Napoli 1910 - 1920. Contributo allo studio della critica teatrale. "Il teatro del soldato"

Abstract

The first part of this research has taken advantage of the consultation of many heterogeneous sources: the most important studies on Neapolitan culture of the century and especially the precious para-texts, as posters and theater programs, and in particular the newspapers, such as artistic magazines, published during the decade 1910-1920, in Naples. The description of the decade proceeds through a specific point of view, thanks to the historical and cultural testimonials published by newspapers in Naples, mostly by magazines and by the journalistic publications, especially those theatrical and artistic. The work of research also focuses on the evolution of literary journalism in the twentieth neapolitan century, with particular attention paid to the third page of the newspapers, describing the evolution of the role of journalist, as an abroad envoy and also involved in theater . The section dedicated to the Futurism is accompanied by an appendix, the first of many and rich appendices submitted in support of many paragraphs. Cited the satirical magazine <<Sei e Ventidue>>, published in Naples, and the Italian-American Weekly << La Follia di New York >>. The Italian- American journal is one of the main source of the entire research because it allows an important and unknown observation on two fronts, the Italian, and therefore Neapolitan, and the Italian-American. <<La Follia di New York>> is preserved at the Immigration History Research Center of the Minnesota’s University. Through the mediation of the National Library of Naples, which has been active for a long international inter-library loan, it was possible to get all microfilm; they sent from Minnesota but they aren’t digitized. The analysis of documents preserved in the State Archive, in Naples, also noted a first and necessary restriction, concerning the limited time, span to decade. The consultation of catalogs, documents relating to the years 1910-1920 and to the Neapolitan theater in that period, restricted the search to the section called << Archive Cabinet - police headquarters in Naples - Part II - Provisions of Massa >> . One of the most important point of the entire research is dedicated to the artists on the front and the effects of World War I on the Neapolitan artistic circles and on the Neapolitan artists called to fight, revealing, for the first time, some completely unpublished documents about the Soldier's Theatre. The first approach to these news was born through the letters of the artist-soldier posted on the Neapolitan magazine <<Café-Chantant>> from 1915 onwards, turning the magazine in an active role of communication media between the families living in the city and the artists called to fight, during the war; many of these artists-soldiers died, were injured or missing. The research leads, then, in the Archive of the Theatrical Library Burcardo of Rome; in fact, the establishment of the Soldier's Theatre had been entrusted to the Society of Authors, the current SIAE that now manages this Archive in Rome, partly still unpublished. The Archive of Theatrical Library Burcardo preserves, in fact, the minutes of the Society of Authors who provide us with information about the Soldier Theatre, indicating only a final report of the events, organized between August and September 1917. The posters and the pictures of the shows, staged at the front and organized by the Soldier's Theatre, reveal some surprising news: this set of documents consists of very few documents, sometimes from private archives, but in excellent condition. The largest private collection, preserved in Genoa and curated by the accountant Francesco Maggi, is added to the archive Roman documents. The weekly << La Follia di New York>> reveals a different approach to the war and especially by emigrants called to war. Some Neapolitan specks are reported in the appendix of this research. They were published every week by Alessandro Sisca, aka Richard Cordiferro, brother of the director of the newspaper, Marziale Sisca. The “Macchiette” describe political events, festivals, celebrations or simple anecdotes, in dialogue and theatrical form, settling events and stories in the Italian community, and in the Italian districts of New York, using a hybrid language, that it is a sort of Neapolitan with inserts of Neapolitanized-English language. Chronicles and theater reviews describe the creative community of Naples, active in that period, with a particular reference to some names of theatrical criticism that operates in Naples, describing and distinguishing styles, approaches, languages, theater and theatrical genres. Careful observation of newspapers, periodicals and theater sections, creates a rich list in which, for the first time, they identify the most important brands, belonging to a real environment characterized by the theater critic active in Naples, at the beginning of twentieth century. [edited by Author]