genre.

Tragedy went into a steady decline after the second half of the 16th century, when the country came under Spanish despotic rule. Only Maffei (1675-1755) managed to gain recognition both at home and abroad, but Alfieri rehabilitated it with works such as Cleopatra (1775) and Saul (1782). His works, which adhere to classical forms and feature simple verse forms, are permeated with civic ideals and a thirst for limitless freedom, foretelling the coming Romanticism, and their political awakening played a historical role in the unification of the country.

[Hiroshi Akazawa]

19th century

In the early 19th century, Romanticism was cultivated in Italy against the backdrop of the turbulent political situation that followed the establishment and collapse of the Napoleonic regime. Pellico's patriotic tragedy "Francesca da Rimini" (1815) was well received since its premiere, and Manzoni established Catholic and Latin Romanticism in two historical tragedies, "The Count of Carmagnola" (1820) and "Adelchi" (1822), which caused a sensation both at home and abroad. However, Niccolini, since his early work "Nabucco" (1815), which depicts Napoleon, has taken a thorough anti-clerical stance, and in his epic tragedies such as "Arnaldo Brescia" (1838), he clearly expressed the situation of the times and national consciousness, fostering a spirit of freedom and independence.

These tragedies were integrated with the historical aspiration for national unification and strengthened their character as national epics, but after national unification, they rapidly shifted to anti-romantic and realistic tendencies. After the unification (1861), under the influence of the French citizen theatre, P. Ferrari's (1822-89) sensible comedy of manners was the longest-lasting and most widely received work by audiences, but Berga created a typical verismo stage with local and folksy emotion and shocking realism in Cavalleria Rusticana (1884), which promoted a new development in citizen theatre. Giacosa, who tried to change his style to naturalism, depicted the breakdown of a businessman's family in Like Leaves (1900), and AE Butti (1868-1912) expressed skepticism of the times in Ibsen-style ideological dramas. Bracco, who also moved to psychological dramas with excellent dialogues, was well-received abroad. However, it was not until the emergence of D'Annunzio in the early 20th century that theatre broke away from bourgeois realism and salon tragedy, which were limited to the narrow scope of everyday life.

[Hiroshi Akazawa]

20th century

D'Annunzio, who achieved a stage success in both name and reality with "Francesca da Rimini" (1901), attempted to recreate classical tragedies with an aesthetic and Dionysian elevating of the ego in a series of works such as "Iorio's Daughter" (1904) and "Fire Beneath the Furrows" (1905). His productions, full of rich tonality, attracted audiences for over a decade, with the famous actress Duse. However, Benelli had already parodied the D'Annunzio-style heroic image in works such as "The Feast of Jest" (1909), highlighting the disillusionment of the public. Marinetti also began a defiant propaganda campaign against existing theater, calling for the destruction of tradition and a total transformation of theater in his second "Futurist Manifesto."

With the entry into the First World War, following Chiarelli's Masks and Faces (1916), Antonelli's The Man Who Met Me (1918) and R. San Secondo's (1877-1956) Passionate Puppet (1918) clearly understood the rift between the individual and society, presenting the tragicomic nature of uncertain life situations. Furthermore, in a series of works from At the Will of the Lord (1916) to his postwar masterpieces Six Characters in Search of an Author (1921) and Enrico IV (1922), Pirandello exposed the fictitious nature of reality through the collapse of the individual into "masks" and "roles," and brought about a dramaturgical revolution that relativized modern drama itself, rather than simply rejecting realism. This created the "Pirandello era" in the world and had a decisive impact on contemporary drama.

Betti, who continued to write plays from the period between the two world wars until the postwar liberation, drew worldwide attention after the war with his existential and symbolic realism in works such as The Corruption of the Court (1949) and The Crime on the Island of the She-Goat (1950), depicting the conflict of passions caused by the cruel loneliness of modern times. De Filippo, in the comedy category, led his own theater company and continued to write and perform his own plays, but especially after The Millionaire (1945) and Ghosts (1946), he sought new morals through the suffering and desires of the people, transforming the traditional Neapolitan folk play into a national epic, and gained a reputation abroad. D. Fabbri (1911-80) questioned the contemporary individual and society from the world of Catholicism, and made a fundamental appeal to human beings as religious beings in works such as The Womanizer (1951) and The Trial of Jesus (1953). As society in the 1950s moved from reconstruction to prosperity, postwar realist theatre rapidly became more critical and satirical. Also, novelists such as Moravia and Buzzati, who were already renowned for their works based on existence and absurdity, are known for their works.

