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Alessia Dalsant discusses Giovanni De Rosalia and Italian American Theater.

Image courtesy of interviewee. March 26, 2024

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Giovanni Rosalia was a Sicilian actor born in 1864 in Palermo who migrated to the United States in 1903. Initially performing classical theater, he quickly adapted to the audience's preferences by creating a popular character known as Nolu and founded his own theater company, The Rosalia and Company. He played a significant role in the vaudeville scene of New York from 1907 to 1919, blending acting, singing, and dancing in a style that catered to the Italian American community.

Rosalia's work is notable for pioneering a form of "total theater," combining various performance arts and establishing a lingua franca of English and Italian for the community. He recorded over 200 skits and poetry collections, often writing in Sicilian and contributing to local newspapers, thus influencing the regional culture and dialect theater.

His character Nolu highlighted social conflicts between different classes, paralleling themes from Italian theatrical traditions. Despite his death in 1934, Rosalia's legacy continues to resonate, impacting the development of performance art as it transitioned into a business. His methods and styles can be seen in contemporary entertainment, such as television shows like Saturday Night Live, which incorporate a variety of skits reminiscent of vaudeville.

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Giovanni Rosalia was a Sicilian actor, from Palermo.

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He was born in, 1864.

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So shortly after the unification of the Peninsula,

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which I think is, relevant, is one

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of the son of unification.

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And, in fact, he migrated to the United States shortly

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after the turn of the century in 1903.

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Um, being a professional actor already in Italy when he

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arrived in New York, he wanted to continue that profession,

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and he, initially started to perform,

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a classical repertoire, such as,

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Shakespeare, so to speak, right?

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Uh, but immediately realized that, the audience was not

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going to sign up for that type of theater.

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And therefore, he, decided to create a,

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character that, became very, very famous in the

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New York of the first 20 years

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of the turn of the last century.

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And, he actually ended up founding his own,

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theater company called The Rosalia and Company.

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Um, between, 1907

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and 1919, he staged Norio this character,

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weekly in the vaudeville scene of New York, so acting

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and, lower East Side on Brooklyn Theaters.

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Uh, but then eventually he started to

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actually record the ski

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and,

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for major label companies like Victor Okie Kelian.

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And then at some point,

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eventually he created his own label company

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and distributed worldwide.

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So, I was particularly intrigued by this,

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figure that is, quite,

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unknown, because of different reasons.

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Well, first of all, he's a pioneer of what we define,

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total theater, a type of theater

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that implies not only acting, but also singing,

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and, dancing, right?

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And it's like a precursor

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of the variety shows today, if you want.

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And more specifically for the Italian American community.

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Um, his work in,

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let's say establishing, which is a mixture

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of English and Italian, if you want, as a lingua franca

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for the Italian American community at the time,

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I think has a, as importance that should be mentioned.

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Um, ultimately is also

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because of his, type of theater

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that is ultimately in, in Sicilian as well, right?

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He is, considered a representative of the ci

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Juliana York, right?

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So the, the type of theater that, is done in,

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in dialect.

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Maybe I'd like to step back a second

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and talk to you about the vaudeville scene in New York at

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the time,

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because that's where everything

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that the Rosalia does develops.

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Um, vaudeville is a term that actually comes from France.

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Uh, so the voice of, of the, the city,

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and even in France when he, originated,

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it was a type of theater that combined comedy

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and music when it arrived into the United States in the

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1880s, it flourished.

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It became very, popular as a type of performance

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throughout the United States.

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Not only New York, but obviously in,

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urban centers like New York

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or centers of, that gathered a lot of migrant.

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Um, the vaudeville scene became a fertile ground for

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what we call, dialect theater, right,

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or ethnic theater if you want.

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Um, which was very ethnographic based.

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And of course, each ethnic group produced it on stage types.

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So it was the Irish, right?

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It was the Italian, the Jew, so the Rosalia

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and others before him.

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The Rosalia is not the only representative of this,

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type of theater at the time.

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Before him, Eduardo Milcho had also created a,

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stage character called, far similar

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to the Napolitan Ella.

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If you're familiar with the com Dete

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Fri is a different kind of character.

