Boiardo and Ariosto in Contemporary Sicilian Puppet Theater and the Tuscan-Emilian Epic Maggio

Abstract

Boiardo and Ariosto in Contemporary Sicilian Puppet Theater and the Tuscan-Emilian Epic Maggio Jo Ann Cavallo Characters from medieval and Renaissance chivalric texts have been given tangible form through the centuries not only in operatic, melodramatic, theatrical and, more recently, cinematic adaptations, but also in popular performance traditions such as Sicilian puppet theater (opera dei pupi) and the folk operas (maggi epici) of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines. This essay traces the reimagining of a sampling of non-Christian characters and non-European places from Matteo Maria Boiardo’s Orlando Innamorato and Ludovico Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso by a number of contemporary puppet theater and maggio companies. My contention is that an examination of select scenes available online, in conjunction with a close reading of the original episodes, may help students think more deeply about perennial issues addressed in the two poems—related to gender roles, the foreign and religious Other, violence, and political power—that continue to be relevant today.1 [End Page 48] Sicilian puppet theater No art form has devoted as sustained and elaborate attention to the Orlando Innamorato and the Orlando Furioso as Sicilian puppet theater.2 Although today we are past the time when Orlando and his fellow knights relived their adventures a puntate every evening in teatrini across Sicily and beyond, we can still encounter puppeteers, especially in Palermo, Catania, and Siracusa, who regularly present episodes from the two poems. The plays may be adapted for audiences who are no longer familiar with the original stories, but the puppeteers themselves have an intimate knowledge of their sources and make meaningful choices as they adapt narratives for the stage.3 Angelica The two most popular plays performed in Sicily today are the Innamorato’s battle between Rinaldo and Orlando for Angelica and the Furioso’s madness of Orlando. Since Angelica is central to both episodes, these plays offer ample material for a comparative examination of her character in contemporary Sicilian puppet theater. Regarding Angelica’s physical features, neither Boiardo nor Ariosto exoticize her beauty and a longstanding Italian and European artistic tradition has for the most part represented her with European features and dress. Most traditional Sicilian puppeteers have followed suit—with one difference. Although both Boiardo and Ariosto refer to Angelica as a blonde, matching Italian Renaissance standards for ideal beauty, most of the Angelicas I have encountered when attending puppet plays and visiting puppet museums in Sicily since 2000 have had dark brown hair, possibly reflecting the more Mediterranean colors of Sicilian women.4 When I asked members of the traditional public to [End Page 49] describe Angelica, the reply was invariably that she was beautiful, tout court. Nor did her clothing set her apart as a foreigner. As the puppeteer Enzo Rossi explained, the traditional puppeteer’s wife simply made sure that Angelica had the most elaborate and exquisite outfit.5 One can also find exceptions to the general Europeanization of Angelica. The puppeteer Enzo Mancuso (Associazione Carlo Magno, Palermo) remembers that his uncle constructed a brown-toned Angelica, remarking: “Questa è una Angelica che mio zio ha visto sempre così, ha visto sempre mulatta perché giustamente è indiana.”6 The puppeteer Alfredo Mauceri (Compagnia dei Pupari Vaccaro-Mauceri, Siracusa) decided to render more visible Angelica’s foreign status initially by constructing an Indian Angelica—complete with a bindi, nose earring, and henna tattoo—and subsequently by dressing her in Middle Eastern garb that, as the puppeteer himself explains, “non è certo un abito tipico del Catai, ma ciò consente di distinguerla dagli abiti europei indossati dalle altre dame.”7 In addition to giving Angelica a physical form, puppeteers also develop her character through action and dialogue. The question my students have found most compelling has been whether the plays pick up on and accentuate her more dangerous and seductive connotations or whether they instead bring her more in line with traditional precepts for female conduct. Most Sicilian puppet plays I’ve been able to film tend to temper her more compromising moments, perhaps to avoid any behavior that would be considered outside accepted norms. Regarding, for example, the staging of the Innamorato’s opening scene in Charlemagne’s court, the puppeteer Salvatore Oliveri (Compagnia...