Degiovanni Abstract

The Death and Apotheosis of Hercules at the Comédie-Italienne: from Senecan Tragedy to Commedia dell’Arte  

Lucia Degiovanni

This chapter focuses on Luigi Riccoboni’s Ercole/Hercule, first staged in Paris in 1717. A peculiar tragicomical rewriting of the events surrounding the death and apotheosis of Hercules, the play stands at the crossroads between different theatrical genres and traditions. The article examines the redevelopment and combining of Classical models (the Senecan tragedies Hercules Furens and Hercules Oetaeus, and Ovid’s Metamorphoses and Heroides) and the blending of themes, characters and dramaturgical solutions inspired by the tradition of commedia dell’arte.