Citings & Sightings of Dante's Works in Contemporary Culture
Bettino Ricasoli as Count Ugolino attacks Urbano Rattazzi, who ousted him in 1892 from his leading role in the government. This piece was on exhibit at the “150 Years of La Nazione” in Florence, Italy at the Palazzo Medici Riccardi, March 7 – April 30, 2009.
Pdf close-ups of the re-written terzine:
1Download file
2Download file
3Download file
4Download file
Contributed by Kavi Montanaro
“It is the rare singer who can command the support of an orchestra for a concert of arias. Having the event be fully staged, with sets and costumes, is almost unheard of. But the soprano Anna Caterina Antonacci is a favorite in Paris, as she is likely to be anywhere she appears, and the Theatre des Champs-Elysees is currently presenting ‘Altre Stelle’ (‘Other Stars,’ Dante’s term about the power of love), a program of landmark French opera arias linked by the theme of unrequited love.” [. . .] –George Loomis, The New York Times, April 28, 2009
“Dante’s Divine Comedy is a staple of the so-called western canon. Aged and distinguished–though mostly just age–like fine wine and pungent cheese, it’s the classic man’s classic. Roughly seven centuries later (incidentally, a divine number of completion), Russell Taylor, Brian Dambacher DRA ’11 and Dave Dambacher breathe new life into the familiar narrative with their collaborative creation, ‘Funny as Hell’… a baptism under fire.
Directed by Dambacher and Taylor, ‘Funny as Hell’ goes up this weekend at the Yale Cabaret. It features Taylor, Darlene McCullough and Ryan Hales DRA ’11. And in keeping with themes of the afterlife, this particular version marks the piece’s third reincarnation.” –Nicholle Manners, Yale Daily News, January 16, 2009
Contributed by Patrick Molloy
“In the gorgeous grounds of Rome’s Villa Borghese park the glitterati of the movie world are gathered for a world premiere. A legendary Italian movie director has come out of retirement to create a blockbuster based on Dante’s Inferno. But, as Nic Costa and his colleagues attempt to guard the precious collection of historic artefacts attached to the event, the premiere is disrupted by tragedy and a horrific murder.” [. . .] —David Hewson
Contributed by Patrick Molloy
“EA introduces an all new original property from the studio behind the hit horror game, Dead Space. The game is based on part one of the medieval epic poem, The Divine Comedy, commonly referred to as Dante’s Inferno, by Dante Alighieri. The dark fiction gave birth to the Tuscan Italian dialect and is widely considered the work that has defined the western world’s contemporary conception of hell and purgatory. The poem tells the tale of Dante who journeys through the twisted, menacing nine circles of hell in pursuit of his beloved Beatrice. Written in the 14th Century, The Divine Comedy, unlike the bible, was published and read aloud in the language of the Italian people, thereby making the poem accessible to the mass public. The poem delivers a striking and allegorical vision of the Christian afterlife and the punishments of hell. In part one, known as Dante’s Inferno, Dante traverses all nine circles of hell; limbo, lust, gluttony, greed, anger, heresy, violence, fraud and treachery.” —EA Games
See Also:
Video Interviews and Previews at EA Games
Contributed by Chelsea Mikulencak (UTexas-Austin, ’10)
“EA Sends Players to Hell in Epic Action Game Dante’s Inferno” by El Mundo Tech, December 15, 2008
Contributed by J. Patrick Brown (Bowdoin, ’08)
“Video Game Draws Interest in Hollywood” by David Itzkoff, The New York Times, November 3, 2008
“Endpaper — Fiction Reaches a New Level” by Tim Martin, The Telegraph, May 7, 2009
Contributed by Aisha Woodward (Bowdoin, ’08)
“Fighting Desire in Dante’s Inferno. Try not to succumb to your lustful urges in Hell.” by Jeff Haynes, IGN.com, September 21, 2009
Contributed by Charlie Russell-Schlesinger (Bowdoin, ’08)
“Dante’s Inferno Story Trailer” by Euro Gamer, November 17, 2009
Contributed by Luke Welch (Bowdoin, ’08)
“You Read It in Class; Now You Can Play It on your Console” by Seth Schiesel, The New York Times, February 8, 2010
“Charting Dante’s Descent Through 9 Circles of Hell” by Mark Oppenheimer, The New York Times, March 26, 2010
“Abandon All Poetry, but Enter Hell With an Attitude” by David Itzkoff, The New York Times, January 29, 2010
“Profs Guy Raffa and Arielle Saiber on EA’s ‘Dante’s Inferno’ Videogame” in The Atlantic, February 26, 2010 and “Prof. Arielle Saiber on the Game” in Future Tense, February 17, 2010
“Prof. Teodolinda Barolini on EA’s ‘Dante’s Inferno’ Videogame” in Entertainment Weekly
All submissions will be considered for posting. Bibliographic references and scholarly essays are also welcome for consideration.
Coggeshall, Elizabeth, and Arielle Saiber, eds. Dante Today: Citings and Sightings of Dante’s Works in Contemporary Culture. Website. Access date.
