Due commedie dialettali in prosa del settecento nella biblioteca nazionale della Valletta

Abstract

In MS 128 at the Maltese National Library are two Commedia dell’Arte plays, typical of dialectical comedy in prose. The first one, entitled Le Trame scoverte dalla finta fata was written in 1761 by Francesco Coscia, a Neapolitan comedian of the San Carlino Theatre. The second play, Il Procuratore, the exact date of which is still unfortunately unknown, was written by Fr’Antonio Corogna, who together with his brother was in 1746 a Conventual Parish Priest (cappellano conventuale) of the Church of France and a contemporary of Coscia. Coscia’s 3 act play was written on the occasion of the birthday of Grand Master Pinto and is preceded by a letter of dedication and by a prologue written in encomiastic poetry. In the second play, Corogna exalts the name of the Grand Master wishing him a long and happy rule over the Maltese Islands. The characters in both plays are almost all taken from real life and even the most inconspicuous have their say, with the latter, as is the case in most Neapolitan plays, usually speak dialect and are the most popular and the most successful.