Description
Book SynopsisIsabella Andreini was the most famous actress of the Italian Renaissance, the darling of dukes and kings, as well as of less-moneyed theatergoers. As a founding member with her husband, Francesco, of the Compagnia dei Gelosi, she performed ceaselessly throughout Italy and France, and was prized for the new role she invented for women on stage, that of the ingénue with a comic bent. She was also a playwright; in fact, the first woman to publish a pastoral. This modern edition and translation subtly captures the novelty, as well as the imaginative pyrotechnics, of a brilliant, self-made virtuosa of the stage. The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe - The Toronto Series: Volume 62
Trade ReviewIn their annotated edition and translation of Isabella Andreini’s La
Mirtilla, Valeria Finucci and Julia Kisacky give expert and much-deserved attention to a watershed text — one of the first two early modern plays, along with Maddalena Campiglia’s
Flori, authored by a woman in Italy. Finucci’s introduction adroitly guides readers through Andreini’s fascinating life as a poet, performer, wife, dramatist, and international celebrity. Kisacky’s nuanced translation allows English-language readers to find equal enjoyment in Andreini’s comic and pastoral modes. The result puts a fresh face on a now-canonical play that will be accessible to undergraduates approaching the text for the first time, while allowing scholars of early modern theater and women’s writing to find a renewed appreciation for Andreini and her work.
—Sara E. DíazAssistant Professor of the Practice of Italian, Fairfield University"In their annotated edition and translation of Isabella Andreini’s La Mirtilla, Valeria Finucci and Julia Kisacky give expert and much-deserved attention to a watershed text—one of the first two early modern plays, along with Maddalena Campiglia’s
Flori, authored by a woman in Italy. Finucci’s introduction adroitly guides readers through Andreini’s fascinating life as a poet, performer, wife, dramatist, and international celebrity. Kisacky’s nuanced translation allows English-language readers to find equal enjoyment in Andreini’s comic and pastoral modes. The result puts a fresh face on a now-canonical play that will be accessible to undergraduates approaching the text for the first time, while allowing scholars of early modern theater and women’s writing to find a renewed appreciation for Andreini and her work."
-- Sara E. Díaz, Fairfield University
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments xiii
List of Illustrations xv
Introduction: Pastoral Drama and Women’s Authorial Voice 1
The Other Voice 1
Biography 2
Works 9
Andreini, the Actress 13
The Female Stage 18
The Pastoral Play 29
Mirtilla: Structure and Themes 32
Note on the Italian Text 42
Note on the Transcription 45
Note on the Translation 46
Mirtilla: Italian Text 48
Prologo 52
Atto Primo 64
Atto Secondo 98
Atto Terzo 126
Atto Quarto 170
Atto Quinto 214
Mirtilla: English Translation with Endnotes 49
Prologue 53
Act One 65
Act Two 99
Act Three 127
Act Four 171
Act Five 215
Notes 256
Bibliography 271
Index 287
