The Improvisation of Poetry, 1750 – 1850
A database of commentaries on improvisational performance
The author mentions Abbé Lorenzi’s distinguished skill in poetic improvisation, but writes that Sgricci’s improvisation is more fascinating. The author gives an anecdote of Sgricci’s improvisation of the Death of Polyxena in front of an audience that chose the subject.
A German author remarks on improvised performances he has witnessed in Italy, which included the performer Filippo Pistrucci, and suggests that improvisation is a waste of time: the performances are too lengthy, and the talents of the performers (when such talents are present) would be best used for smaller diversions.
An article describing improvisation in Italy, with specific accounts of performances by Sgricci and Taddei in Rome, based on the travel writings of Wilhelm Müller. The author of the article appreciates the talents of both improvisatori, but does not view improvisation as an advancement of art and poetry more generally.
Drawing on Wilhelm von Müller’s Rom, Römer und Römerinnen, the article describes Sgricci and Taddei, the most famous Italian improvisatori of the day. The author is of the opinion that improvisation, although impressive and captivating, represents a regression (rather than progress) in the art of poetry.
An anonymous writer describes the talents of the Italian improvisatrice Rosa Taddei, whose knowledge and wit are worthy of great admiration.
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.
The article provides a brief history of the origins of improvisation and its rise to popularity in Italy, followed by a detailed account of a performance given by Sgricci in Rome. The author concludes that improvisation is an impressive art, even if it does not lend itself to serious poetic production.
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.
The correspondent reports on an improvised tragedy performed in Rome and speculates ironically that literary production could soon be brought about by steam-driven machines.
A news article gives details of Sgricci’s performance in Rome in March 1818. The correspondent praises Sgricci’s skill and mentions that he has published some of his poems to general acclaim.
An article, translated from the German Morgenblatt, describing improvisation in Italy, with specific accounts of performances by Sgricci and Taddei in Rome, based on the travel writings of Wilhelm Müller. The author of the article appreciates the talents of both improvisatori, but does not view improvisation as an advancement of art and poetry more generally.
The author gives an anecdote of an improvisatore singing a humorous declaration of love to an old woman on the streets of Rome, and then requests him to improvise a bereaved woman’s lamentation. Such improvisations often become popular Italian ballads.
The author writes of his acquaintance with a scholar who improvises in Latin and Italian, and describes the encyclopedic knowledge an improvisatore must have in order to give the impression of unprepared improvisation. The author suggests that the improvisation of poetry is a misuse of such extensive learning.
The author describes performances by Taddei and Sgricci, and claims that Sgricci has superior poetic skill. He praises both performers and mentions their exhaustion due to their efforts.
The article sketches out an encounter between a poor Italian peddler, who turns out to be an improvisatore, with an Italian traveler and the future King of Bavaria, who is in Italy incognito. The old peddler reveals himself to be a poetic genius, and makes an impression on expatriates and literati when his patrons create opportunities for him to perform.
Waldie suggests that poetic improvisation as practised in Italian Academies has less to do with poetry than with rhyme. She contrasts Italian sensibilities with English ones.
Jameson recounts her experience watching the improvisatore Sestini perform in Rome, describing the various subjects and forms he used, as well as the success and failure of each of Sestini’s efforts. She reflects upon Sestini’s rather plain appearance, and opines that his career will likely be short in duration, even if his skill is remarkable.
Moscati recounts the rise to fame of Rosa Taddei, under his own patronage. The article includes a detailed account of one of Taddei’s first performances, and gives the origin of Taddei’s stage name: Licori Partenopoea.
A review of the classicist Ferdinand Malvica’s commentary on Louis Cicconi and improvised tragedy discusses the career of Cicconi and his relationship with Malvica. The writer suggests that a talented poet such as Cicconi apply himself to a more lasting and structured art than that of improvisation.
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.”