Diana, Aurelia e le altre: attrici e capocomiche dell’ultimo duca di Mantova The piece introduces the activity of artistic directors Teresa Costantini, Angiola Paghetti and Colomba Coppa in the service of Ferdinando Carlo Gonzaga-Nevers,... more
Diana, Aurelia e le altre: attrici e capocomiche dell’ultimo duca di Mantova
The piece introduces the activity of artistic directors Teresa Costantini, Angiola Paghetti and Colomba Coppa in the service of Ferdinando Carlo Gonzaga-Nevers, their generous patron and the last Duke of Mantua.
Referencing studies begun thirty years ago on the musicological side and using recent historical research and archive sources, the essay highlights the artistic, organisational and management responsibilities of Commedia dell’Arte directors. It reconstructs their relations with Ferdinando Carlo, ducal agents and the Gonzaga court on the one hand, and their relations with Venetian impresarios Grimani, with whom the Duke of Mantua had established a lasting and generous collaboration, on the other.
Performing women, prejudicially equated with prostitutes and beneficiaries of gifts and privileges, were depictions of love and glory for a discredited prince, whose array of artists was, however, among the most dense and dynamic in Italy. Actresses progressively moved away from the codes of courtliness and, as professionals registered and paid in money, they came to have strong bargaining power and levels of autonomy. However, they were subjected to rules and obligations, especially in Venice where theatre owners made spaces available only to companies under the protection of the princes who were politically aligned with the Serenissima.
During the years of the so-called Spanish succession war, Diana, Aurelia and the others moved between Venice, Mantua and Casale, where Ferdinando Carlo had moved after the blockade of Mantua accompanied by a colourful procession of women, musicians and comedians. Through theatrical misadventures mingled with military manoeuvres in Mantuan territory, and via changes of destination, programme or repertoire, we read the story of a duchy that had lost its identity and of a rapidly changing theatrical market.
The piece introduces the activity of artistic directors Teresa Costantini, Angiola Paghetti and Colomba Coppa in the service of Ferdinando Carlo Gonzaga-Nevers, their generous patron and the last Duke of Mantua.
Referencing studies begun thirty years ago on the musicological side and using recent historical research and archive sources, the essay highlights the artistic, organisational and management responsibilities of Commedia dell’Arte directors. It reconstructs their relations with Ferdinando Carlo, ducal agents and the Gonzaga court on the one hand, and their relations with Venetian impresarios Grimani, with whom the Duke of Mantua had established a lasting and generous collaboration, on the other.
Performing women, prejudicially equated with prostitutes and beneficiaries of gifts and privileges, were depictions of love and glory for a discredited prince, whose array of artists was, however, among the most dense and dynamic in Italy. Actresses progressively moved away from the codes of courtliness and, as professionals registered and paid in money, they came to have strong bargaining power and levels of autonomy. However, they were subjected to rules and obligations, especially in Venice where theatre owners made spaces available only to companies under the protection of the princes who were politically aligned with the Serenissima.
During the years of the so-called Spanish succession war, Diana, Aurelia and the others moved between Venice, Mantua and Casale, where Ferdinando Carlo had moved after the blockade of Mantua accompanied by a colourful procession of women, musicians and comedians. Through theatrical misadventures mingled with military manoeuvres in Mantuan territory, and via changes of destination, programme or repertoire, we read the story of a duchy that had lost its identity and of a rapidly changing theatrical market.
