Theatre
Historically,
the Zakynthian people have had a very close relationship with the
theatre exemplified by the contribution of important local playwrights
to the history of Greek theatre and the presence of a large number of
theatre buildings on the island. However, most remarkable is the
production of the outdoor people’s theatre called Homilies that stretch
back several centuries until the present day.
In Zakynthos, formal theatrical activity seems to have begun as early as the 16th century with the small scale production of Persians by Aeschylus in 1571 in the Kastro overlooking Zakynthos Town to celebrate the Battle of Lepanto. In 1637, Erofili by the Cretan writer, George Hortatsis was performed in Zakynthos and from around 1647 the religious drama Evyena (Eugena)
written by Zakynthian Theodore Montselese. Surprisingly, it showed few
influences of the Cretan Renaissance and contained elements of
Zakynthian dialect. However, after the conquest of Crete by the Ottoman
Empire in 1669, the intellectual centre of the Greeks moved to the
Ionian islands; and as a consequence, many of the theatrical elements of
the Cretan Renaissance were transferred to islands like Zakynthos.
Gradually, with the influx of Cretan refugees and influenced by the Italian Commedia dell’Arte, Homilies
were performed during Carnival in public places by male actors and
singers. Almost all of the Homilies were written and spoken in political
verse couplets with significant improvisation during the performance.
Homilies also acted as a vehicle for the common people to satirise and
lampoon the upper classes. Some of the best surviving historical
examples include the People of Yannina by Ioannis Kantounis (1731-1817) and the People of the Morea by Savoyas Rousmelis (c. 18th century). Rousmelis also wrote, The Comedy of Quack Doctors in 1745.
Probably the most famous Omilia, O Hasis (The Loser) was
written Dimitrios Gouzelis in 1795. Written in rhymed political verse
with significant Zakynthian idiomatic expressions it portrays the
typical Zakynthian in several comic situations. Gouzelis also wrote for
the ‘learned theatre’.
Regarding the more learned theatre for aristocratic and later
bourgoise audiences, in 1683 there is evidence of a performance of Zeno
in Zakynthos. The first theatre building was constructed in the Kastro
in 1728. It had 300 seats and was funded by Venetian officials and
Zakynthian nobles. Performances were held until 1790 when many buildings
in the Kastro were abandoned for Zakynthos Town below. In 1780, a
second theatre was constructed and stood in front of today's National
Bank of Greece building. The Nobile Societa Fillodrammatica del Zante
was founded in 1813 which later requested the British administration
permission for land to build the fourth theatre in Zakynthos, the Teatro
dei Filopatrii. It was built near the prewar Nomarchia building. Given
this theatre often served the patriotic purposes of the Greek War of
Independence it was dissolved immediately after the Greek revolt of
1821. Importantly, this theatre starred a female actress, Aikaterini
Viagini.
The sixth Zakynthian theater was constructed by a group called the
Company of Nobles and it was called, Theater Ada. It was demolished in
1834 for unknown reasons. In 1836, the Italian Giuseppe Camilieri with
the assistance of wealthy locals created the seventh Zakynthian theater
called Apollo. The theatre building was situated in front of the
present-day Phoenix Hotel and staged many important theatrical and
operatic premieres.
In 1859, Antonios Matesis wrote the Vasilikos which became one
of the most emblematic pieces of the Heptanesian School of the
Literature. Written in demotic Greek rather than the puristic Greek
often popular at the time; interestingly, it was probably the first
Greek drama to contain social content.
In 1875, the Municipal Theatre was built and was designed by the
famous German architect, Ernst Ziller. It was destroyed in the 1953
earthquake.
Marika Kotopouli, Greek actress of 20th century playing Stella Violanti
Gregorios Xenopoulos (1867–1951) came to prominence towards the end
of the 19th century. He was one of the most prominent playwrights from
Zakynthos and a towering figure in modern Greek literature. He was also a
novelist and journalist. As well as being a writer he was lead editor
in the now-legendary magazine The Education of Children during the
period from 1896 to 1948 and he was also the founder and editor of the
Nea Estia magazine, which is still published. He became a member of the
Academy of Athens in 1931, and founded the Society of Greek Writers
together with Kostis Palamas, Angelos Sikelianos and Nikos Kazantzakis.
Although born in Constantinople. His father, Dionysios, hailed from
Zakynthos and his mother, Evlalia came from Constantinople. The family
moved to Zakynthos soon after, where Gregorios spent his youth until
1883, when he enrolled in the University of Athens.
Xenopoulos's most famous theatrical plays are The Secret of Countess Valerena (1904) and Stella Violanti
(1909). The most common subject of his plays was love but often cloaked
with a social message. He attempted to balance between the Ionian
School and the New Athenian School. Many of his early plays were set in
Zakynthos and are regularly revived in theatres across Greece and
several have been adapted for the cinema and television. Xenopoulos also
wrote many novels and short stories which were also set in Zakynthos.
They are covered above.
The unbroken tradition of Homilies continues to the present day; and
like they have done for centuries, Zakynthians continue to lampoon local
and nationwide figures.
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