Argentine: Argentine Theater History

<BODY bgcolor=#ffffff link="#009999" alink="#ffcc00" vlink="#996633" leftmargin=10 topmargin=20> <b>El Sur del Sur <br> The Southernmost South <br> </b><A HREF="../../identidad/indexingles.html" target=_top>Cultural Identity </A> <b><br> </b><B><A HREF="../../identidad/qlteaing.htm" target=_top>THEATER</A> <br> </B><font font color="#996633"><b>Argentine Theater History</b> <br> In 1783 <b>the first House of Comedy</b> was created; the promoter of this enterprise was the <b>Viceroy of Lights</b>, as <b>Viceroy Vértiz</b> was called. The <b>La Ranchería Theater</b> was burnt down in a fire in 1792. Three years before, <b>Siripo</b>, by <b>Manuel José de Lavardén</b> had been premiered there. It is regarded as <b>the first play</b> by a local playwright. Four years after the fire of La Ranchería, a new theater was inaugurated, the <b>Coliseo Provisional</b>, which was considered the theater of the revolution, due perhaps to the closeness of the coming revolution of May, 1810. In that theater,<b> El detalle de la acción de Maipú</b> (<b>The detail of the battle of Maipú</b>) was premiered. The author of this play, which skillfully depicted <b>popular customs</b>, remains unknown.<br> <i>Coat of Arms of Viceroy <br> Juan José de Vértiz y Salcedo.</i> <br> Later on, <b>El hipócrita político (The Hypocritical Politician</b>) was on stage, only the initial letters of its author being known; it was an <b>urban comedy</b>, which reflected the<b> Buenos Aires</b> home of the period. In the same theater,<b> Túpac Amaru (or The revolution of Túpac Amaru)</b>, a <b>tragedy</b> <b>written in verse</b> which is an account of the <b>Indian revolution</b> which took place in 1780 in Tungasuka, Peru.<i><br> </i> In 1884, <b>Juan Moreira,</b> a <b>gauchesco drama</b>, appeared in the form of a pantomime within the circus. This feuilleton by Eduardo Gutiérrez, which was published in a Buenos Aires newspaper, was the basis of the<b> first play of gauchesco drama</b>, which was later completed with texts drawn from the novel (1886). <br> This cycle was closed in 1896, with the premiere of <b>Calandria</b> by <b>Martiniano Leguizamón</b>.<B> <br> <br> </B>By that time, Buenos Aires accommodated a large number of immigrants who arrived in this land in search of a better life. With them and through the Spanish branch, there came the <b>sainete</b> (<b>one-act farce</b>), theatrical style which gave rise to the <b>sainete criollo</b>. At that time, there emerged a group of playwrights who adhered to this style. They told about life in the conventillos (overcrowded tenement houses), in the streets and cafes. Among them, we can mention <b>Roberto L. Cayol, Carlos M. Pacheco, José González Castillo, Alberto Novión and Alberto Vacarezza. </b><br> As from the early 20th century the <b>theatrical activity</b> was intense. Different <b>companies </b>premiered a large number of plays giving rise to the Golden Age. <b>Florencio Sánchez, Gregorio de Laferrere and Roberto J. Payró </b>gave the activity an uncommon creativity. <br> All the styles appeared one by one: the<b> sainete criollo, gauchesco</b>, <b>the comedy of manners</b>; and they reach its highest peak with <b>Armando Discépolo</b>. It was a thirty-year period of numerous dramatists and performers. <br> The photographs in this article have been kindly granted by the <b>National Institute for the Study of Theater.</b> <a href="teain2ig.htm"><b>Continue...</b></a> <b> <a href="curteaig.htm" target=_blank>Osvaldo Calatayud</a></b><BR> <A HREF="../../identidad/indexingles.html" target=_top>Cultural Identity </A><br> <b><a href="../../identidad/qldaning.htm">dance</a> - <a href="../../identidad/qlmusing.htm">music</a> - <a href="../../identidad/qletring.htm">literature</a> - <a href="../../identidad/qlteaing.htm">theatre</a> - <a href="../../identidad/qlcining.htm">cinema</a> - <a href="../../identidad/qldeping.htm">sports</a> - <a href="../../identidad/qlfoling.htm">folklore</a> - <a href="../../identidad/qlarting.htm">fine arts</a> </b> <BR> <A HREF="../../pagina3ingles.html" target=_top>Table of contents </A> <IMG WIDTH=13 HEIGHT=13 BORDER=0 align=absmiddle SRC="../../iconos/bolita.gif"> <A HREF="../../indexingles.html" target=_top> Surfing the South </A> <IMG WIDTH=13 HEIGHT=13 BORDER=0 align=absmiddle SRC="../../iconos/bolita.gif"> <A HREF="#" onClick="MM_openBrWindow('../../contactus.html','','scrollbars=yes,width=400,height=300')"> Contact us now</A> <table border=0 align="center" class="verda1"> <tr> <td align=left> <A HREF="../../identidad/qlteaing.htm" target=_top>Go back</A> </td> <td align=center>  </td> <td align=right> <A HREF="teain2ig.htm">Continue</A> </td> </tr> </table> <br> <a href="index.html" target=_top>Versión en Castellano</a> <BR> <hr> <address>© 1996-2002 Mario E. Farber</address> <address>All rights reserved.</address> <HR> <ADDRESS><A HREF="MAILTO:webmaster@surdelsur.com">webmaster@surdelsur.com</A></ADDRESS> </font></body>