THE
SICILIAN PUPPETS
The Puppet theatre is one of the
most famous and popular forms of art of the Sicilian tradition. This form of
theatre, exalting the rebellion of the poor and the humble against the rich,
has been declining in the last decades due to major commercial forms or
expressions like cinema and television, that have caused the closure of many
puppet theatres. Although often considered a low-class artistic expression the
marionnette show remains a best attraction and a symbol in the Sicilian tradition.
The Museo Internazionale della Marionetta
(International Puppet Museum) in Palermo, has much contributed to preserving
and supporting this art. It collects some three thousand pieces among
marionnettes from the Catania and Palermo traditions, a whole section dedicated
to Eastern paladins along with pieces of the Naples’ theatre.
The puppet owes his existence to the work of
master craftsmen that today continue the work of their illustrious ancestors,
who founded real puppeteer dynasties. Outstanding are the Cuticchios,
descendants of Cav. Giacomo Cuticchio, whose work has influenced every “puparo”
(puppeteer) since.
The Opra dei Pupi (Puppet Theatre)
represents the battles between Saracens and Christians in the Middle Ages. It
became popular in its current form, around the second half of the nineteenth
century. Its success was fostered by the well-known Cantàri or Cantastorie
and the Contastorie, streets story tellers and singers who first evoked
the adventures and stories of epic knights and heroes. At the beginning of the
nineteenth century their repertoir included I Reali (The Royals) and Storia
di Orlando e Rinaldo (A story of Roland and Reginald). Like the jongleurs
in France, the story tellers and singers had an outstanding role in spreading
the Chanson de Geste in the Southern Italy.
The puppet theatre conveys ideals which are
dear to Sicilian people: chivalry, honour, justice, faith, love. Its main
themes are related to the legendary stories of Charlemagne’s knights, whose
sources were the Chansons de geste and the Arthurian cycle. The Carlovingian
cycle, deriving from the former, spans the period between the deaths of Pipin
“the short” and of Charlemagne; it is divided into many episodes.
The shows also tell of local legends or events,
like that of Uzeda, a puppet created by praised Don Raffaele Trombetta
and Sebastiano Zappalà, and inspired by Don Giovanni Francesco Paceco, Duke of
Uzeda and vice-king of Sicily in the late 1600s. The hero falls in love with
gorgeous king’s daughter, Galatea. He accidentally kills his own son Osvaldo
and eventually dies in her arms.
Some episodes were often represented as single
shows and performed in one night.
The “bandit” theme is also much recurring, the
“thief” being one of the most popular puppets. He is aversed by the audience
who dislikes his evil deeds perpetrated against unfortunate victims he happens
to meet.
After 1860 the characters’ representation
underwent considerable changes. Reginald, for example, started representing a
strong and fearless man who wanted to resist the established social and
political powers. The bandit himself became a hero defending and vindicating
justice. Vincenzo Di Maria’s Rinaldo Furioso is a valued example of this
turn. In his work, Reginald represents the expectations of equality and freedom
of the masses and engages in a fight against Charlemagne, but his dreams of
glory are destined to fail.
Every show features specific events, notably
the councils and the battles. The former consists of private or
official meetings of characters. The scene has standard elements like the
opening and the closure. The official council generally involves a number of
soldiers and a king or a commander announcing the imminent fight. The private
council involves fewer characters and also introduces a fight.
Councils help spectators better identify the
characters. Are they positive or negative figures? Traitors or trustworthy? Do
they really have the values they personify?
The battles engage and involve the
audience. They’re central to the Opra dei Pupi and culminate in a finale
that shows the death of some protagonist. Minor characters’ death is less
emphasized and more frequent in the show.
The representation deals with important themes:
the betrayal, the relation between the king and his vassals, the opposition
between good and evil and that between Christians and Saracens, issues of
politics, love, family, and the supernatural.
