[1792] · [Venice]
by Viganò, Giulio.
[Venice]: [Gran Teatro La Fenice], [1792]. Original edition. Fine. Octavo (19cm); 16 pages. In speckled wraps.
The first dance performance of the inaugural season of one of the great theaters of Europe, the GranTeatro La Fenice. Rising out of the ashes of an earlier theater consumed by fire, La Fenice opened during the Feast of the Ascension (La Festa della Sensa) in 1792 with an opera ("I giuochi d'Agrigento") and what today we would recognize as a ballet, or a dance entertainment, based on Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche. The theater program offered here opens with a proud statement that this dance was "composed and directed by the honorable mister Viganò for the most noble new theater called La Fenice on the occasion of the inaugural opening at the Fiera della Sensa in Venice, 1792." There follows a list of the dancers and their characters, a brief introduction by Viganò ("I'm not in the habit of annoying the audience with program notes, but in this case it seems a brief summary of the main points is necessary..."), and then a not-so-brief account of the very intricate plot of the ballet, with its 28 distinct characters who may or may not appear in disguise. A great survival from the opening night of a great theater. (Inventory #: 6349)
The first dance performance of the inaugural season of one of the great theaters of Europe, the GranTeatro La Fenice. Rising out of the ashes of an earlier theater consumed by fire, La Fenice opened during the Feast of the Ascension (La Festa della Sensa) in 1792 with an opera ("I giuochi d'Agrigento") and what today we would recognize as a ballet, or a dance entertainment, based on Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche. The theater program offered here opens with a proud statement that this dance was "composed and directed by the honorable mister Viganò for the most noble new theater called La Fenice on the occasion of the inaugural opening at the Fiera della Sensa in Venice, 1792." There follows a list of the dancers and their characters, a brief introduction by Viganò ("I'm not in the habit of annoying the audience with program notes, but in this case it seems a brief summary of the main points is necessary..."), and then a not-so-brief account of the very intricate plot of the ballet, with its 28 distinct characters who may or may not appear in disguise. A great survival from the opening night of a great theater. (Inventory #: 6349)