Gianni Cicali (Florence, Italy) is a specialist in History of Italian Theater. He holds an Italian “laurea,” and doctoral degrees from both Italy (Florence) and Canada (Toronto).

His interests focus on Italian theater from the 15th to the 20th century; Italian Opera and librettists; history of Italian actors, actresses and singers; theater through archive documents; politics and Italian drama; the relations between the performing and the fine arts; the commedia dell’Arte; 18th-century Neapolitan theater; Pietro Trinchera (Naples 1702-1755); 18th-century religious theater; cinema.

He is author of a book on the Italian “Opera buffa” based on textual and archive research. He has also published several articles on Italian Renaissance theater, and on 18th-century theater, arts and literature. He reviews, for major journals in the field, theater and opera productions in Italy and in North America, as well as books, movies, and opera festivals.

He regularly presents research papers at international conferences, and organizes and has organized sessions on Italian theater for the Renaissance Society of America (RSA), the American Association for Italian Studies (AAIS), the Canadian Association for Italian Studies (CSIS).

Gianni Cicali created and offered at Georgetown several new courses in Italian. He explores, with his students, fundamental topics of Italian theater and Italian culture and society, such as the relations between theater, politics and religion; or the Italian ‘invention’ and international success of the Opera and the multifaceted economic, performing and artistic aspects of that important phenomenon. He also designed and teaches courses on sexuality and madness in Italian literature, theater and cinema, and he regularly gives courses on Advanced Italian language and culture.

He created an Italian Theater Workshop to stage Italian texts with his students. Two productions have already been performed successfully in the Davies Center for the Performing Arts of Georgetown: Gl’Innamorati (The Lovers) by Carlo Goldoni, in 2008, and, in 2009, the adaptation of a rare Florentine sacred play which merged Buddhism and Christianity by telling the life of a young prince (Barlaam e Josafat, circa 1474, by B. Pulci). By the staging of a play or the adaptation of a text, the workshop combines historical and political contents of Italian theater and culture with performing aspects.

Gianni Cicali is member of the Editorial Board of Quaderni d’Italianistica (Canada), and member of the Advisory Board of Letteratura teatrale italiana (Italy). He is also member of and he reviews for the academic e-journal http://www.drammaturgia.it of the Department of Art, Music and Theater of the University of Florence (Italy); he is member of the Editorial Board of the European research project AMAtI (Archivio Multimediale degli Attori Italiani – Multimedia Archive of Italian Actors).