Zadar’s drama writers in Italian in the 19th century

Abstract

It hasn’t been established what contribution made the domestic drama writers for the dramatic creativity in Zadar. They wrote in Italian and this paper’s aim is to discover and evaluate their contribution and the reacfion to it. Ivan Kreljanović Albinoni wrote at the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century first Orazia having been influenced by the ariti-tyrannical mood of V. Alfieri, leaning on the poetics of Arcadia. In his work he evokes the legend about the figh Horatius and Kuriatius. In Manlio Capitolino he speaks about the relatively diuted idea of freedom, then. there were series of dramas and melodramas with same or similar themes. Kreljanović’s merit is witnessing the birth of culture and national consience of his countrymen. At times when the romantic movement with its lively polemic tendencies cut short the road to Arcadia Giuseppe Ferrari-Cupilli nade his apperance using dramatic texts and texts for occasion as II serto conteso in order to stress the well known tradition and courage of the Slavic heroes in their fight against Turks and other conquerors. Legends and myths interwoven with hystorical events in the Dalmatian past are the basic literary motifs of this writer. Vitaliano Brunelli and even more so Luigi Fichert, the romantistic and the spokesman of the idea that each nation has a right to its country made significant contribution for the advancement of theatrical activity. Fichent’s drama Bielka di Bosnia (Bielke from Bosnia) expresses the desire for brotherhood of different poeples and their right to their identities. Having satisfied their dedication to theatrical tradition, yet infected by the new cultural and political climate, Zadar’s drama writers had in the second half of the 19th century initiated their search after contemporary motifs and new ways of expression. Giuseppe Sabalich tried to free himself from the influence of the limits of tradition by using the mixture of themes and styles, and changing forms and the language. Being persistent and quite profilic he turned to the folk resources finding in them great many anecdotes and stories. Antonio de’Bersa i Arturo Colautti dedicated to the theatre their relatively short period of creativity. De'Bersa’s appearance was lacking greater artistic pretensions, but Colautti had it in mind to leave mark in the world of theatre. His effort to purify drama from romantic elements and verjstic contents, and to change all that with dramatic construction and add yirtuoso dialogues did not bear much fruit. Despite the fact that his texts could not hold on the stage, he still showed that he was verbally superior, moreover that his and Sabalic’s texts could evoke curiosity. Zadar had in the 19th century its well affirmed drama writers who did their best to catch up the achievements in drama despite the fact they didn’t succeed aesthetically, they have managed to liven up the scene with artistically. With the beginning of the new century the Italian language will make place to Croatian literary expressions inspired by its own vitality.