The play begins on the banks of the Tiber river, where Costantino (Constantine) is about to fight the usurper Massenzio (Maxentius), son of Massimiano (Maximian), whose crown he stole. The Sky opens, and Religion appears to announce Costantino’s victory to him. Costantino promises to avenge his sister Costanza (Constantia), who was betrayed by Licinio (Licinius): the latter was supposed to marry her and make her queen of Orient, but he joined the enemy. In Rome, Arsace passes on Costantino’s offer of peace to Massimiano, who rejects them. Fausta, Massimiano’s daughter, announces her brother’s defeat: her father asks her to swear fealty to the winner. Arsace, whom the audience believed to be in love with Fausta, gives unclear reasons to explain that he cannot love her. During a triumphant procession, the legitimate Emperor moves with the chariot of Fama (Renown), pulled by winged horses; then Fama promises Costantino victory. When the latter makes a speech to the Romans to bring them peace, Fausta throws herself at his feet. In the procession, Planco, Costanza’s servant, is looking for Licinio. Thanks to a portrait, he recognises Arsace as his mistress’ future husband. Convinced that Licinio betrayed her, Costanza promises that she will take revenge on him. Informed by Planco, Costanza pretends not to have recognised Licinio—she wants to feel just how badly she was betrayed. Licinio is won by love and reveals himself to her; he manages to make her reconcile with him: she suggests that she remains hidden before she is certain that her brother will be merciful. Drusilla learns from Planco that Costantino no longer has a wife, and that he can therefore become Fausta’s lover. But Massimiliano despairs and asks his daughter to avenge her dead brother by leading Costantino into a trap, at which point Arsace will kill him; then, he promises to marry his daughter with the murderer. Fausta refuses; Costantino finds her as she is crying. When he tells her that he wishes everyone could unite thanks to his peace proposal, she lets him know that his father left to cry from sorrow. He asks her to take him to her father, insistent despite Fausta’s vague warnings. In the forest, Massimiano is waiting for Costantino; he is with Arsace, who vainly tries to talk him into choosing peace. Costantino arrives with Fausta. As he is about to embrace the defeated king, conspirators ambuscade him. Arsace intervenes to save him; so does Fausta. Not knowing who to believe in this confusing situation, Costantino sends the three suspects to prison. When he tries to find out who the culprits are, Costantino reconciles with Arsace, whom he recognises as Licinio. But Costanza, convinced that her husband betrayed her with Fausta, wants him dead. Announcing that Massimiano is threatening his own daughter as punishment for having saved Costantino, Drusilla tells Costanza the truth. Fausta flees into the forest, looking for her father who went insane. She manages to control him, then denounces herself to Costantino. In the dungeons of the place, Arsace is locked up; Costanza meets him there. Suspecting that the two conspirators, Arsace and Fausta, are meeting, Costantino walks in on them: Costanza, leaving the prison, throws herself at his feet to tell him the truth. In the final scene, Costantino is accompanied by a procession and celebrates peace; he gives up his plan to take revenge. The play ends with two marriages, and Massimiano is said to be on the run. Then, Faith appears, surrounded by the Liberal arts.

"On foot and by rod" puppet

Marionette with counterweight

Not specified

Ottoboni Pietro

Italy

Rome

Printed

Faith

Emperor

Ancient history

Usurper

Roman History

Fantasy

Edifying

Heroic

Il Costantino pio (1710), title page

Italian

Sister

Servant

Lady-in-waiting

Music

Chorus

Interlude

Play in verse

Disguised character (false identity)

