371 MBid /4Q, yiOO THE PROLOGUE IN THE SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY VENETIAN OPERATIC LIBRETTO: ITS DRAMATIC PURPOSE AND THE FUNCTION OF ITS CHARACTERS DISSERTATION Presented to the Graduate Council of the University of North Texas in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY By Robin A. Miller, B.M.E., M.M. Denton, Texas August, 1998 Miller, Robin A., The Prologue in the Seventeenth-Century Venetian Operatic Libretto; Its Dramatic Purpose and the Function of Its Characters. Doctor of Philosophy (Musicology), August, 1998, 513 pp., 5 tables, references. The Italian seicento has been considered a dead century by many literary scholars. As this study demonstrates, such a conclusion ignores important literary developments in the field of librettology. Indeed, the seventeenth-century operatic libretto stands as a monument to literary inven- tion. Critical to the development of this new literary genre was the prologue, which provided writers with a con- text in which to experiment and achieve literary transcen- dence . This study identifies approximately 260 dramatic works written in Venice between the years 1637 and 1682, drawn together for the first time from three sources: librettos in the Drammaturgia di Leone Allacci accresciuta e con- tinuata fino all'anno MCDDLV; the musical manuscripts listed in the Codici Musicali Contariniani; and a chronological list of seventeenth-century Venetian operas found in Cris- toforo Ivanovich's Minerva al Tavolino. Of the 260 Venetian works identified, over 98 begin with self-contained pro- logues. This discovery alone warrants a reconsideration of the seventeenth-century Italian libretto and the emergence of the dramatic prologue as a new and important literary genre. Following a brief introduction, Chapter Two summarizes important trends in the historical development of the pro- logue. Chapter Three discusses literary influences that shaped contemporary operatic dramas and their prologue characters, while Chapter Four provides a listing and com- plete discussion of the role of the prologue characters and their function in the main drama. The deletion, addition, or substitution of specific prologues is the focus of Chap- ter Five. Chapter Six identifies poetic models, patterns of versification and large scale structuring of monologues and dialogues. Chapter Seven summarizes the principle results of this investigation of the seventeenth-century Venetian opera libretto. The dissertation concludes with four ap- pendices: classification of character types (A); character development (B); a chronological overview of character types (C); transcriptions of 98 Venetian prologues dating from 1639 to 1682 (D). 371 MBid /4Q, yiOO THE PROLOGUE IN THE SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY VENETIAN OPERATIC LIBRETTO: ITS DRAMATIC PURPOSE AND THE FUNCTION OF ITS CHARACTERS DISSERTATION Presented to the Graduate Council of the University of North Texas in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY By Robin A. Miller, B.M.E., M.M. Denton, Texas August, 1998 Copyright by Robin Annette Miller 1998 XXX ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS With my deepest appreciation, I would like to acknow- ledge the many libraries and individuals who have helped, as well as encouraged the ideas developed in this dissertation. I am grateful for the many hours of cooperation at the Bi- blioteca di Marciana in Venice, without which I could not have completed this work. In addition, the libraries of the University of North Texas and Rice University must also be recognized for their contributions: North Texas for its endless wealth of musical resources, and Rice University for its exceptional collection of Italian studies. I am grateful for the support and encouragement of my professors, Michael Collins and Barbara Carle. In addition, I wish to thank my friends and family. Without the assis- tance of Anna Duchini, I would not have been able to obtain iconographical studies from the University of Florence which enhanced the study of characterization in this dissertation. Additionally, gratitude must be extended to my friend, Monica Duchini, who spent endless hours discussing trans- lations, culture, and literature. Lastly, I wish to thank Betty Bowen for her encouragement and sustenance during the duration of this work. IV TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES i* Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION 1 2. THE DRAMATIC THEORY AND PRACTICE OF THE PROLOGUE: GREEK, ROMAN, MEDIEVAL, RENAISSANCE, BAROQUE 13 Tragic Dramas Comic Dramas Roman Rhetoric Literary Criticism Rhymed Tragedy Grecian Tragedy Tragicomedia Latin comedy Pastoral Renaissance Rhetoric 3. THE INFLUENCE OF LITERARY GENRES ON SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY VENETIAN OPERATIC LIBRETTOS AND THEIR PROLOGUES 59 Tragedy Pastoral Tragicomedy