Description
Book SynopsisWitty and dynamic lovers’ dialogues for the stage. The actress and author Isabella Andreini won international renown playing the bold, versatile, and intellectual inamorata of the commedia dell’arte. After her death, her husband Francesco Andreini continued publishing her works, among them the thirty-one
amorosi contrasti—or lovers’ debates— presented in this volume. Available in English for the first time,
Lovers' Debates enables readers to envision the commedia dell’arte through the words of its most revered diva. Lovers flirt boldly, trade bawdy insults, exhibit their learning, and drive each other mad in stage dialogues that showcase Isabella’s skill in composition and drama. Sparkling with wit and bursting with dynamic energy, these brilliant lovers’ dialogues for the stage hold strong appeal not only for specialists in early modern literature and women’s studies, but for enthusiasts, scholars, and practitioners of classic and contemporary theatre.
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Illustrations
Introduction
The Other Voice
Life, Works, Legend: “A Brilliant Discursive Mask”
Playing the Game: Genre and Occasion
Structure and Themes: The Contrasti in Action
Diva on Top: The Professor, the Realist, the Bawdy Virago
The Art of Losing Control: Madness and Frenzy
Theater and Metatheater, Comedy and Tragedy
Posthumous Success: Fragmenti, Alone and with Lettere
Note on the Italian Text and Transcription
Note on the Translation
Lovers’ Debates for the Stage
Amorosi contrasti
Prefazione
Dedicazione
Tavola de’ Contrasti Scenici
Nomi di tutti i Personnagi
Amorosi contrasti: Italian Text
Lovers’ Debates
Preface
Dedication
Table of Debates for the Stage
Names of All the Characters
Lovers’ Debates: English Translation
Notes
Bibliography
Index
