Baroque Modernity: An Aesthetics of Theater

A groundbreaking study on the role of baroque theater in shaping modernist philosophy, literature, and performance. The book explores how the memory of seventeenth-century baroque stages influenced the development of new forms of theater, space, and experience around the turn of the twentieth century. It focuses on avant-gardists whose writing combines theory and performance, including Friedrich Nietzsche, Stéphane Mallarmé, Walter Benjamin, and Gertrude Stein. By reexamining the twentieth century's engagements with seventeenth-century predecessors, the book delineates an enduring tradition of baroque performance that resonates into the twenty-first century.

Format: Hardback
Length: 320 pages
Publication date: 16 November 2021
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press

A groundbreaking exploration into the profound influence of baroque theater on modernist philosophy, literature, and performance emerges in the pages of this seminal work. Recognized as a finalist for the Outstanding Book Award by the Association for Theatre in Higher Education, it received an honorable mention for the Balakian Prize by the International Comparative Literature Association, securing the Helen Tartar Book Subvention Award from the American Comparative Literature Association. Additionally, it reached the final stage of the MSA First Book Prize by the Modernist Studies Association.

Baroque style, characterized by its extravagant display of ornamentation, grandeur, and spectacle, may have seemed at odds with the dominant artistic forms since the Industrial Revolution. However, between 1875 and 1935, a remarkable connection emerged between European and American modernists and the theater. In his insightful book, Baroque Modernity, Joseph Cermatori argues that the memory of seventeenth-century baroque stages played a crucial role in shaping new theatrical forms, spatial experiences, and philosophical ideas around the turn of the twentieth century.

At the heart of this study lies a focus on avant-garde writers and thinkers who bridged the gap between theory and performance. Philosophical theater-makers and theatrical philosophers such as Friedrich Nietzsche, Stéphane Mallarmé, Walter Benjamin, and Gertrude Stein are explored in depth, as their works intertwine with the remnants of seventeenth-century theater. Cermatori skillfully navigates between the pages of literature and the stage, tracing the echoes of the past through modernist aesthetics across a diverse range of materials, including modern opera, Bertolt Brecht's Epic Theater, poetic tragedies, and miracle plays. By reexamining the twentieth century's engagements with Gianlorenzo Bernini, William Shakespeare, Claudio Monteverdi, Calderón de la Barca, and other seventeenth-century predecessors, the book unveils an enduring tradition of baroque influence that continues to resonate in contemporary artistic practices.

In conclusion, Baroque Modernity offers a profound and captivating exploration of the intricate relationship between baroque theater and modernist aesthetics. Through its meticulous research, insightful analysis, and interdisciplinary approach, this book sheds light on the ways in which the memory of the past continues to shape our understanding of art, philosophy, and performance in the present. It is a testament to the enduring power of cultural heritage and the transformative potential of artistic exploration.

Weight: 552g
Dimension: 158 x 235 x 27 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781421441528