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It is more of a buffon, clownish,

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and is per personify is more the wannabe American

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that also has the arrogance of actually having arrived.

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So it kind of produces that distance.

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But ultimately is the, per the character that produces humor

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because it's always, radicalized.

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Um, so in particular the rosalia,

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skits and forces, as I mentioned

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before, they implement the use of, so they're ual, really.

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They, you, you hear Italian, Sicilian, English,

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and then this mixture of,

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of a new language, so to speak, right?

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So, I think that, yeah, that, that's very interesting.

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In his, forces, the Rosalia produced,

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begin with poetry actually sold,

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he produced three collections of poetry,

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recorded the Brandis in the ano in, 1916,

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and Ian in 1923,

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before that, Aina versus Juliana.

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So they're all, is a, is an author that is very attached

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to his land and his culture, regional culture.

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And so he writes, profusely in Sicilian.

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Um, he also writes on the local newspaper regularly,

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the e telephone newspaper of New York, namely La f New York,

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and, Americano,

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and also his kids are often, published there.

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And, once he started to record his skits,

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on ils, well, he ultimately recorded more than 200.

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So there is a large production that is,

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however hard to, reach

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because a lot, belongs to private collections, and

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therefore it's not so immediate to find.

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Um, but for what concerns his character Nolu?

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Um, I believe that, the genius

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of Rosa Rosalia resides in the fact that he, is able

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to combine two popular theatrical tradition,

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Italian theatrical traditions, one being,

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which is the,

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longing tradition coming from the Renaissance that was very,

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popular all over Italy and Europe for that matter.

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Um, but,

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and also another, regional,

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or regional tradition, which is called Baa,

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is is typical Sicilian, type of,

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theater.

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And actually when, committed the largest story

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to vain in Sicily, Vata became more and more popular.

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Uh, it's emblematic that one of the main character

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of Vata was named Rio or Norio.

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So there is a clear connection

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for the Rosalia recall at least.

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Um, so that character, Vata,

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were interesting because they, they,

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juxtapose social conflict, right?

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So the higher class represented by the Baron Lubar

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who spoke Italian, and the lower class represented by Nafi,

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who spoke Sicilian.

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And what I think the Rosalia does is transplant this same

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dynamic into the new world now, where the,

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the character who fit in are the one

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who even speak the language English.

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They own it, they master it, they are familiar

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with modernity, and then there are those

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who are newly arrived,

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or those like Nole who is constantly struggling to

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make sense of the new reality, or he think he does well.

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His legacy, I feel, is, well,

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the character percent norio disappeared once,

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the Rosalia died in 1934.

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So,

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however, if we look at the,

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seen of the 1920s, the development of,

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there is even a shift

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In the concept of performing from the, the art

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of performance to the business of performance.

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So the Rosalia lives in this moment where,

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performing arts become a business, right?

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A business that implies different skills

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and different acts as well, right?

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And the Vaudeville, a show was comprised of like two

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or four hours of different acts.

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Um, and I think that we see

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how this has affected even television.

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As a matter of fact, silent movies

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or at the beginning started to insert the most comic,

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skits of vaudeville, right?

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So, but even tv

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or even if you look at the Saturday Night

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Live show today, right?

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That, comprise different skits

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and satire, the suburban of roles.

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I think that it's, that's

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where we see the Rosalie's work.

