«Il possesso della scena»: gente di teatro in musica tra Sei e Settecento

Abstract

The present article investigates the training of female stage practitioners and their versatility in performing different genres. Through select case studies – such as those of Giulia de Caro and Teresa Gandini – it aims to trace the careers of actresses seeking to create an identity in the stage industry. Several sources describe their still unknown professional development, focusing both on parts and roles and on their performing skills (singing, dance, prose). As members of a society and a stage industry which still defy a thorough illustration, they reveal complex personalities that go far beyond brief and concise ‘biographies’. Needless to say, they interact with ‘multitasking’ colleagues, as can be seen in the troupes of Domenico Antonio Di Fiore and Gabriele Costantini, whose actors were eager to work on different ‘stages’, showing how varied and intriguing their specialization was.