LA MUETTE GOES SILENT PAVLOVA DANCING TO THE CAMERA (THE DUMB GIRL OF PORTICI, 1916) The recent dvd release (2016) of The Dumb Girl of Portici - for too long out of distribution and out of favor- leads us to new questions about the director Lois Weber and her spectacular didacticism in this silent adaption of a XIXth century grand opéra. My presentation will explore the migration of the theatrical imaginary to the screen, from the lavish libretto and melodramatic effects on its early twentieth-century spectator. As Weber said, her “ideal picture entertainment” was “a well assorted shelf of books come to life”. The portrayal of a mute girl in Auber’s masterpiece, where dance was a major part of the opera, is fortuitously carried over to silent film where Weber - a former singer and soon to be the most prolific producer in Hollywood - gives a voice to the voiceless: Masaniello, the Neapolitan people and the dumb girl Fenella. Counting on the famed Anna Pavlova, Weber used her musical acting style, her ephemeral, sublime art, as well as Pavlova’s stardom as a prima ballerina, which unlike for movie actresses, was earned night after night, theater after theater. Onstage and on-screen “Pavlova’s mute performances created mirrorlike intermediality, reflecting one another and Pavlova herself” (Simonson, 2013). Furthermore, Weber brought a new standard of naturalism to the previous theatrical plot, often receiving criticism for using motion pictures as a didactical and political tool. Her aspirations, as she said, were to direct movies “that will have an influence for good on the public mind” (Photoplay, 1913).
LO IACONO, C. (In corso di stampa). La Muette Goes Silent. Pavlova Dancing to the Camera (The Dumb Girl of Portici, 1916). In FROM SPECTACLE TO ENTERTAINMENT.
La Muette Goes Silent. Pavlova Dancing to the Camera (The Dumb Girl of Portici, 1916)
CONCETTA LO IACONO
In corso di stampa
Abstract
LA MUETTE GOES SILENT PAVLOVA DANCING TO THE CAMERA (THE DUMB GIRL OF PORTICI, 1916) The recent dvd release (2016) of The Dumb Girl of Portici - for too long out of distribution and out of favor- leads us to new questions about the director Lois Weber and her spectacular didacticism in this silent adaption of a XIXth century grand opéra. My presentation will explore the migration of the theatrical imaginary to the screen, from the lavish libretto and melodramatic effects on its early twentieth-century spectator. As Weber said, her “ideal picture entertainment” was “a well assorted shelf of books come to life”. The portrayal of a mute girl in Auber’s masterpiece, where dance was a major part of the opera, is fortuitously carried over to silent film where Weber - a former singer and soon to be the most prolific producer in Hollywood - gives a voice to the voiceless: Masaniello, the Neapolitan people and the dumb girl Fenella. Counting on the famed Anna Pavlova, Weber used her musical acting style, her ephemeral, sublime art, as well as Pavlova’s stardom as a prima ballerina, which unlike for movie actresses, was earned night after night, theater after theater. Onstage and on-screen “Pavlova’s mute performances created mirrorlike intermediality, reflecting one another and Pavlova herself” (Simonson, 2013). Furthermore, Weber brought a new standard of naturalism to the previous theatrical plot, often receiving criticism for using motion pictures as a didactical and political tool. Her aspirations, as she said, were to direct movies “that will have an influence for good on the public mind” (Photoplay, 1913).I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
