tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post7714000553592825140..comments2024-03-27T16:48:21.039-05:00Comments on Wuthering <br>Expectations: All is death on this side - Alfieri's Saul - a marmoreal atmosphere of tragic gloomAmateur Reader (Tom)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-75233034651270554192015-01-26T17:25:42.912-06:002015-01-26T17:25:42.912-06:00Ha ha ha, that's terrific. "Alfieri'...Ha ha ha, that's terrific. "Alfieri's Filippo is perhaps the most wicked man that human imagination has conceived." Maybe I should plan to read <i>Filippo</i> - how can that not be worth it.<br /><br />Two huge helps with the slogging: first, the stuttery choppiness - Alfieri is bumpy but moves along; second, his plays are short, shorter than Schiller, I think.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-8326777694821487512015-01-26T17:14:27.784-06:002015-01-26T17:14:27.784-06:00Carlyle has a memorable comparison of Schiller and...Carlyle has a memorable comparison of Schiller and Alfieri: "The mind of the one is like the ocean, beautiful in its strength, smiling in the radiance of summer, and washing luxuriant and romantic shores: that of the other is like some black unfathomable lake placed far amid the melancholy mountains; bleak, solitary, desolate; but girdled with grim sky-piercing cliffs, overshadowed with storms, and illuminated only by the red glare of the lightning. Schiller is magnificent in his expansion, Alfieri is overpowering in his condensed energy; the first inspires us with greater admiration, the last with greater awe."<br /><br />As part of my project to read all the major Don Carlos variants, I plan to read Alfieri's Filippo. Nice to get a foretaste of what that will be like here. Though hopefully it reads more naturally in Italian than in English, or it will be a slog!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-25502047055593831682015-01-25T22:36:21.720-06:002015-01-25T22:36:21.720-06:00Would Saul play well? Yes. The production should...Would <i>Saul</i> play well? Yes. The production should commission a new translation, though.<br /><br />And they will need a patient audience, one willing to wait for the big scenes Cleanthess describes, Ford's lightning bolts.<br /><br />Alfieri in Hispaniola - that is a great story. I knew he was a giant in Italy ("Dante, Petrarch, Ariosto, Tasso, Alfieri," a list that appear again and again) but had no sense of what anyone else made of him.<br /><br />Frankly, 19th century drama has not fared so well in English - Hugo, Musset, Vigny - even Schiller has had problems. And as far as dramas originally written in English, please.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-69895466601979253432015-01-25T18:17:31.159-06:002015-01-25T18:17:31.159-06:00Time has not been fair to Alfieri. During the 19th...Time has not been fair to Alfieri. During the 19th. Century he towered above almost every other dramatist. One little example. When the founding fathers of the Dominican Republic decided to do some agit-prop to energize the resistance against the occupying forces, they created a theater company: The Dramatics. The very first play they staged? Bruto Primo by Alfieri. (I owe this anecdote to a Dominican friend, I'll save a rather good anecdote about him for later).<br /><br />Alfieri was a master at creating dramatic scenes rather than poetic phrases. In one of his dramas, Octavia, the emperor Nero has decided to kill his wife Octavia, who's adored by the Roman people a la Lady Di or Evita, in order to be free to marry his latest lover, Poppea. In order to justify Octavia's execution, Poppea and Nero plot to accuse her of cheating on Nero and use Nero's and Octavia's teacher, the philosopher Seneca, to spread the accusations among the public. Octavia defends herself in front of Seneca, Nero and Poppea:<br /><br />Octavia.<br /><br />If someone tried to convince me of my guilt <br />of this shameful crime with shameless lies,<br />it's only you, Poppea, I'd want to be my judge. <br />You know what it is like everyday to have a new love, <br />and you know also what rewards deserve those who<br />commit such crimes. But I know that I am innocent <br />even to your judging eyes. Why, if not so, wouldn't <br />you, who are so proud of your virtue, dare to face me?<br /><br /><br />Nero.<br /><br />What did you say? Respect thy master's future wife, <br />tremble in fear...<br /><br />Poppea<br /><br /> Let her talk; she has chosen wisely <br />her judge; where would she find anyone more forgiving<br />than me? And what kinder punishment could I inflict on<br />her who betrayed the love of my Nero, than losing Nero's love? <br />Could there be by any chance a lighter, fairer sentence?<br />As soon as I've proven the existence of your sordid love,<br />that in vain you try to hide, I will make public your crime; <br />You, self-righteous lover of the lowly slave Eucero, <br />I'll make you his rightful, lowly wife...Cleanthesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15363416290397892659noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-16646460160586448412015-01-25T13:30:07.330-06:002015-01-25T13:30:07.330-06:00Well, you pulled one out of obscurity this time. I...Well, you pulled one out of obscurity this time. I have a degree-and-a-half in theater (B.A. and ABT M.A.), and I never heard of either the playwright or the play. I wonder if any producer/director/company would be bold enough to present the play (i.e., jeopardizing their box-office receipts). Ah, you're a braver and more inquisitive man than I am if you are taking time out of your schedule for Alfieri and Saul. Do you think the play would "play" well enough on the stage, or should it remain tucked away on a dusty shelf instead?R.T.https://www.blogger.com/profile/13220814349193561823noreply@blogger.com