Vagabonding Masks

By choosing to employ the case study approach, the author is able to explore some of the most distinguished examples of harlequinized art and literature in Russia over the period of three hundred years. ... [T]here is much to attract both literary scholars and cultural historians to Partan's study. Overall, it is a rich, well-researched overview of the world of Russian harlequinized imagination. --Evgeniya Koroleva Slavic and East European Journal Olga Partan's book demonstrates a truly impressive depth of expertise, innovative thinking, and profound knowledge of the history of the commedia dell'Arte in Italy as well as other European countries through which its influence penetrated. Most impressively, the book describes and analyzes the commedia's presence in Russia across centuries, from the seventeenth to the twenty-first. This first book on commedia dell'Arte in Russia written by a true expert in the field, The Italian Commedia dell'Arte in the Russian Artistic Imagination is a must reading for literary and cultural historians as well as for historians of theater. Clearly and lively written, it can be used in courses on literature and the history of theater. --Irina Reyfman, Columbia University Partan's argument for the Italian Commedia dell'Arte's weighty role in Russia's culture throughout several centuries is original, alluring, and persuasive. She deftly navigates the historical development of an improvisational form with stock characters, humor, and quick action perhaps most commonly associated with medieval itinerant minstrels (skoromokhi), Italian opera (Ruggero Leoncavallo's I Pagliacci), and carnival/puppet booths in public squares (balagan), but also profoundly influential within mainstream theater to this day. Adducing a wealth of eloquent examples, which she analyzes with acumen and panache, Partan traverses a sizable temporal and generic terrain, stimulating the reader to reevaluate familiar works from a fresh, enriching perspective. --Helena Goscilo, Professor of Slavic Studies, The Ohio State University A treasure-trove of a book, Partan's meticulously researched and thought-provoking exploration of the influence of the Italian commedia dell'arte on the Russian cultural developments in the last three hundred years will be of significant interest not only to scholars of Russian studies and comparative literature but also to specialists in theater and performance studies. Its breadth of thinking and range of reference are truly astonishing. The book offers an entertainingly readable and widely informative account of early harlequinized art forms found in Russia in the eighteenth century; Trediakovsky's Russified versions of commedia dell'arte's plays; Gogol's works; Diaghilev's ballets; Blok's plays; and Nabokov's Look at the Harlequins!; as well as Soviet and post-Soviet engagement with this Italian tradition, including Vakhtangov's production of Princess Turandot and Alla Pugacheva's artistic persona. This timely and relevant book is marked by its crisply organi z ed structure and lucid narration. It is also richly supplemented by visual materials that w ill enable the reader to visuali z e the many-faceted forms of Russian laughter infused with merry childishness and the flamboyant spirit of the Italian artistic imagination rooted in the Renaissance culture. --Alexandra Smith, Reader in Russian Studies, University of Edinburgh