Il teatro alla moda

"Il teatro alla moda" (The Fashionable Theater) is a satirical pamphlet where its author, the Venetian composer Benedetto Marcello (1686-1739), vents his critical opinions on the "milieu" of the Italian "opera seria" in the first decades of the eighteenth century. It was first published anonymously in Venice, by the end of 1720. Virtually every aspect of "opera seria" and its social environment is mercilessly criticized by Marcello: the artificiality of plots, the stereotyped format of music, the extravagant scenography and machinery, the inability and venality of composers and poets, the vanity and vulgarity of singers, the avidity of impresarios, the ineptitude of musicians.

The full title reads "THE FASHIONABLE THEATER - OR - safe and easy METHOD for correctly composing and performing Italian OPERAS in the modern style, - In which - useful and necessary Advice is given to Librettists, Composers, Musicians of both sexes, Impresarios, Performers, Engineers, and Scene Painters, comic Characters, Tailors, Pages, Dancers, Prompters, Copyists, Protectors, and MOTHERS of female Virtuoso singers, & other People belonging to Theater." In fact, "Il teatro alla moda" is written as a series of chapters where advice is ironically given to the various people involved in operatic productions, in order to meet "the modern customs" and bizarre requirements of such theatrical events.

Besides the title, the frontispiece contains several allusions to well-known protagonists of the Venetian theater of the time. For instance, the publisher's name "Aldiviva Licante" refers, by means of anagrams, both to Antonio Vivaldi, then very famous as an opera composer, and to the singer Caterina Canteli.

The text of "Il teatro alla moda" exhibits several peculiarities. First, there is a certain degree of schizophrenic attitude, that may be revealing Marcello's ambivalent stance with respect to operatic music, as a critic and composer. For instance, the dedicatory is by "the author of the book to its composer." Second, it contains a large amount of surrealistic elements. They reach a climax in the last chapter, "The Raffle" (presumably organized by the mother of a young female singer), where the prizes include "a full dress of modern poet in fever-colored tree bark, wrapped with metaphors, translations, hyperboles", and "the pen that wrote "Il teatro alla moda"." The printing accompanies these peculiarities with a chaotic use of italic and normal typography and of capital fonts.

Translated excerpts (typography preserved)

"To the Poets - In the first place, the "modern" Poet should not have read and should never read the ancient Authors, "Latin" or "Greek". And this is because the ancient "Greeks" or "Latins" have never read the "moderns"."

"To the Music Composers - The "modern" Music Composer should possess no knowledge about the "Rules" of good composition, except for some principle of universal practice... He should not understand the "numeric Musical Proportions", nor the optimal effect of "contrary Motions", or the "bad Relation" of "Tritones" and "augmented Intervals"." "To the Singers - It is not necessary that the VIRTUOSO can "read", or "write", or have a "good pronunciation of vowels, and of single and double Consonants, or understand the sense of Words", etc., but it is better if he mistakes "Senses, Letters, Syllables", etc., in order to perform "Ornaments, Trills, Appoggiature, very long Cadences", etc. etc. etc."

"To the Mothers of Female Singers - When the "Girls" have an audition with the Impresario, "they" (the mothers) "will move the mouth with them", will "prompt" them the usual "Ornaments" and "Trills" and, asked about the age of the "Virtuosa", will cut down at least "ten years"."

Further reading

* Benedetto Marcello, "Il Teatro alla Moda" (Castelvecchi, Roma, 1993).
* Eleanor Selfridge-Field, "Marcello, Sant'Angelo, and Il Teatro alla Moda", in L. Bianconi and G. Morelli, eds. "Antonio Vivaldi. Teatro musicale, cultura e società", vol. II (Olschki, Firenze, 1982).

External links

* [http://www.geocities.com/benedetto_marcello/ Benedetto Marcello. "The Michelangelo of Music"]