It was certainly better when such
performances were given separately, as was the case at other courts. We
shall have to speak of the entertainments given by the Cardinal Pietro
Riario, by the Bentivogli at Bologna, and by others, when we come to
treat of the festivals in general.
This scenic magnificence, now become universal, had a disastrous effect
on Italian tragedy. 'In Venice formerly,' writes Francesco Sansovino,
about 1570, 'besides comedies, tragedies by ancient and modern writers
were put on the stage with great pomp. The fame of the scenic
arrangements _(apparati) _brought spectators from far and near.
Nowadays, performances are given by private individuals in their own
houses, and the custom has long been fixed of passing the carnival in
comedies and other cheerful entertainments.' In other words, scenic
display had helped to kill tragedy.
The various starts or attempts of these modern tragedians, among which
the 'Sofonisba' of Trissino (1515) was the most celebrated, belong in
the history of literature. The same may be said of genteel comedy,
modelled on Plautus and Terence. Even Ariosto could do nothing of the
first order in this style. On the other hand, popular prose-comedy, as
treated by Machiavelli, Bibbiena, and Aretino, might have had a future,
if its matter had not condemned it to destruction.
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