Silvio D'Amico (3 February 1887 in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus ( legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
– 1 April 1955 in Rome) was an Italian theatre critic, journalist, and theorist of Italian theater. Not a
Fascist
Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the ...
himself, D'Amico was the major theater critic during the ''ventennio'',
the twenty years (1922-1945) of Fascist rule in Italy. He was the first editor of the nine volume ''Enciclopedia dello Spettacolo'' (''
Encyclopedia of Performing Arts''),
published between 1954 and 1965, that covered theater, music, cinema, and dance. Most notably, he held an eminent position in theatrical study in Italy, giving his name to the
Silvio D'Amico National Academy of Dramatic Art
Accademia Nazionale d'Arte Drammatica Silvio D'Amico (translation: Silvio d'Amico National Academy of Dramatic Arts) is a national drama school in Rome, Italy. Founded in 1936 by the theatrical theorist, critic, and writer Silvio D'Amico, the a ...
in Rome, Italy's most prestigious drama school.
Biography
A Catholic, D'Amico was educated by Jesuits at Rome's
Massimiliano Massimo Institute
The Massimiliano Massimo Institute (''Istituto Massimiliano Massimo'') is a Jesuit school in Rome. It is considered one of the most prestigious and exclusive schools in Rome. The school, with over 10,000 former students, has one of the most prest ...
. After graduating in law in 1911, he was appointed to the Ministry of Education to the Directorate General for Antiquities and Fine Arts. In 1923, he became professor of theater history in the Royal School of Acting "Eleonora Duse." He met Duse when he was young and ambitious, a time when D'Amico wanted to create an Italian national theatre that produced works of young Italian playwrights.
Between 1925 and 1940, he directed dramatic criticism in the ''
La Tribune
''La Tribune'' () is a French weekly financial newspaper founded in 1985 by Bruno Bertez. Its main competitor is the French newspaper '' Les Échos'', which is currently owned by LVMH.
From 1993 to 2007, ''La Tribune'' was part of LVMH. In 2010 ...
'' newspaper. With
Nicola De Pirro, he founded the magazine ''
Scenario
In the performing arts, a scenario (, ; ; ) is a synoptical collage of an event or series of actions and events. In the ''commedia dell'arte'', it was an outline of entrances, exits, and action describing the plot of a play, and was literally p ...
'' in 1932 and they directed it together for three years, after which De Pirro continued alone.
In 1934, he was appointed Special Commissioner for the reform of the drama school in Rome, and the following year, he became the head of the
Accademia Nazionale di Arte Drammatica Silvio D'Amico[Witt, p. 21] which, since the 1940s, has taught many of Italy's most successful actors. In the years after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, he devoted most of his time at the academy.
From 1937 to 1943, he directed the ''
Rivista italiana del Dramma'', published by the
Società Italiana degli Autori ed Editori
SIAE ( en, Italian Society of Authors and Publishers, Italian: Società Italiana degli Autori ed Editori) is the Italian copyright collecting agency. Founded in 1882 in the Kingdom of Italy, it is the monopolist intermediary between the auth ...
. From 1945 to 1955, he was the critic of ''
Il Tempo
''Il Tempo'' (meaning ''Time'' in English) is a daily Italian newspaper published in Rome, Italy.
History and profile
''Il Tempo'' was founded in Rome by Renato Angiolillo in 1944. At the initial phase the newspaper was a conservative publica ...
''. He was a major contributor to the ''
Teatro del Novecento
Teatro may refer to:
* Theatre
* Teatro (band), musical act signed to Sony BMG
* ''Teatro'' (Willie Nelson album), 1998
* ''Teatro'' (Draco Rosa album), 2008
{{disambiguation ...
'' encyclopedia, contributing to 11 of its volumes.
D'Amico championed the works of the Italian
drama
Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...
tist,
novelist
A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while othe ...
, and short story writer
Luigi Pirandello
Luigi Pirandello (; 28 June 1867 – 10 December 1936) was an Italian dramatist, novelist, poet, and short story writer whose greatest contributions were his plays. He was awarded the 1934 Nobel Prize in Literature for "his almost magical power ...
.
In turn, Pirandello spoke of D'Amico as "the priest".
Personal life
He had at least two children. A son, Fedele D'Amico (nickname: Lele), who was a musicologist, married the Italian screenwriter,
Suso Cecchi d'Amico
Suso Cecchi D'Amico (21 July 1914 – 31 July 2010) was an Italian screenwriter and actress. She won the 1980 David di Donatello Award for lifetime career. She worked with virtually all of the most celebrated post-war Italian film directors, and ...
, in 1938.
Another son, Alessandro d'Amico, married Pirandello's granddaughter, Maria Luisa Aguirre.
D'Amico's brother, Mario, worked on the ''Enciclopedia'' with him.
He died in Rome in April 1955. At the news of his death, the theaters of the capital remained closed for mourning.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:D'Amico, Silvio
1887 births
1955 deaths
Historians of theatre
Italian male journalists
Italian theatre critics
Writers from Rome
Italian Roman Catholics
Italian encyclopedists
20th-century Italian journalists
Academic staff of the Accademia Nazionale di Arte Drammatica Silvio D'Amico
20th-century Italian male writers