Intercultural Adaptation in Early Modern Popular Theatre: From Torquato Tasso’s Aminta (1573/1581) to Von den Aminta und Silvia in Liebeskampff (1630)

Abstract

The focus of this chapter lies on the contribution of Italian and English travelling troupes on early modern popular theatre in Germany. This will be achieved by reading Von den Aminta und Silvia (‘About Aminta and Silvia’, 1630), a German adaptation attributed to the English Comedians of Torquato Tasso’s pastoral play Aminta, against the background of adaptation theory.
Given the long history of performance of Tasso’s play, which was first performed in 1573 by a Commedia dell’Arte troupe, it is plausible to assume that the original text had already undergone several changes before the German version appeared. Some of these changes were due to Tasso himself; other alterations can be attributed to the Commedia dell’Arte troupes. The many translations published in France and England prior to Aminta und Silvia might also have inserted new details, further developed by the English Comedians. Finally, the anonymous editor of the German play may have been responsible for other additions. However, as adaptation theory shows, translations merely make the content comprehensible from a linguistic point of view, whereas adaptations aim at making a text accessible from a socio-cultural viewpoint, even with consistent changes to the source.