Silvio D'Amico (3 February 1887 – 1 April 1955) was an Italian theatre critic, journalist, and theorist of Italian theatre. Not a
Fascist
Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...
himself, D'Amico was the major theatre critic during the ''ventennio'', i.e. 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 theatre, 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 in Rome, Italy's most prestigious drama school.
Biography
A Catholic, D'Amico was educated by Jesuits at Rome's
Massimiliano Massimo Institute. After graduating in law in 1911, he was appointed to the Ministry of Education as the Directorate General for Antiquities and Fine Arts. In 1923, he became a professor of theatre history at 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
() 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, was part of LVMH. In 2010, Alain Weill, the chair ...
'' newspaper. With
Nicola De Pirro, he founded the magazine ''
Scenario
In the performing arts, a scenario (, ; ; from Italian , "that which is pinned to the scenery") 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 actio ...
'' in 1932. 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. The following year, he became the head of the
Accademia Nazionale di Arte Drammatica Silvio D'Amico 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, he devoted most of his time to the academy.
From 1937 to 1943, he directed the ''
Rivista italiana del Dramma'', published by the
Società Italiana degli Autori ed Editori. From 1945 to 1955, he was the critic of ''
Il Tempo
''Il Tempo'' (English: "The Time") is a daily newspaper based in the city of 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 publication and ...
''. He was a major contributor to the ''
Teatro del Novecento'' 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 other ...
, and short story writer
Luigi Pirandello
Luigi Pirandello (; ; 28 June 1867 – 10 December 1936) was an Italians, 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 bold and ...
.
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
Giovanna Cecchi (21 July 1914 – 31 July 2010), known professionally as Suso Cecchi d'Amico, was an Italian screenwriter and actress. She was one of the first female Italian screenwriters and helped pioneer the Italian neorealist movement. Thoug ...
, 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 theatres of the capital remained closed for mourning.
References
Sources
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{{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
Burials at Campo Verano