The Improvisation of Poetry, 1750 – 1850
A database of commentaries on improvisational performance
This is a critique of mediocre Italian improvisors who appropriate the work of established poets and present it to wealthy patrons. The author makes note that, while there are excellent improvisors, most will never demonstrate the talent of Homer.
The anonymous critic gives a brief history of some of the best known improvisers in Italy, both men and women. He also describes some of the tricks they used to make their work appear more improvised than it was.
A news article briefly mentions performances by the improvisatrice Bandettini (misspelling her name, however), both in private academies and at an admission-charging public venue.
Evaluating the fame and ability of Taddei in light of the enthusiasm of the press, the reviewer compares her to Corilla and Bandettini. He emphasizes her youth and inexperience, yet she shows much promise: her verse flows, her rhymes are spontaneous, and she keeps to the given subject.
The author gives a romanticized biography of La Bandettini’s education and travels, and describes how one of her performances saved her country from peril.
In a long rebuttal of the Biblioteca Italiana’s comment that the Tuscan people speak better than other Italians but Tuscan literati write worst, the letter-writer holds up Bandettini as an exemplary Tuscan poetess.
A highly complimentary report about Teresa Bandettini’s improvisation of three poems on biblical topics at a public meeting of the Arcadian academy at Rome.
Ademollo criticizes General Miollis for exploiting the reputation of Corilla Olimpica, expressing exaggerated and prejudiced enthusiasm for her talent in order to take revenge on Vittorio Alfieri. Ademollo expresses a negative judgment of Corilla Olimpica's improvised poetry and instead defends Bandettini’s art as well as her reputation in private and public life.
Ademollo describes how theatrical performances of improvisation by male and female improvisatori evolved in Florence between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. Corilla's performances were never paid; Bandettini was the first woman to accept money for her public performances.
Luzio summarizes the correspondence between Teresa Bandettini (Amarilli Etrusca) and the Abbot Saverio Bettinelli. Bandettini’s letters describe her poetry and performances in glowing terms, but the critic finds her work mediocre. While Luzio admires the fact that she continued to perform her poetry to support her family financially, her verses remain boring and tiresome.
In a letter to the editor, the writer describes how the 16-year-old Taddei was inspired, by listening to Pistrucci, to commit herself to improvised verse. Her performance and her verses resemble the enthusiasm of the Pythia, without being exaggerated. However, the writer reports that at a performance she gave near Cremona, ignorant listeners criticized improvised poetry and the innocent pleasures it arouses as pure folly.
The reviewer of Bandettini’s published improvisations has a low opinion of improvisatori in general, but considers Bandettini among the best of them, and finds the publication useful as a record of literary history.
Brun relates that she witnessed a performance by Bandettini, noting that many of the subjects upon which she extemporized did not suit her femininity. Brun suggests that Bandettini would be much more pleasing were she more cultivated, and compares her to Anna Louisa Karsch, the “German Sappho.”
The review focuses on the didactic purpose of Bandettini's poetry and the benefits of studying her verse closely. Her poetry is complex and packed with elaborate imagery, which shows the good quality of her education.
Madame de Staël expresses her “almost indiscreet” desire to hear Bandettini perform, based on her excellent reputation.
Madame de Staël expresses her regret at not being able to see Bandettini perform in person, and requests a copy of her works, to which she has ordered a subscription.
Sismondi provides a description of the art of improvisation as part of a more general exposition of Italian literature. He describes the type of talent required for improvisation, the typical subjects and form of the art, and then names some of Italy’s most accomplished improvisatori.
A series of extracts from Sismondi’s widely read work on the literature of the south of Europe. The extracts from volume one describe the origins of improvisation in the commedia dell’ arte and the dramas of Goldoni. The longer excerpt from the second volume describes contemporary improvisation in Italy, outlining its relation to literature and poetry, and providing an overview of some of the famous Italian improvisatori.
In his journal, Hobhouse recounts witnessing a performance by Sgricci in Milan, together with Lord Byron and Ludovico di Breme. The three men had little appreciation for Sgricci’s performance, suggesting that he was more of a ridiculous clown than a poet.
This series of pamphlets bringing information about minor forms of Italian literature to German readers includes frequent accounts, discussions, and translations of improvised poetry.