Gianni Cicali (Florence, Italy) is a specialist in History of Italian Theater (Renaissance, Baroque and 18th-century). He holds an Italian “laurea vecchio ordinamento'' (M.A. equivalent) and doctoral degrees from both Italy (Università di Firenze) and Canada (University of Toronto).
His interests focus on Italian theater, opera and culture from the 15th to the 18th century; Renaissance and Baroque religious theater; cinema; migrations to the Americas of Italian theater professionals (19th-century New Orleans) . His last book is Teatro ed Eresia nel Settecento Italiano (Rome: Bulzoni, 2021), "Theater and Heresy in 18th-century Italy." He is also author of a book on the Italian “Opera buffa” (Comic Opera) based on textual and archive research (Attori e ruoli nell'opera buffa italiana del Settecento, Florence: Le Lettere, 2005), and he also authored L'Inventio crucis nel teatro rinascimentale fiorentino (Florence, Società Editrice Fiorentina, 2012). He edited (with E. Mazzoleni, and A.M. Testaverde) a book with 16 chapters (and 17 authors): Migrazioni teatrali e artistiche tra Europa e Americhe (Rome: Bulzoni, 2024). With Elena Mazzoleni (Univ. of Bergamo, Italy), Cicali edited a special issue of a journal on theater, arts and migrations: Cicali, Gianni; Mazzoleni, Elena (eds.). "Dramaturgies et littératures en voyage" special issue of Cahiers de littérature française (Classiques Garnier),19 (2020). Gianni Cicali also edited a special issue in 2015 ''Teatro italiano fra testo performance e scena'', special edition of Quaderni d'Italianistica. He has published several articles on Italian Renaissance and Baroque theater, literature and arts, and on 18th-century theater.
Gianni Cicali has been Editor-in-chief of Quaderni d’Italianistica (journal of the Canadian Association for Italian Studies – CAIS) from 2011 to 2015, and he is a member of the Advisory Board of Letteratura teatrale italiana (Italy), Quaderni d'italianistica (Canada), Commedia dell'Arte. Storia e testi (Italy), Elephant & Castle (Italy) and Gentes (Italy) and member of the editorial board of Renaissance and Reformation (Canada). He is also member of the board of AMAtI (Archivio Multimediale dell'Attore Italiano, Univ. di Firenze, Italy).
Academic Appointment(s)
- Primary
- Professor, College - Department of Italian