The work of numerous people is required to make
a puppet: two assistants, a blacksmith, a painter (for the decorations) and a
writer (for the texts). Not rarely does the puppeteer receive help by his
family members in making and preparing the material and equipment. Every
puppeteer, still respecting the tradition, has his own secrets and technics
that he only reveals to his family and close assistants. Texts draw on the
literary tradition and are enriched by idiomatic expressions and organ music
(originally played by musicians).
The puppeteer must also be a good actor since
he must animate the puppet and give him a voice. No wonder praised Sicilian
actors like Giovanni Grasso and Angelo Musco grew in families of puppeteers.
Several names are most renowned: the Crimis, whose most important member was
Gaetano Crimi from Catania, one of the best performers of the Sicilian Opra dei
Pupi; the Grassos, from Catania too; the Insanguines from Bari, later settled
in Sicily, their most famous puppeteer was Nino who was able to give puppets
such human traits as an actor could hardly do; the Grecos, from Palermo, whose
major member was Gaetano, born in Naples and much related to another great
puppeteer, Don Liberto Canino. Both are remembered as the founders of the
Palermitan Opra; the Catanian entrepreneur-puppeteer Giuseppe Chiesa, who
started his activity with youngest Angelo Musco, at the Machiavelli Theatre,
and founded several theatres; Pasqualino Amico, unforgettable marionnette voice
and animateur.
The audience becomes much involved in the story
and can even identify with the protagonists. Spectators directly interacts with
the show by their likes and dislikes, by even throwing objects at the aversed
protagonists and by their peculiar dialectal impressions during the show
interval, the performance attracting most young or low classes.
One of the merits of the puppet theatre has
been that of allowing people to gain familiarity with that old and
extraordinary world soon become a favorite topic of their conversations.
The puppets from Sicily, unlike their
“relatives” abroad, has evolved over the years, what helped them look like more
than simple wooden marionnettes animated by wires and strings. An additional
wire, for example, was placed in the arm of the knight to enhance his movements
when he draws out his sword. A second change concerned the puppet’s armour
material, where tin replaced the original cardboard to make it more resistent
to fights.
The puppet head is perhaps the most difficult
part of the process. It is made from wood or chalk. Once commissioned to
skilled craftsmen, it was since made by the puppeteer himself. The metal armour
was introduced in the early 1800s to become a distinctive feature of the Opra.
The stage is carefully set up. There are
differences between the Palermo and the Catania puppet theatres. The former has
smaller dimensions but it is more richly decorated. Other differences concern
with the stages and the graphic boards introducing and shortly describing the
show. Palermo’s board is divided into 8 sections displaying the several scenes
of the cycle. Catania’s has one only scene.
Some puppets have specific tasks: one announces
the title of the show; two other puppets exchange a few words before it starts
in order to create the perfect atmosphere and to capture the audience
attention; another, finally, gives a short summary of the representation.
The show features numerous characters:
Christian soldiers like Morando di Riviera, the Saracen Bramante,
the Magonzesi, the Giants, and then, magicians, women, boys, and
many others.
The main
protagonists are Reginald of Montalbano (a rebel figure who personify
ideals of loyalty and courage; the squint-eyed Roland (commander and
bravest of the paladins, committed to loyalty and fairness); Earl of Maganza
(an evil character, the traitor par excellence)
The two main Sicilian cities show differences
in the shape and size of the puppets also.
The
Palermitan is about ninety centimetres tall and weighs less than fifteen kilos.
His smaller dimensions give him more mobility. The Catanian is bigger and
heavier, reaching 140 centimetres in height and 35 kilos in weight. Both types
of puppets are controlled by two main wires placed on their head and on their
right hand, and by secondary wires and strings.
Acireale, an important city in the Eastern
Sicily, also produces a puppet of its own, that is much alike that of the
neighboring Catania, just a bit smaller.
A final mention must be given to the puppeteer
dramatization, which varies according to the different schools of pupari.
In general, the Palermitan theatre is more lively than Catanian’s.
Useful links on www.pupisiciliani.com- Teatro dei Fratelli Pasqualino