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 1761commedia 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 theatre, 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 theatre and music innovations, and how polemical playfulness informs creation.

 

A resource for scholars and theatre lovers alike, this collection of essays and new dramatic translations charts the transformations and transpositions that the three oranges tale underwent to provoke theatrical revolutions that still reverberate today.