Epic Historic Pseudo-historic Prologue Themes Prologue Archetypes 4. THE RECURRENCE AND DRAMATIC PURPOSE OF PROLOGUE CHARACTERS IN SEVENTEENTH- CENTURY VENETIAN OPERATIC DRAMA 97 Venetian Practice Theory of Return v Moment of Return Delayed Return The Silent Prologue Character Agents of Representation Agents of Action Agents of Action and Representation DELETIONS, ADDITIONS, AND SUBSTITUTIONS OF PROLOGUES IN SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY VENETIAN OPERAS 141 Deletions Additions Substitutions Borrowings SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY VENETIAN OPERATIC PROLOGUE MODELS: VERSIFICATION, STRUCTURE, AND IMITATION 169 Italian Versification Monologue Choruses Dialogue Imitation CONCLUSION 205 APPENDIX A Seventeenth-Century Venetian Prologue Characters, Their Operas, and Its Literary Classification 221 APPENDIX B Seventeenth-Century Venetian Prologue Characters, Their Operas, and the Characters with whom They Interact . 238 APPENDIX C Alphabetical Listing of Seventeenth- Century Venetian Prologue Characters based on the Decades between 1605 to 1687 . 259 APPENDIX D Transcriptions of Venetian Prologues: 1639 to 1687 275 Le nozze di Tete (1639) L'Armida (1639) L'Adone (1639) II pastor regio (1640) La Didone (1641) Delia finta pazza (1641) vi La ninfa avara (1641) II ritorno d'Ulisse (1641) Amore innamorato (1642) La virtu de' strali d'Amore (1642) II Bellerofonte (1642) Narciso et Ecco immortalati (1642) La Venere gelosa (1643) L'Egisto (1644) II prencipe gardiniero (1644) L'Ormindo (1644) La Doriclea (1645) II Romolo e'L Remo (1645) Gli amori d'Apollo e di Dafne (1640) L'Euripo (1649) La Bradamante (1650) L'Orithia (1650)- L'Argelinda (1650) L'Orimonte (1650) L'Oristeo (1651) L'Alessandro vincitor di se stesso (1651) La Rosinda (1651) La Calisto (1651) II Cesare amante (1651) L'Erginda (1651) II Pericle effeminato (1653) L'Helena rapita da Theseo (1653) 11 Ciro (1654/1665) 12 Xerse (1654) La guerriera spartana (1654) L'Euridamante (1654) L'Erismena (1656) L'Eupatra (1654) La statira principessa di Persia (1655) Le fortune d'Oronte (1656) L'Artemisia (1656) Le fortune di Rodope e Damira (1657) 12 Medoro (1658) L'inconstanza trionfante overo II Theseo (1658) L'Antioco (1658) L'Elena (1659) L'Elena nuovo (1659) G1'awenimenti d'Orinda (1659) La costanza di Rosmonda (1659) L'antigona delusa de Alceste (1660) La Pasife overo L'impossibile fatto possibile (1661) L'Eritrea (1661) VII Gli scherzi di Fortuna (1662) La Cleopatra (1662) Le fatiche d'Ercole per Deianira (1662) La Dori (1663/1666) La Rosilena (1664) L'Achille in Sciro (1664) L'Orontea (1666) II Giasone (1666) II Giasone (1666) L'Aureliano (1666) L'Alciade (1667) L'Alessandro amante (1667) II tiranno humiliato d'Amore, overo II Meraspe (1667) L'Arbace (1667) L'antigona delusa d'Alceste (1669) II germanico sul Reno (1676) La Helena rapita da Paride (1677) La Helena rapita da Paride (1677) La Medea in Atene (1678) II Sardanapalo (1679) La Messalina (1680) Flavio Cuniberto (1687) La forza d'Amore (1663) BIBLIOGRAPHY 4 91 Vlll LIST OF TABLES TABLE ONE Chronological Listing of Venetian Dramas and Operatic Librettos with Prologues: 1630 to 1687 53 TABLE TWO Literary Classification of Venetian Operatic Librettos with Prologues .... 70 TABLE THREE Classification of Seventeenth-Century Venetian Prologue Characters according to Literary Designations ... 91 TABLE FOUR Returning Characters in Seventeenth-Century Venetian Operatic Prologues 102 TABLE FIVE Listing of Seventeenth-Century Venetian Operas with Omitted, Added, or Substi- tuted Prologues between the years 1637 to 1681 143 TABLE SIX Seventeenth-Century Venetian Operas that Open with Rhyming Endecasyllabic Quatrains 183 IX CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Seventeenth-century Venetian opera is regarded as an important dividing line in operatic history. Venice was the first Italian city to capitalize on opera's economic poten- tial, demonstrating the power and wealth of the great Ser- enissima. Under the cities' governmental control, the op- era's dramatic plots, operatic conventions, and scenic de- sign flourished. During this period in Venice, opera moved from the private palaces to the public theaters. Since it was intended for the paying public, rather than the aris- tocratic circle, Venetian opera reflected more of the de- mands of the public, the patrons, and the singers. Seventeenth-century Venetian operatic librettos provide an extensive source of material. The Drammaturgia di Lione Allacci accresciuta e continuata fino all'anno MCDDLV, on which this study is based, provides a rich source of works. Librettos, dating from 1637 to 1682, were examined for this study, along with the corresponding extant scores found in the Contarini Collection in the Biblioteca Marciana. Be- cause a few private librettos are included in this collec- tion, I have limited my study to the ones that