As explained yesterday, the most obvious difference between the Palermo school and the Catania schools of the opera dei pupi is the size of the marionettes. In addition, importantly (and proudly, I might add), the marionettes from Palermo not only have the ability to bend their knees, and kneel, but they also have the ability…

There are two schools of the opera dei pupi in Sicily: the Palermo school and the Catania school. The Palermitan school’s theaters are smaller in scope and the marionettes are operated from the side wings, while Catanian theaters are larger and the marionettes are operated from above. This points to the difference in craftsmanship between…

Sicily’s opera dei pupi’s theater troupes–more often than not, multiple generations of families–adapts stories from the medieval French epic poems, such as Orlando furioso by Ludovico Ariosto, Gerusalemme liberata by Torquato Tasso, and Orlando innamorato by Matteo Maria Boiardo, to name a few. Orlando, our beloved hero, pictured, is identified by a cross on his…

The past couple of days, I’ve talked about the bad guys and the good guys of the opera dei pupi–so who exactly are these characters? Our heroes, the knights, and their enemies recall the age of chivalry, originating from medieval French epic poems, especially featuring King Charlemagne, pictured seated on the throne, and his court….

In addition to the knights and the Saracens, of course, we have our fair princesses! The audience, which most often consisted of men and boys from the popular classes, was very much engaged in the action of the opera dei pupi. Spectators were known to get rowdy, interacting with the characters on stage by responding…