The Improvisation of Poetry, 1750 – 1850
A database of commentaries on improvisational performance
A news article reports on an improvised tragedy performed by Carrer for a small company, on the subject of Polynices. The performance was successful in spite of the difficulty of finding a new way of treating this theme compared with Alfieri’s famous tragedy.
This text is a critique of Cicconi’s improvisation of Faliero, which despite some weaknesses, was much applauded by the audience. The critic notes that Cicconi brought passion and imagination to the performance.
In his notes to the play, Byron mentions the improvisatore Carrer as one of the few exceptions to Venice’s cultural decay under Austrian occupation.