Orbecche
Encyclopedia
Orbecche is a tragedy
written by Giovanni Battista Giraldi
in 1541. It was the first modern tragedy written on classical principles, and along with Sperone Speroni
's Canace
, was responsible for a sixteenth-century theoretical debate on theater, especially with regards to decorum
.
It was produced in Ferrara
in 1541, with incidental music composed by Alfonso della Vivuola and sets by the painter Girolamo da Carpi
. Ercole II d'Este was present at the premiere, which took place at the playwright's house. The play was printed in 1543, with several additions for the reader's benefit.
Though the play followed Aristotelian principles in terms of structure, thematically it was Senecan
, featuring vengeance, rage, hate, and the depiction of violence.
Sulmone only discovers the existence of the secret marriage and the children many years later, the day he decides to give Orbecche's hand in marriage to another prince. The discovery of the "betrayal" of his daughter, who has acted against his paternal authority, wounds his pride. The king's terrible revenge has as its goal the restoration of his lost majesty and the legitimacy of the state. This revenge is the prime mover of the action and provokes the catastrophe in the story.
At the beginning of the play, a short prologue informs the spectators of the existence of an ulterior hubris
, referring back to an event from Orbecche's infancy: as a child she was indirectly responsible for the murder of her mother and brother.
Orbecche and Sulmone are characters moved by opposing values: the first, by freedom to feel real emotions (love above all); the second by the good of the state and the social order.
Sulmone devises a plan of pitiless revenge: he pretends to pardon Orbecche and to accept that what's done is done (the marriage and heirs) with the goal of pulling the children to him. He invites over his daughter and her family and announces to Oronte his intention of making him heir to the throne. It's a cruel trick; shortly after he has him arrested and condemned to death for treason. Oronte is brought to the castle dungeon, where Sulmone cuts off his hands and then kills both his children in front of his eyes, then kills him.
The king's violence continues with his desecration of the corpses, then his revenge turns against Orbecche. She too is the victim of a trick: he shows her affection and presents her a "wedding gift", a mysterious "surprise". It is the corpses of her children with the head of her husband on a silver platter, covered by a cloth that she herself is invited to lift, to discover "the truth" for herself.
Orbecche, confronted by this, is devastated by desperation, but in her turn decides to take her revenge using the same method, that is, betrayal. She is able to regain her father's trust and pretends to reconcile with him, taking advantage of the situation (an affectionate embrace between the two) to stab him.
Orbecche assumes power at the death of the king, according to the laws of the state. Now, however, she is alone in the world, after the extermination of her family. Her pain is unbearable and, with her act of violence, she feels that she has betrayed herself or rather all the values that her character represents. With no more identity, and desiring no longer to hold on to a life with no sense, the queen commits suicide.
One last suicide closes the tragedy: that of Orbecche's nurse. The woman who nursed her as a child is the first important character to appear in the play, and the last. The nurse is forced to witness the death of Orbecche in the last scene, in which the mood is of struggling affection, as in the beginning. Such symmetry in the plot completes the darkness of the tragedy.
Tragedy
Tragedy is a form of art based on human suffering that offers its audience pleasure. While most cultures have developed forms that provoke this paradoxical response, tragedy refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of...
written by Giovanni Battista Giraldi
Giovanni Battista Giraldi
Giovanni Battista Giraldi was an Italian novelist and poet. He appended the nickname Cinthio to his name and is commonly referred to by that name .Born at Ferrara, he was educated at the university there, and in 1525 became its professor of natural philosophy...
in 1541. It was the first modern tragedy written on classical principles, and along with Sperone Speroni
Sperone Speroni
Sperone Speroni degli Alvarotti was an Italian Renaissance humanist, scholar and dramatist. He was one of the central members of Padua's literary academy Accademia degli Infiammati and wrote on both moral and literary matters.-Biography:...
's Canace
Canace (play)
Canace is a verse tragedy by Italian playwright Sperone Speroni . It is based on the Greek legend of Canace, the daughter of Aeolus, who was forced by her father to commit suicide for having fallen in love with her brother, Macar....
, was responsible for a sixteenth-century theoretical debate on theater, especially with regards to decorum
Decorum
Decorum was a principle of classical rhetoric, poetry and theatrical theory that was about the fitness or otherwise of a style to a theatrical subject...
