Pantomime was one of the most popular and successful theatrical genres widespread in all the regions of the Roman Empire from the Augustan age to the fifth/sixth century C.E. It consisted of a performance by an actor who interpreted a mythological episode through complex choreographies, while a chorus sang to the music played by one or more musicians. The written evidence show that there were several types of such a mimetic dances, like the ones described by Xenophon and Apuleius. Among the most important written sources shading light on the different aspect of the pantomime are The dance (ca. 160 C.E.) by Lucian and In defense of the dancers (ca. 361 C.E.) by Libanius: they show that music played an important role in this kind of spectacle since it had to be consistent with the different characters of the story interpreted by the dancer. The visual evidence documenting pantomime, are very scarce and show mostly the typical closed-mouth mask. Moreover, very few examples show actors performing pantomime: among them the most meaningful are the scenes represented on the mosaics of the Roman villa in Noheda (Spain).
MUSIC AND DANCE IN ROMAN THEATRE: THE ANCIENT PANTOMIME
Castaldo
Primo
2020-01-01
Abstract
Pantomime was one of the most popular and successful theatrical genres widespread in all the regions of the Roman Empire from the Augustan age to the fifth/sixth century C.E. It consisted of a performance by an actor who interpreted a mythological episode through complex choreographies, while a chorus sang to the music played by one or more musicians. The written evidence show that there were several types of such a mimetic dances, like the ones described by Xenophon and Apuleius. Among the most important written sources shading light on the different aspect of the pantomime are The dance (ca. 160 C.E.) by Lucian and In defense of the dancers (ca. 361 C.E.) by Libanius: they show that music played an important role in this kind of spectacle since it had to be consistent with the different characters of the story interpreted by the dancer. The visual evidence documenting pantomime, are very scarce and show mostly the typical closed-mouth mask. Moreover, very few examples show actors performing pantomime: among them the most meaningful are the scenes represented on the mosaics of the Roman villa in Noheda (Spain).I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