Since its founding in 1947, the activities of Teatro di Milano Piccolo have earned international acclaim as the result of director Strehler's outstanding ideas and methods, which bring about a close relationship between the writer (text), actors, and audience in a contemporary setting.

[Hiroshi Akazawa]

"History of Italian Theatre" by Philippe Van Cheeghem, translated by Kosaku Toguchi et al. (Hakusuisha, Kuseis-Ju Bunko)

[References] | Commedia dell'arte

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

イタリア演劇の起源は中世における典礼劇の成立過程にみいだされる。

中世

9世紀、教会における交唱聖歌に由来する「トローペ」（たとえ話）は、キリストの受難や復活、聖者伝などを物語化し、所作、小道具を伴って典礼劇を成立させた。時とともにそれは教会を離れ、巷間(こうかん)に世俗の者による俗語の演劇として発達した。また13世紀に生まれた「ラウダ」（賛歌）はしだいに劇的な性格を備え、14世紀には「ラウダ劇」の盛期を迎えた。ラウダや守護聖人の祝祭行列に由来する聖史劇は、教会の祭式とは独立して、市民の間の上演組合によって町の広場で上演され、ときにはきわめて壮大、華麗な舞台が設けられた。聖史劇は15世紀の後半、とくにフィレンツェで栄え、ベルカーリF. Belcari（1410―84）の『アブラハムとイサク』（1450？）やロレンツォ・デ・メディチの『聖ジョバンニと聖パオロ』（1489）などをはじめ、多くの無名作家による優れた作品を生んだ。作者、舞台、観客が一体となった共同体的集団によって支えられた聖史劇は、16世紀の宗教会議以降、急速に衰えた。

［赤沢　寛］

ルネサンス期

初期の人文主義者たちはもっぱらギリシア・ラテンの古典劇を上演し、その模倣作品を書くことを念願としたが、16世紀に至ってトリッシーノの悲劇『ソフォニスバ』（1514）、アリオストの喜劇『カッサリア』（1508）などによって、イタリア語による初の正則劇を迎えた。その後、チンツィオG. Cinzio（1504―74）は悲劇に画期的な生命を与え、タッソは『トリスモンド』（1587）にロマン的な経緯を織り込んで新生面を開いた。また喜劇はアレティーノの『偽善者』（1542）などを経て、デッラ・ポルタG. Della Porta（1535―1615）の斬新(ざんしん)な筋立てによる散文喜劇を生んだ。その間、悲劇、喜劇ともに多数の作品をみたが、総じて古典の影響を払拭(ふっしょく)しえなかった。しかしマキャベッリは冷徹な現実主義に貫かれたルネサンス喜劇の傑作『マンドラゴラ』（1513）で世俗の道徳を鋭く批判し、また哲学者ブルーノは生彩に富んだ風刺喜劇『ろうそく屋』（1580）で時代の現実主義に底流する深い懐疑的精神を示した。

　イタリア語による最初の劇作品としてポリツィアーノの『オルフェオ物語』（1480）がもった夢幻的、悲喜劇的性格は、チンツィオなどを介してベッカーリA. Beccari（1510―90）の『犠牲』（1554）に至って牧歌劇を確立した。タッソは傑作『アミンタ』（1573）を生み、グリアーニG. B. Griani（1538―1612）の『信仰篤(あつ)き牧人』（1590）とともに牧歌劇、悲喜劇の典型と仰がれた。

　人文主義の演劇は古典の復興にとどまらず、近代的な意味における演劇を確立し、アリストテレスの『詩学』の翻訳、研究をはじめとする多くの劇詩論と相まって後世の西欧演劇を性格づける決定的な役割を担った。