.
It was produced in Ferrara
Ferrara
Ferrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north...
in 1541, with incidental music composed by Alfonso della Vivuola and sets by the painter Girolamo da Carpi
Girolamo da Carpi
Girolamo Da Carpi was an Italian painter and decorator who worked at the Court of the House of Este in Ferrara. He began painting in Ferrara, by report apprenticing to Benvenuto Tisi ; but by age 20, he had moved to Bologna, and is considered a figure of Early Renaissance painting of the local...
. Ercole II d'Este was present at the premiere, which took place at the playwright's house. The play was printed in 1543, with several additions for the reader's benefit.
Though the play followed Aristotelian principles in terms of structure, thematically it was Senecan
Senecan tragedy
Senecan tragedy is a body of ten 1st century dramas, of which eight were written by the Roman Stoic philosopher and politician L. Annaeus Seneca . Rediscovered by Italian humanists in the mid-16th century, they became the models for the revival of tragedy on the Renaissance stage...
, featuring vengeance, rage, hate, and the depiction of violence.
Plot
The main character, Orbecche, is the daughter of the Persian king Sulmone. She is the mother of two children and the wife of Oronte, whom she married very young, unbeknownst to her father.Sulmone only discovers the existence of the secret marriage and the children many years later, the day he decides to give Orbecche's hand in marriage to another prince. The discovery of the "betrayal" of his daughter, who has acted against his paternal authority, wounds his pride. The king's terrible revenge has as its goal the restoration of his lost majesty and the legitimacy of the state. This revenge is the prime mover of the action and provokes the catastrophe in the story.
At the beginning of the play, a short prologue informs the spectators of the existence of an ulterior hubris
Hubris
Hubris , also hybris, means extreme haughtiness, pride or arrogance. Hubris often indicates a loss of contact with reality and an overestimation of one's own competence or capabilities, especially when the person exhibiting it is in a position of power....
, referring back to an event from Orbecche's infancy: as a child she was indirectly responsible for the murder of her mother and brother.
Orbecche and Sulmone are characters moved by opposing values: the first, by freedom to feel real emotions (love above all); the second by the good of the state and the social order.
Sulmone devises a plan of pitiless revenge: he pretends to pardon Orbecche and to accept that what's done is done (the marriage and heirs) with the goal of pulling the children to him. He invites over his daughter and her family and announces to Oronte his intention of making him heir to the throne. It's a cruel trick; shortly after he has him arrested and condemned to death for treason. Oronte is brought to the castle dungeon, where Sulmone cuts off his hands and then kills both his children in front of his eyes, then kills him.
The king's violence continues with his desecration of the corpses, then his revenge turns against Orbecche. She too is the victim of a trick: he shows her affection and presents her a "wedding gift", a mysterious "surprise". It is the corpses of her children with the head of her husband on a silver platter, covered by a cloth that she herself is invited to lift, to discover "the truth" for herself.
Orbecche, confronted by this, is devastated by desperation, but in her turn decides to take her revenge using the same method, that is, betrayal. She is able to regain her father's trust and pretends to reconcile with him, taking advantage of the situation (an affectionate embrace between the two) to stab him.
Orbecche assumes power at the death of the king, according to the laws of the state. Now, however, she is alone in the world, after the extermination of her family. Her pain is unbearable and, with her act of violence, she feels that she has betrayed herself or rather all the values that her character represents. With no more identity, and desiring no longer to hold on to a life with no sense, the queen commits suicide.
One last suicide closes the tragedy: that of Orbecche's nurse. The woman who nursed her as a child is the first important character to appear in the play, and the last. The nurse is forced to witness the death of Orbecche in the last scene, in which the mood is of struggling affection, as in the beginning. Such symmetry in the plot completes the darkness of the tragedy.
External links
- http://dante.di.unipi.it/ricerca/html/Orbecche.html - text made available by FerraraFerraraFerrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north...
city council, available on University of PisaUniversity of PisaThe University of Pisa , located in Pisa, Tuscany, is one of the oldest universities in Italy. It was formally founded on September 3, 1343 by an edict of Pope Clement VI, although there had been lectures on law in Pisa since the 11th century...
site. (in Italian)