From the Page to the Stage: Philology in/and Performance

Catalog description

How can we recover the experience of a performance from the distant past? What role does philology play in understanding the ephemeral nature of performance? To what extent can performance practice aid in the editorial process? This interdisciplinary seminar explores these questions through the lens of a previously unstudied and unpublished mid-seventeenth-century opera: Armida (1641) by Marco Marazzoli, based on the renowned Renaissance epic Jerusalem Delivered by Italian poet Torquato Tasso. We will begin by examining both the printed libretto (including its relation to Tasso's poetry) and the opera's manuscript, noting the significant differences between the two sources. This hands-on approach will allow participants to actively engage in the editorial process while outlining the main challenges of editing early modern works. The seminar will also address the unique problems of staging performances, both historically and in modern contexts, with a focus on the challenges of reviving the piece "as it was" while adapting it to contemporary performance needs. Students will have the opportunity to work not only on the libretto (and, for those interested, the score) but also on the initial stages of a longer-term performance project. No musical skills are required. The course is taught by musicologist and early music specialist, Dr. Andrés Locatelli, Artistic Director of the ensemble Theatro dei Cervelli and Artist in Residence in the Department of Italian Studies (Spring 25). Other faculty participating in the seminar include Dr. Eugenio Refini (NYU) and Dr. Davide Daolmi (University of Milan).