Revelation

Vision

Miracle

Monologue

Allegory

Apparition of an angel

Procession

Attempted assassination

Crowd

Running away

Flying machine

Apparition

Clouds

Apotheosis

Il Costantino Pio

Constantine the Pious

The shepherd Mitridate took Elcino in and raised him as the brother of his daughter Erenia. Erenia’s love for Arsace, Artemio’s son, and the love of Sandane, Artemio’s daughter, for Elcino are disrupted by the hatred opposing their families. Mitridate tells Erenia that, years before, the King Astiage (Astyages) entrusted Arpago with getting rid of his grandson Ciro (Cyrus) because of a dream. Alone, Erenia remembers that her mother gave birth to a stillborn child, and that his father substituted Elcino for him, caring for him as for his own son. Owing to their love for their respective sisters, Arsace and Elcino reconcile. At the palace, Astiage, suspecting Arpago of not having fulfilled his task, pretends to feel remorse and to wish that Ciro could come back to life. Arpago, Mitridate and Erenia rejoice at this change of heart, and decide to present Elcino to the king: they organise a sacrifice during which Astiage feels drawn to Elcino. To warn him against the tyrant, Mitridate tells Elcino the story of Ciro: the young man decides to take revenge on behalf of the child. When Sandane walks in on him, she confesses her love to him. The act ends with a dance of temple guards. In the forest, Astiage rushes to Erenia’s rescue, as she is being chased by a wild beast. To take revenge for Elcino’s severity toward Arsace, she tells him that the young man is not her brother, and she promises to bring him the baby blanket with which he was found. Elcino, who came back to his flocks, has grand dreams. He is invited to eat with the king, and Arpago tells him that Ciro is alive. Seeing the baby blanket, Astiage understands who Elcino is, and he appeals to the goddesses for revenge. To avenge himself of Arpago’s poor services, the tyrant has him drink a cup filled with his son’s blood; he also sends Elcino to prison. The sky darkens, the sea becomes turbulent, and furies come out of clouds and begin to dance. Sandane worries about her lover’s fate. When she sees him in chains, they exchange vows quickly before Elcino is taken back to his dungeon. Erenia, overcome with guilt, tells Sandane about Ciro’s identity, and she declares her Queen. Astiage declares his love to Sandane: she rejects him and asks to die by her husband’s side, which sparks Astiage’s jealousy. The tyrant decides to set Ciro on fire before his wife’s eyes; but the guards have stopped obeying him. In the meantime, Arsace and Arpago have freed Elcino, who is now arriving with the conspirators. He learns about his true identity from Sandane, and takes the tyrant’s place. Erenia confesses to her father that she betrayed him and revealed Ciro’s identity to the King: he forgives her, because she allowed for fates to be accomplished. The play ends with Ciro’s accession: he ascends the throne accompanied by Sandane.

Tyrant

Child abandonment

Conjuration

Magnanimity

Prophetic dream

Anthropophagy

Pastoral

Pietro Ottoboni, Il Ciro, 1712 (title page)

King

Captain

Father

Shepherd

Young woman

Prince

Expository scene

Account of a dream

Invisible force

Hunting scene

Board meeting

Apparition of demons

Destruction of set elements

Thunderbolt

Release of a prisoner

Scene in the dark

Love rivalry

Scene of recognition

Change of social status

Final wedding

Il Ciro

Cyrus

After the death of his father (a miller), Casperl inherits his old cat Muzl, who is no other than a naturalist magician turned into an animal for having questioned creationism: he has been sentenced to live as a cat until he has eaten the giant Lüpel. Muzl introduces Casperl to the local lord by making Casperl bring him rabbits and partridges, for the Lord loves them to the point of not eating anything else. However, Lüpel asks for the hand of Lord Rosalinde’s daughter through the intervention of the chamberlain Gummielastico. Rosalinde refuses and Lüpel turns Gummielastico into a rubber ball. Muzl offers his services to Lüpel and advises him to transform into a mouse to slip inside Rosalinde’s house. The giant transforms and Muzl eats him. Casperl marries the princess.