［赤沢　寛］

17～18世紀

16世紀の後半、相次ぐ職業劇団の結成によって急速に台頭したコメディア・デラルテ（仮面即興喜劇）は、台本（テキスト）を拒否し、筋書きのみによって舞台を展開し、古典劇や人文劇の台詞(せりふ)を随時援用しつつ、ダンス、歌、曲技などあらゆる舞台の技巧を駆使した民衆喜劇を築いた。俳優の自主的な創意に基づく彼らの喜劇は、急速に国内のみならず、フランスをはじめとするヨーロッパの宮廷に迎えられ、また多くの劇団が各国に巡業を続けて、その国の演劇の形成に多大な足跡をとどめた。さらに2世紀有半に及ぶその活動は、シェークスピア、モリエール、ゴルドーニなどへの影響にとどまらず、オペラ、バレエなどを含めた舞台芸術の世界に広範な遺産を伝えている。

　一方、16世紀末、詩人リヌッチーニO. Rinuccini（1562―1621）や作曲家ペーリらは、ギリシア悲劇を、その音楽や舞踊を含めて総体的に復活することを意図して音楽劇を創始した。この固有の様式はモンテベルディを経てゼーノによって確立され、メタスタージオは『見棄(す)てられたディドーネ』（1724）や『ティトゥス帝の慈悲』（1734）などの牧歌的な音楽悲劇（メロドラマ）を開花させた。

　18世紀中葉、コメディア・デラルテはようやく衰運に向かったが、ゴルドーニはその卑俗性と仮面の類型性を脱却しつつ、喜劇に画期的な生命を与えた。『二人の主人を一度にもつと』（1745）、『宿屋の女主人』（1753）など、ベネチアの民衆を活写して市民的なモラルを鼓吹し、市民劇の母体をなした。他方、コメディア・デラルテを擁護してゴルドーニと対立したカルロ・ゴッツィは、仮面と即興性を幻想的な舞台に生かした夢幻劇『三つのオレンジへの恋』（1761）や『トゥランドット』（1762）などによって貴族や保守層の支持を得、またゲーテ、シラーをはじめ、ドイツ・ロマン派からもその先駆として高く評価された。

　スペインの専制支配下に置かれた16世紀後半以降、衰退の一途をたどった悲劇においては、ひとりマッフェイF. S. Maffei（1675―1755）のみが内外の声価を獲得したが、アルフィエーリは『クレオパトラ』（1775）、『サウル』（1782）などによって悲劇の再建を果たした。古典形式を守り、簡潔な詩型を特徴とする彼の作品は、市民的理想と限りない自由への渇望に貫かれ、きたるべきロマンチシズムを予告し、その政治的覚醒(かくせい)は国家統一への歴史的役割を担った。

［赤沢　寛］

19世紀

19世紀初頭、イタリアにおけるナポレオン体制の樹立からその崩壊へと激動する政治的状況を背景として、ロマン主義が醸成された。ペッリコの愛国的な悲劇『フランチェスカ・ダ・リミニ』（1815）は初演以来好評を博し、マンゾーニは二つの歴史悲劇『カルマニョーラ伯』（1820）、『アデルキ』（1822）にカトリック的、ラテン的なロマン主義を確立し、内外の反響をよんだ。しかしニッコリーニはナポレオンを描いた初期の『ナブッコ』（1815）以来、徹底した反教権主義にたち、『アルナルド・ブレーシャ』（1838）などの叙事悲劇に時代の状況と国民的意識を明確に打ち出して、自由と独立の気運を醸成した。

　これらの悲劇は国家統一の歴史的悲願と一体化して、国民的叙事詩としての性格を強めたが、国家統一を境として急速に反ロマン的、写実的傾向に移行した。統一達成（1861）後、フランス市民劇の影響下にもっとも長期にわたって幅広く観衆に迎えられたのはフェッラーリP. Ferrari（1822―89）の良識的な風俗喜劇であったが、ベルガは『カバレリア・ルスティカーナ』（1884）に地方的、民衆的な情念と衝撃的な迫真性とをもって典型的なベリズモの舞台を築き、市民劇に新たな展開を促した。自然主義へ作風の転換を試みたジャコーザは『木の葉のごとく』（1900）に、実業家の家庭崩壊を描き、ブッティA. E. Butti（1868―1912）はイプセン風の思想劇に時代への懐疑を示した。また優れた対話による心理劇へ移行したブラッコは国外にも好評を得た。とはいえ、狭隘(きょうあい)な日常性に極限されたブルジョア・リアリズム劇やサロン悲劇からの脱却は、20世紀初頭におけるダンヌンツィオの出現を待たなければならなかった。

