In 1921, Sergei Prokofiev's Love for Three Oranges-one of the earliest, most famous examples of modernist opera-premiered in Chicago. Prokofiev's source was a 1913 theatrical divertissement by Vsevolod Meyerhold, who, in turn, took inspiration from Carlo Gozzi's 1761 commedia dell'arte–infused theatrical fairy tale. Only by examining these whimsical, provocative works together can we understand the full significance of their intertwined lineage.
With contributions from 17 distinguished scholars in theater, art history, Italian, Slavic studies, and musicology, Three Loves for Three Oranges: Gozzi, Meyerhold, Prokofiev illuminates the historical development of Modernism in the arts, the ways in which commedia dell'arte's self-referential and improvisatory elements have inspired theater and music innovations, and how polemical playfulness informs creation.
A resource for scholars and theater lovers alike, this collection of essays, paired with new translations of Love for Three Oranges, charts the transformations and transpositions that this fantastical tale underwent to provoke theatrical revolutions that still reverberate today.
"Uniquely, this volume gives us innovative translations, detailed comparisons and interdisciplinary analyses of all three texts detailing the journey from Carl Gozzi's fiaba, through Meyerhold/Soloviev/Vogak's Divertissement, to Prokofiev's opera. Previous literature mapped some of the changes, but none offered the comprehensive analyses we find in this book. . . . The tripartite structure of the
F Jane Schopf
"This is a delightful book, as scholarly in its method as it is light-hearted in its approach. It is also unique in that it brings together for the very !rst time in publication history three famous, but not fully excavated and known works by Carlo Gozzi, Vsevolod Meyerhold (together with Vladmir Solovyev and Konstantin Vogak), and Sergey Proko!ev."
Maria Shevtsova
"A complex and rigorous exploration of the artistic lineages, Three Loves for Three Oranges: Gozzi, Meyerhold, Prokofiev offers a detailed study of the intertwined creative paths of Gozzi's theatrical fairy tale (fiaba), Meyerhold's divertissement, and Prokofiev's opera. This carefully conceived and elegantly executed collection of essays and originally translated theatrical texts is an immense mu
