Three Loves for Three Oranges: Gozzi, Meyerhold, Prokofiev, Posner Dassia N., Bartig Kevin

In 1921, Sergei Prokofievs Love for Three Oranges—one of the earliest, most famous examples of modernist opera—premiered in Chicago. Prokofievs source was a 1913 theatrical divertissement by Vsevolod Meyerhold, who, in turn, took inspiration from Carlo Gozzis 1761 commedia dellarte–infused theatrical fairy tale. Only by examining these whimsical, provocative works together can we understand the full significance of their intertwined lineage.

With contributions from 17 distinguished scholars in theater, art history, Italian, Slavic studies, and musicology, Three Loves for Three Oranges: Gozzi, Meyerhold, Prokofiev illuminates the historical development of Modernism in the arts, the ways in which commedia dellartes self-referential and improvisatory elements have inspired theater and music innovations, and how polemical playfulness informs creation.

A resource for scholars and theater lovers alike, this collection of essays, paired with new translations of Love for Three Oranges, charts the transformations and transpositions that this fantastical tale underwent to provoke theatrical revolutions that still reverberate today.