Erotocritos in Italian

The 13th Cultural Festival of the University of Cyprus opens with an innovative twofold performance of Vincenzo Cornaro’s “Erotocritos”, which the Theatrical Workshop of the University of Cyprus (THEPAK) prepared with much diligence on the occasion of its upcoming tour in Italy. For the first time, the most important literary work of Cretan Renaissance will be performed not only in Greek but also in Italian – the language of Cornaro’s ancestors and of many Western European Renaissance works that inspired this masterpiece of Greek literature (Orvietano’s version of “Paris et Vienne”, Ariosto’s “Orlando Furioso”, Bojardo’s “Orlando Innamorato” and others). The decision to present the central scenes of the play in Italian is not merely motivated by the need to approach a non-Greek-speaking audience, but rather constitutes a reward of sorts to Western European literary tradition that incited the remarkable literary efflorescence in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Crete, which proved essential for the future development of Modern Greek literature. At the same time, the “Greco-Italian” performance of “Erotocritos”, which incorporates elements of the Cypriot popular reception of the play, seeks to highlight the deep roots and centennial European influences of Cyprus’s culture. THEPAK’s tour in Italy will be held in the framework of the events marking the 50th anniversary of the Republic of Cyprus. The performances are organised in cooperation with the universities of Palermo, Catania, Triest, La Sapienza (Rome) and Ca Foscari (Venice).

Theatrical Workshop of the University of Cyprus
Director: Michalis Pieris
Translation into Italian: Gaia Zaccagni