BOOK REVIEW. ROBERTO DE SIMONE AND THE DRAMATURGY OF MEMORY: TRADITION, RITUAL, AND THEATRE IN CONTEMPORARY ITALY
BOOK REVIEW. ROBERTO DE SIMONE AND THE DRAMATURGY OF MEMORY: TRADITION, RITUAL, AND THEATRE IN CONTEMPORARY ITALY

Summary/Abstract: This review examines Roberto De Simone’s central role in Italian and European theatre of the late Twentieth century, emphasizing his interdisciplinary integration of ethnomusicology, composition, dramaturgy, and stage direction. In particular it highlights Roberto De Simone. La scuola, il teatro, la tradizione, edited by Daniela Tortora and published by LIM in 2025, as a major contribution to the critical reassessment of De Simone’s artistic and intellectual legacy. The study focuses on his systematic reconfiguration of Neapolitan musical theatre through the creative re-elaboration of oral traditions, understood as dynamic cultural processes rather than static archival materials. Particular attention is given to his shift from ethnographic documentation to theatrical invention, positioning his practice within broader European debates on postmodernism, intertextuality, and the stratification of cultural memory. Key works such as La gatta Cenerentola, Mistero napoletano, and Opera buffa del Giovedì Santo are discussed as paradigmatic examples of his polyphonic dramaturgy, in which ritual, music, and theatre converge.

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