| Opera dei Pupi | |
|---|---|
 Pupi marionettes in Catania | |
| Medium | Marionette theatre |
| Originating culture | Sicilian |
| Opera dei Pupi, Sicilian puppet theatre | |
|---|---|
| Country | Italy |
| Reference | 00011 |
| Region | Europe and North America |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 2008 (3rd session) |
| List | Representative |
The Opera dei Pupi (Sicilian: opra î pupi in Palermo, Sicilian: opira î pupi in Catania;[1] "Opera of the Puppets") is a marionette theatrical representation of Frankish romantic poems traditionally performed in Sicily, Italy.
Inscribed in the UNESCO's List of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2001, it dates back to the third decade of the nineteenth century,[2] and was particularly successful among the middle and lower classes, becoming one of Sicily's most significant expressions of history and cultural identity.
The puppeteers (named pupari) animate the puppets to represent episodes of serialized stories derived from epic-chivalric literature of medieval origin, with particular reference to the Carolingian cycle; and in a more limited manner, from the Arthurian novels. All these stories were elaborated in The History of the Paladins of France, written by Giusto Lo Dico, that is a "compilation of the Italian chivalric poems of the Renaissance in which the French literature of the Middle Ages was freely modified".[3] Published in handouts since 1858, the work written in prose brings together and re-elaborates the poems of cultured literature such as Orlando innamorato, Orlando Furioso and Gerusalemme Liberata.
The traditional repertoire of the shows also include historical-romantic narratives, stories of brigands, works by William Shakespeare such as Romeo and Juliette and Macbeth, and short farces.[4]
- ^ Perricone, Rosario, I ferri dell'Opra. Il teatro delle marionette siciliane, in G. Liotta G., G. Azzaroni G. (edited by), «Antropologia e Teatro», n. 4. Bologna: Dipartimento delle Arti – Alma Studiorum – University of Bologna, 2013. pp. 210–234. Retrieved in April 2022.
- ^ Perricone, Rosario (2021). Plan of Measures for the Safeguarding of the Opera dei Pupi, Sicilian Pupept Theatre. Palermo: Edizioni Museo Pasqualino. p. 208. ISBN 979-12-80664-10-5.
- ^ Perricone, Rosario (2013). I ferri dell'Opra. Il teatro delle marionette siciliane, op. cit. p. 211.[full citation needed]
- ^ Pasqualino, Antonio (2003). The Sicilian Puppets. Palermo: Associazione per la conservazione delle tradizioni popolari. p. 31.