Dante Today

Citings & Sightings of Dante's Works in Contemporary Culture

“Dante Alighieri’s Inferno Comes to The Russian Arts Theater and Studio”

By

 

photograph-from-stage-production-of-aleksey-burago-play-titled-inferno

“The Russian Arts Theater and Studio, a New York theater company founded in 2004, continues its 2023 season with Inferno, based on The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri, newly adapted by Aleksey Burago and Di Zhu from Dante’s Inferno, A New Translation in Terza Rima by Robert Torrance.

[…]

“‘As atrocities around the world continue, like Dante, we find ourselves helplessly wading through savage acts of brutality and cataclysmic destruction.’ says Burago. ‘We try to make sense of the bloodshed among our brothers and sisters, but none of the justifications hold water. Despite all our technological advances and scientific achievements, our species has yet to evolve past antiquated concepts of race, class, religion, borders, and money. We are all lost in the woods. How will we survive this blazing inferno without our Gods?’

“Eight performances of INFERNO will take place Nov 2 to Nov 19, 2023 at the Sanctuary Space at Center at West Park, located at 165 W86th Street, in Manhattan. Performances begin at 7:30PM. Critics are welcome. Tickets begin at $30 and are available at www.russiantheater.org. Standard ticketing fees apply.”   —Stephi Wild, “Dante Alighieri’s Inferno Comes to The Russian Arts Theater and Studio,” Broadway World, October 9, 2023 (retrieved December 15, 2023)

To read more or to purchase tickets, visit Russian Theater.

Contributed by Olga Seliazniova & Alessia Valfredini (Fordham University)

Advertisement-for-russian-theatre-production-of-inferni-angel-falling-in-black-and-white

Hadestown Musical – Music, Lyrics, and Book by Anaïs Mitchell (2019)

By

 

hadestown-staging-photo

“The musical Hadestown (music, lyrics, and book by Anaïs Mitchell) brings a new take on the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Much like Dante in the Inferno, the characters of Orpheus in Hadestown travel through an inferno-like factory run by Hades, the god of the underworld. Although the tragic hero Orpheus is mentioned in Canto IV of Dante’s Inferno, the similarities between the Divine Comedy and Hadestown do not stop there.”    –Contributor Ava Buchanan

A notable link between the musical and the Inferno is the staging of the piece, which relies heavily on circular motion to move the plot forward (a common motif employed by Dante). Furthermore, the character of Hermes within the musical acts as a Virgil-like guide for Orpheus with the added omnipresent, post-narrative knowledge of Dante “the Poet”.

As a side note, the official Hadestown website notes that it is a “haunting and hopeful theatrical experience that grabs you and never lets go.” This statement echoes Peter Hawkins who – in his biographic essay on Dante – states that “no one remains unchanged by the Commedia.”

The original cast Broadway cast recording of Hadestown can be found here.

Contributed by Ava Buchanan (University of Arkansas, ’23)

Uffizi Galleries’ TikTok video featuring Dante and Virgil

By

“This TikTok video by the Uffizi Galleries uses works by Emilio Demi and Carlo Albacini and the song ‘Gotta Go My Own Way’ from Disney’s hit 2007 movie High School Musical 2. It plays on the moment Virgil leaves Dante in Purgatorio.”   –Contributor Kate McKee

The TikTok video was posted on Dantedì (March 25) 2021 in honor of the 700th anniversary of Dante’s death.

Contributed by Kate McKee (Bowdoin College ’22)

The Grieco Brothers’ Inferno, the Musical (2020)

By

The Grieco Brothers‘ new musical, Inferno, is staged in the Caves at Pertosa-Auletta, in the province of Salerno. Of the brothers’ interest in representing the Inferno, Massimo Grieco says, “Nietzsche diceva che se si guarda per un tempo sufficiente nell’abisso, l’abisso guarderà dentro te. L’inferno è, per me, la migliore rappresentazione dei fantasmi che albergano dentro di noi. È il nostro abisso. Ed in questo senso, esaminare l’inferno è un viaggio di andata e ritorno dentro di sé. Se si è abbastanza equilibrati ed onesti, si accettano i propri abissi e si gestiscono. Solo così possiamo, ogni mattina, riaprire gli occhi, riuscire a riveder le stelle, considerato i giorni che stiamo attualmente vivendo.”  –Massimo Grieco, in an interview with Lorenzo Calafiore, “Da Itaca all’Inferno. Lorenzo Calafiore dialoga con i Grieco Brothers,” Insula europea (25 March 2020)

The Grotte di Pertosa-Auletta have also served as the backdrop to immersive, ambulatory performances by the troupe Tappeto Volante, directed by Domenico M. Corrado (see post here).

Recent Dante Citings

Categories

Submit a Sighting

All submissions will be considered for posting. Bibliographic references and scholarly essays are also welcome for consideration.

How to Cite

Coggeshall, Elizabeth, and Arielle Saiber, eds. Dante Today: Citings and Sightings of Dante’s Works in Contemporary Culture. Website. Access date.

Creative