Lava ribollente nel sottosuolo. Il Čechov di Visconti nella cultura italiana del Novecento

Abstract

Anton Chekhov is one of the most emblematic figures in the history of theatre. His plays were among the most frequently performed plays during the Twentieth century. The reception of his plays has forged a theatrical genotype that would have led to misunderstandings or altered his assimilation in an instrumental way. But it is in the very nature of the theatre to provoke, disorient, wink, mock, etc., in order to increase the audience’s attention. The lines of Trofimov from The Cherry Orchard have engraved an indelible mark in the audiences of an entire century and beyond, like a boiling lava. Through the analysis of different productions of Chekhov’s plays on various stages, the essay highlights the debates and cultural tensions in the Italian Novecento, which coincided with one of the most significant breaks in Italian political history: the fall of Fascism (1943-1945) and the subsequent emergence of the Italian Communist Party’s cultural program in the 1950s, of which Luchino Visconti became a symbol.