''The Jester's Supper'' (Italian:''La cena delle beffe'') is a historical play by the Italian writer

Sem Benelli Sem Benelli (August 10, 1877 – December 18, 1949) was an Italian playwright, essayist and librettist. He provided the texts for several noted Italian operas, including Italo Montemezzi's '' L'amore dei tre re'' and ''L'incantesimo'', and Umber ...

, which was first staged in 1909. The work is inspired by a short story from

Antonio Francesco Grazzini Antonio Francesco Grazzini or Antonfrancesco Grazzini (March 22, 1503February 18, 1584) was an Italian Renaissance author." Biography He was born in Florence or in Staggia Senese (he wrote of himself: ') of a good family, but there is no record ...

's ''Le Cene'' (I, 3). In 1910 Sara Bernhardt played in "La Beffa" (adapted by Jean Richepin) the role of Gianetto Malespini. In 1919 the play was put on in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, under the name ''The Jest'', adapted by Edward Sheldon, at Broadway's Plymouth Theatre. The play portrays a violent and cruel rivalry in the

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

Lorenzo the Magnificent Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici (), known as Lorenzo the Magnificent (; 1 January 1449 – 9 April 1492), was an Italian statesman, the '' de facto'' ruler of the Florentine Republic, and the most powerful patron of Renaissance culture in Italy. Lo ...

. This production starred

John Barrymore John Barrymore (born John Sidney Blyth; February 14 or 15, 1882 – May 29, 1942) was an American actor on stage, screen, and radio. A member of the Drew and Barrymore theatrical families, he initially tried to avoid the stage, and briefly a ...

and

Lionel Barrymore Lionel Barrymore (born Lionel Herbert Blyth; April 28, 1878 – November 15, 1954) was an American actor of stage, screen and radio as well as a film director. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in '' A Free Soul'' (1931) ...

. They added an element of surprise by exchanging the lead roles on certain nights without alerting the audience.

Adaptations

Opera

The play was the basis for an opera '' La cena delle beffe'' composed by

Umberto Giordano Umberto Menotti Maria Giordano (28 August 186712 November 1948) was an Italian composer, mainly of operas. His best-known work in that genre was Andrea Chénier (1896). He was born in Foggia in Apulia, southern Italy, and studied under Paolo Se ...

with a libretto written by Benelli himself. It premiered at

La Scala La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was Santa Maria della Scala, Milan, a church). The premiere performa ...

on 20 December 1924.

Film

In 1942 the play was adapted as a film, '' The Jester's Supper'', directed by

Alessandro Blasetti Alessandro Blasetti (3 July 1900 – 1 February 1987) was an Italian film director and screenwriter who influenced Italian neorealism with the film ''Four Steps in the Clouds''. Blasetti was one of the leading figures in Italian cinema during the ...

and starring Amedeo Nazzari and

Osvaldo Valenti Osvaldo Valenti (17 February 1906 – 30 April 1945) was an Italian film actor. Valenti starred in several successful Italian movies of the late 1930s and early 1940s, such as the famous ''The Iron Crown'' and '' The Jester's Supper''. He ap ...

.Gundle p.192 It was made at

Cinecittà Cinecittà Studios (; Italian for Cinema City) is a large film studio in Rome, Italy. With an area of 400,000 square metres (99 acres), it is the largest film studio in Europe, and is considered the hub of Italian cinema. The studios were constru ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. The film was a popular success.

References

Bibliography

*Gundle, Stephen. ''Mussolini's Dream Factory: Film Stardom in Fascist Italy''. Berghahn Books, 2013. * Sassoon, Donald. ''Culture of the Europeans: From 1800 to the Present''. Harper Press, 2006. 1909 plays Italian plays adapted into films Plays set in Italy Plays set in the 15th century Plays by Sem Benelli Plays adapted into operas {{1900s-play-stub