［赤沢　寛］

20世紀

『フランチェスカ・ダ・リミニ』（1901）によって名実ともに舞台の成功をかちえたダンヌンツィオは『イオリオの娘』（1904）『畝(うねび)の下の炎』（1905）など一連の作品に、耽美(たんび)的、ディオニソス的な自我の高揚をかけた古典的な悲劇の再現を図った。豊かな音調性に満ちた彼の舞台は、名女優ドゥーゼを得て、十数年間観衆を魅了し続けた。しかしすでにベネッリは『嘲弄(ちょうろう)の宴(うたげ)』（1909）などでダンヌンツィオ風の英雄像をパロディーと化し、市民的な幻滅を浮き彫りにした。またマリネッティは二次にわたる「未来派宣言」において伝統の破壊と演劇の総体的変革を叫んで、既往の演劇に対して挑戦的なプロパガンダを開始した。

　第一次世界大戦への参戦とともに、キアレッリの『仮面と素顔』（1916）を契機として、アントネッリの『自分に逢(あ)った男』（1918）や、サン・セコンドR. San Secondo（1877―1956）の『情熱の操り人形』（1918）などは個と社会の間の亀裂(きれつ)を明確な意識にとらえて、不確定的な生の状況の悲喜劇性を提示した。さらにピランデッロは、『御意(ぎょい)に任す』（1916）から大戦後の傑作『作者を探す六人の登場人物』（1921）、『エンリコ四世』（1922）に至る一連の作品において、「仮面」と「役割」に化した個の崩壊を通して現実の虚構性を暴露し、単にリアリズム劇の否定にとどまらず、近代劇そのものを相対化する作劇上の変革をもたらし、世界に「ピランデッロ時代」を築き、現代劇に決定的な影響を与えた。

　両大戦間から戦後の解放に至る時代に劇作を続けたベッティは、現代の非情な孤独による情念の葛藤(かっとう)を描いて、『裁判所の腐敗』（1949）、『牝山羊(めやぎ)が島の犯罪』（1950）などの実存的、象徴的リアリズムともよぶべき作風で戦後の世界の注目を浴びた。また喜劇におけるデ・フィリッポは自ら劇団を率い、自作自演の興行を続けたが、とくに『ナポリ百万長者』（1945）や『幽霊』（1946）以降、民衆の苦渋と願望を通して新しいモラルを求め、伝統的なナポリ民衆劇を国民的な叙事詩へと脱皮させ、国外にも声価を獲得した。ファブリD. Fabbri（1911―80）はカトリシズムの世界から現代の個と社会を問い直し、『女たらし』（1951）、『イエス裁判』（1953）などで宗教的存在としての人間を根源的に訴えた。復興から繁栄へと至る1950年代の社会に向けて、戦後のリアリズムを基調とした演劇は急速に告発と風刺の度合いを強めていった。また小説家としてすでに定評あるモラービアやブッツァーティなども、それぞれ実存や不条理を根底に据えた作品によって知られている。

　なお、1947年の創立以来、今日に及ぶミラノ・ピッコロ座の活動は、作家（テキスト）、俳優、観客の緊密なかかわりを現代の舞台として実現する演出家ストレーレルの優れた理念と方法の成果として世界的な評価を獲得している。

［赤沢　寛］

『フィリップ・ヴァン・チーゲム著、戸口幸策他訳『イタリア演劇史』（白水社・文庫クセジュ）』

[参照項目] | コメディア・デラルテ

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例

<<: Kingdom of Italy (Regno d'Italia)

>>: Italo-Ethiopian War - Italian-Ethiopian War