Declinations of chorality in the work of Samuel Beckett

DOI: https://doi.org/10.6093/sigma.v0i8.11477
Keywords: Samuel Beckett, chorality, theatre, drama, teleplay

Abstract

The essay reconstructs the oscillations through which chorality – understood according to the meaning borrowed from Jean-Pierre Sarrazac – is exercised in Samuel Beckett’s work, notably in Play, Come and Go, and Quad. In Play the voices of W1, W2 and M proceed by alternating solos except for the choruses, in which the spotlight-directed polyphony acquires its own character of simultaneity. Flo, Vi and Ru in Come and Go weave their scenic-vocal score in the rituality of a disseminated trio, destined to break up and recompose. Finally, from the combinatory trajectories of Quad emerges a mute chorality expressed by choreographic formulas that are accompanied by percussive musical sounds.

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Author Biography

Grazia D’Arienzo, University of Salerno

Grazia D’Arienzo is a researcher in Performing Arts at the University of Salerno. She has been a visiting researcher at the Universidad de Zaragoza. She is the author of Renato Carpentieri. L’attore, il regista, il dramaturg (Napoli, Liguori, 2018) and Rimediazioni. L’eredità beckettiana nel teatro digitale (1995-2009) (Torino, Accademia University Press, 2024), a finalist for the “Opera Critica” Prize in 2021. She edited the volume Hypokritès Teatro Studio fra scena, performance e territorio (Grottaminarda, Delta 3, 2020). She is a member of the editorial board of the journal Rifrazioni/Sinestesieonline. Her research interests focus on Samuel Beckett’s theater, the tangencies between stage and technology, and the history of actors and actresses between the 19th and 20th centuries.

Published
2024-12-28
How to Cite
D’ArienzoG. (2024). Declinations of chorality in the work of Samuel Beckett. SigMa - Rivista Di Letterature Comparate, Teatro E Arti Dello Spettacolo, (8), 39-53. https://doi.org/10.6093/sigma.v0i8.11477
Issue
No 8 (2024): Simultaneity and polyphony. Choir voices in contemporary drama and the arts
Section
Sezione monografica
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