“The despicable rank of a theatrical versifier”: Alexander Sumarokov and Giuseppe Bonechi
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18778/1427-9681.11.06Keywords:
Alexander Sumarokov, Giuseppe Bonechi (Bonecchi), Russian theatre, opera, writer’s social positionAbstract
The paper examines the mention of Giuseppe Bonechi made by Alexander Sumarokov in his letter to count Shuvalov dated the 12th March 1761 in the context of the quarrel with count Sievers and of Sumarokov’s dismissal from theatre and from service. The expression “the despicable rank of a theatrical versifier” is interpreted in the light of Bonechi’s social position as a subordinate in the court’s Italian troupe, while Sumarokov aspires to a leading position in the Russian company. The artistic relationship of Sumarokov and Bonechi is examined from the point of view of the competition between the Italian and the Russian company at the court. Bonechi’s dismissal in 1752 was less painful than that of Sumarokov in 1761 because the Italian could easily find a place at any European court as a man of theatre, while Sumarokov, having created the unique Russian national theatre, was considerably more vulnerable due to his social position.
Downloads
References
Akhmetshina, Zarina M. “Selevk” F. Arayi i ee rukopisi v biblioteke Sankt-Peterburgskoi konservatorii. Opera musicologica, No. 3 (2014): 38–62.
Google Scholar
Bonechi Giuseppe. In: Dizionario biografico degli italiani. Vol. 11. Roma: Istitituto dell’Enciclopedia italiana, 1969: 741–743.
Google Scholar
Demin, Anton O. “A. P. Sumarokov – perevodchik italyanskikh librettistov P. Metastazio i M. Koltellini”. Russkaya literatura, No. 1 (2018): 52–61.
Google Scholar
Gardzonio, Stefano. Bonekki (Bonecchi ili Bonechi) Dzhuzeppe. In: Muzykalny Peterburg, Entsikopedicheskii slovar. Vol. 1: XVIII vek. Part. 1: A–I. Sankt‑Peterburg: Kompozitor, 2000: 144–146.
Google Scholar
Mosser, Robert-Aloys. Annales de la musique et des musiciens en Russie au XVIII siecle. Vol. 1: Des origines à la mort de Pierre III (1762). [Génève], Mont-Blanc [1948].
Google Scholar
Pisma russkikh pisatelei XVIII veka. Leningrad: Nauka, 1980.
Google Scholar
Serman, Ilya Z. Lomonosov i pridvornye italyanskie stikhotvortsy 1740-kh godov. In: Mezhdunarodnye svyazi russkoi literatury. Sb. statei. Moskva–Leningrad: Nauka, 1963: 112–134.
Google Scholar
Stepanov, Vladimir. P. Olsufev Adam Vasilevich. In: Slovar russkikh pisatelei XVIII veka. Part 2 (K–P). Sankt-Peterburg: Nauka, 1999: 383–387.
Google Scholar
Svodnyi katalog knig na inostrannykh yazykakh, izdannykh v Rossii v XVIII veke. Vol. 1: A–G. Leningrad: Nauka, 1984.
Google Scholar
Teatralnaya zhizn Rossii v epokhu Elizavety Petrovny. Dokumentalnaya khronika, ed. Lyudmila M. Starikova. Moskva: Nauka, 2003, 2005, 2011.
Google Scholar
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2018 Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Litteraria Rossica
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.