String marionette

Young audiences

Pocci Franz von

Germany

Munich

Last will

Miller

Magic

Biology

Creation of the world

Homunculus

Hypochondria

Melancholy

Paranoia

Politics

Nature

Rabbit

Partridge

Wedding

Beer

Satirical

Illustration by Franz von Pocci for the edition of the play in 1862

German

Lord

Gamekeeper

Physician

Kasperl

Giant

Valet

Donkey

Teacher

Talking animal

Hidden character

Address to the public

Letter

Argument

Brawl

Song

Parodic trial

Sung scenes

Instrumental tune

Word for another

Parody of formal language

Metamorphosis

Muzl, der gestiefelte Kater

Muzl, the Puss in Boots

In the Valais canton, the sun rises over a pathway and a small wooden house. The mountains appear in the background. It is spring; the goatherd’s horn can be heard in the valley and the goats come running. The village of Savièze comes to life: the girls riding on mules’ backs go to work in the vineyard, two women are chatting, the pigs try to run away from the farmers,… A family of English tourists goes on a walk guided by Lord Quick, who is leading his daughters as a shepherd guides his flock… A storm breaks out in the valley, forcing the tourists, the shepherds and the animals to seek shelter. After the storm, the hikers finish climbing the high mountain and a chamois hunt resumes. Bells and prayers can be heard as a procession slowly walks towards the old chapel of Savièze: the women, the penitents, the priests, the altar children and the elderly are all part of it. The village finally celebrates Christmas before falling asleep under the snow.

Shadow theatre

All audiences

Switzerland

Geneva

Printed outline

Mountain

Seasons

Storm

Bucolic

Christmas

Alps

Tourism

Realist

Lyrical

Comical

Outline of Henri van Muyden's Goatherd for En Valais, copied in Le Sapajou.

French

Goat

Tourist

English man

Painter

Bull

Porcher

Hunter

Chamois

Daughter

Penitent

Choirboy

Old man

Priest

Boniment

Comical foreign accent

En Valais

Three women – young Janet, her mother, and her grandmother – take refuge in a stable while a storm and the temptations of St. Anthony are raging outside. Janet asks in vain to be explained what these temptations are. Saint Anthony (called Anthony Perkins) is in a cell and only has his Halo, his Clock, and his Calendar as friends. He prays to Zeus to send him temptations, for they never reach him. Time flies, and he ends up dying of boredom. Shortly after Anthony’s death, the now old Queen of Sheba enters his cell, accompanied by Gustave Flaubert. The Queen of Sheba dies, disappointed that she could not tempt Anthony. Flaubert asks two eunuchs to bury them. Cleo di Patra appears in the sky, surrounded by angels. The play ends with a great ballet and a funeral cortege.

Craig Edward Gordon

Marina di Pisa

Waiting

Temptation

Desappointment

Lust

Chastity

Hermit

English

Saint Anthony the Great

Clock

Gustave Flaubert

Old woman

Queen of Sheba

Cleopatra

Angel

Black Man

Domestic servant

Eunuch

Stormy scene

Reading aloud

Object coming to life

Speeding up of time

Death on stage

Avista

Ballet

Current affairs

The Temptation of St Anthony

La Tentation de saint Antoine

The play starts with the initial call of the town crier announcing the arrival, early in the morning, of the dulcian player. The bell is rung three times to catch people’s attention and the dulcian player plays his first notes: the first parade of the festival begins. Then the mayor makes a speech inviting everyone to come to the celebration. The town crier then introduces the procession of Sant Antoni (Saint Anthony), with the dance “dels cavallets” (the “little horses”, or skirted hobby horses). The fishmonger then announces the Saint’s celebration, by imitating the sermon of the priest using a hagiographic tone. Then, interrupting the procession, the devil appears and incites everyone to follow him, but the angel appears and fights the Devil: the procession resumes. Then the “Cabut” (a big head) invites people to dance with other big heads and with giants to the sound of the dulcians. Once the march is over and people have returned to the main square, the town crier shouts and the bull is released (the effigy of a bull mounted on wheels), the balls fixated on the bull’s horns are set on fire and all the other rituals surrounding the ancestral rite of the “toro embolat” (the burning bull) begin, as the music of the dulcians still plays. The show and the festive episode itself end with the town crier announcing the final dance, which can be accompanied by songs and a bonfire.

Actor and puppet

Costume puppet

Giant puppet

Skirted hobby horse

Spain

Villarreal

Tales

Street theatre

Popular festival

Traditional music

Cult of the saints

Religious

Cover page of the edition of El dolçainer de Tales. Xarxa Teatre. Castelló: Diputació de Castelló, 1987.