Alexander Mackenzie in Florence - the 1880's

from A Musician's Narrative , page 100:

In the evenings, amusement and instruction were sought in the people's theatres, where the Tuscan equivalent for Policinello and Arlequino, i.e. Stenterello, appeared (in his tricorne hat and curly pigtail) in every play, to fire off local allusions and jests in Florentine dialect–period or plot being of no consequence whatever. There was no attempt at illusion. Footmen wandered off and on at odd moments to move furniture; the audible and visible prompter conversed with the members of the orchestra; the double-bass player's bowler hung on the scroll of his instrument, and everybody smoked …   more >>
cite as

Alexander Mackenzie, A Musician's Narrative (London, 1927), p. 100. https://led.kmi.open.ac.uk/entity/lexp/1431464004213 accessed: 28 March, 2024

location of experience: Florence

Listeners

Alexander Mackenzie
Violinist
1847-1935

Listening to

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Italian theatre

Experience Information

Date/Time the 1880's
Medium live
Listening Environment in the company of others, indoors, in public

Originally submitted by gkw on Tue, 12 May 2015 21:53:24 +0100
Approved on Wed, 28 Sep 2016 11:39:41 +0100