Modern Italian Theater: From Praga to Sciascia : Text and Context

By Michael Vena

This volume introduces twentieth-century plays translated from the original Italian.

The Jovial Wife by Marco Praga,
From Yours to Mine by Giovanni Verga,
Holy Priest by Roberto Bracco,
Puppets of Passion by Rosso di San Secondo,
Christmas at the Cupiellos and Inner Voices by Eduardo De Filippo
Jesus on Trial by Diego Fabbri,
The Politician by Leonardo Sciascia

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jul 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9781483633503

Michael Vena

Michael Vena received his Ph. D. at Yale in 1972. A Professor Emeritus of Italian Studies from Southern Connecticut State University, he has been interested in modern Italian theater from a literary standpoint and as a pedagogical tool in language acquisition, which has led to published textbooks, translations and articles on language, literature and theater. His renaissance interests have led Dr. Vena to do research on L.B. Alberti’s language which has been incorporated in two etymological dictionaries in Italy and Germany. In summer 1997 he was an invited visiting scholar at the Italian Academy of Language in Florence, where he produced an interactive concordance of all the vernacular works by L. B. Alberti (the three volumes edited by C. Grayson from Laterza). Dr. Vena has been active professionally at the local and national level. He was a recipient of grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Fulbright Fellowship, served as a consultant to the Educational Testing Service in Princeton, and was for three years an Examin

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Reviews for Modern Italian Theater

[takeitorleaveit_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

saw Anette Benning and Alfred Molin star in this play. not Chekhov's best but good times.

[cinesnail88 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Chekhov is always someone I grapple with from time to time before deciding what I really think of the play. This was good, but mildly pointless. I didn't feel changed or moved by reading it, and I wonder about what seeing it would have changed. It certainly would have a different feel to it in production than it did in reading.

[name99_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Another example of how I'm usually disappointed when I listen to something that other people consider great, but which does not a priori sound appealing.This probably reveals me as a philistine, but I just couldn't found much of value in this. We have a bunch of upper-class Russian twits who think the world owes them a living, who do absolutely nothing of value to anyone, not even things of abstract value like art or science, and who are bitterly disappointed when the tragedy that everyone has been warning them about for years finally arrives and no deus ex machina saves them. The only character in the play I had the remotest sympathy for was the student who tells them to their faces that they are parasites and that their day is over, not that his warnings are heeded.Maybe this play is viewed in the same way as Gone with the Wind nostalgia --- everyone who pines for this better simpler way of life assumes that for some reason they're going to be part of the aristrocracy in this alternate world, not one of the lower classes.

[booksfordinner · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a great edition; it has a short but thorough bio of Chekhov, an intro with some basic interpretation, and great notes throughout based on letter the author wrote to some of the original productions' principals.

[cait815 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I fell asleep twice while reading this play (and it's not that long). It felt so choppy, like there were 10 different conversations going on at the same time, none of them related. My interest picked up in the second half though, and I liked the ending. I'd love to experience this on stage and see if I came away with a better opinion of it.

[leslie398 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I found it difficult to sympathize with any of the characters, even Lubov who had the most tragic background. As a tale of the decline of Russian nobility and rising of the former serfs into middle class, it was fairly effective but not entertaining. Perhaps I would like a stage production more...

[lizpatanders · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Having already read Chekhov's Ivanov, I founded myself comparing the two as a bit and enjoying this play more. It's about a family who is losing their wealth and needs to sell their cherry orchard, and I thought that was much more relatable than the story of Ivanov.The one thing that I really enjoyed about this play was the sense of memory that I got while I was reading it. I think Chekhov did a good job of showing why this place was important to the family. I got a sense that there was a lot of sorrow about losing the orchard, but in some ways he very much incorporated the hope for the future which I enjoyed. Overall I'd say it's a really good story about family and we hold certain places dear to us. My only complaint is that at times the names got a bit confusing.

[bookomaniac-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

De Kersentuin draait in wezen om de komst van het moderne, om verandering. Kracht van Tsjechov is montage, van gevoel naar gevoel, voor alles uitgesproken is, vb gebruik pauzes. Omstreden: drama of komedie, naturalistische of symbolische lectuur

[electrascaife · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Nope.No likeable characters whatsoever, with a plot that I couldn't bring myself to care about at all. Gah.

[mamzel_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Poor money management forces a family to sell its property including a large cherry orchard. Before closing the property, however, everyone returns to bid each other farewell. Comedic moments include a man who is totally obsessed with billiards and a bittersweet moment when they leave and lock in the old, faithful retainer. Job-lot!

[nialle-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This play is different every time I read it. When I was younger and still believed that my family's land would continue to be passed down the generations, it was tragic; when I had learned about the Japanese word "aware" it was beautiful; when I had learned something about how easily even clever women fall into traps and call them love, I wanted to believe somehow that Lyuba's generosity meant something anyway; as a young person of business I feared becoming Lopakhin with his, as it seemed to me, idealistic excuses for exploitation no different from those of the old aristocracy; after a few years of good fortune I looked less pityingly on old Pishtchik, whose attitude really isn't so absurd, though he may not be a gifted accountant.Through this reading, though, all I could think about was Firs saying "They knew some way in those days.... They've forgotten. Nobody remembers how to do it." And I look out the window at people who don't remember when shoes were supposed to last more than one season, lenders weren't allowed to charge 25%, growing food wasn't just a health craze but a normal way of life, books didn't cost $10 plus a special $180 decoder gizmo that would be outmoded in a year - and I think about all the people my age who have no idea how to run a business or why it would be desirable to own land - and I think it may not be the cherry orchard, but the Firs of this world, the ones who remember good sense and precaution, the ones who knew their ancestors' knowledge, we must fear most to lose.