Giovanni Rosalia: Pioneer of Sicilian-American Theatre

00:00:00 - Giovanni Rosalia was a Sicilian actor, from Palermo. He was born in, 1864. So shortly after the unification of the Peninsula, which I think is, relevant, is one of the son of unification. And, in fact, he migrated to the United States shortly after the turn of the century in 1903. being a professional actor already in Italy when he arrived in New York, he wanted to continue that profession,
00:00:36 - a classical repertoire, such as, Shakespeare, so to speak, right? but immediately realized that, the audience was not going to sign up for that type of theater. And therefore, he, decided to create a, character that, became very, very famous in the New York of the first 20 years of the turn of the last century.
00:01:07 - theater company called The Rosalia and Company. between, 1907 and 1919, he staged Norio this character, weekly in the vaudeville scene of New York, so acting and, lower East Side on Brooklyn Theaters. but then eventually he started to actually record the ski
00:01:35 - for major label companies like Victor Okie Kelian. And then at some point, eventually he created his own label company and distributed worldwide. So, I was particularly intrigued by this, figure that is, quite, unknown, because of different reasons. Well, first of all, he's a pioneer of what we define,
00:02:07 - that implies not only acting, but also singing, and, dancing, right? And it's like a precursor of the variety shows today, if you want. And more specifically for the Italian American community. his work in, let's say establishing, which is a mixture of English and Italian, if you want, as a lingua franca
00:02:39 - I think has a, as importance that should be mentioned. ultimately is also because of his, type of theater that is ultimately in, in Sicilian as well, right? He is, considered a representative of the ci Juliana York, right? So the, the type of theater that, is done in, in dialect. Maybe I'd like to step back a second

Vaudeville and Ethnic Theater's Evolution

00:03:10 - the time, because that's where everything that the Rosalia does develops. vaudeville is a term that actually comes from France. so the voice of, of the, the city, and even in France when he, originated, it was a type of theater that combined comedy and music when it arrived into the United States in the 1880s, it flourished.
00:03:43 - throughout the United States. Not only New York, but obviously in, urban centers like New York or centers of, that gathered a lot of migrant. the vaudeville scene became a fertile ground for what we call, dialect theater, right, or ethnic theater if you want. which was very ethnographic based. And of course, each ethnic group produced it on stage types.
00:04:13 - It was the Italian, the Jew, so the Rosalia and others before him. The Rosalia is not the only representative of this, type of theater at the time. Before him, Eduardo Milcho had also created a, stage character called, far similar to the Napolitan Ella. If you're familiar with the com Dete Fri is a different kind of character. It is more of a buffon, clownish,
00:04:48 - that also has the arrogance of actually having arrived. So it kind of produces that distance. But ultimately is the, per the character that produces humor because it's always, radicalized. so in particular the rosalia, skits and forces, as I mentioned before, they implement the use of, so they're ual, really.
00:05:19 - and then this mixture of, of a new language, so to speak, right? So, I think that, yeah, that, that's very interesting. In his, forces, the Rosalia produced, begin with poetry actually sold, he produced three collections of poetry, recorded the Brandis in the ano in, 1916, and Ian in 1923,
00:05:49 - So they're all, is a, is an author that is very attached to his land and his culture, regional culture. And so he writes, profusely in Sicilian. he also writes on the local newspaper regularly, the e telephone newspaper of New York, namely La f New York, and, Americano, and also his kids are often, published there.

Giovanni Rosalia: Pioneer of Italian-American Theater

00:06:23 - on ils, well, he ultimately recorded more than 200. So there is a large production that is, however hard to, reach because a lot, belongs to private collections, and therefore it's not so immediate to find. but for what concerns his character Nolu? I believe that, the genius
00:06:55 - to combine two popular theatrical tradition, Italian theatrical traditions, one being, which is the, longing tradition coming from the Renaissance that was very, popular all over Italy and Europe for that matter. but, and also another, regional, or regional tradition, which is called Baa,
00:07:25 - theater. And actually when, committed the largest story to vain in Sicily, Vata became more and more popular. it's emblematic that one of the main character of Vata was named Rio or Norio. So there is a clear connection for the Rosalia recall at least. so that character, Vata, were interesting because they, they,
00:07:56 - So the higher class represented by the Baron Lubar who spoke Italian, and the lower class represented by Nafi, who spoke Sicilian. And what I think the Rosalia does is transplant this same dynamic into the new world now, where the, the character who fit in are the one who even speak the language English. They own it, they master it, they are familiar with modernity, and then there are those who are newly arrived, or those like Nole who is constantly struggling to
00:08:32 - His legacy, I feel, is, well, the character percent norio disappeared once, the Rosalia died in 1934. So, however, if we look at the, seen of the 1920s, the development of, there is even a shift In the concept of performing from the, the art
00:09:01 - So the Rosalia lives in this moment where, performing arts become a business, right? A business that implies different skills and different acts as well, right? And the Vaudeville, a show was comprised of like two or four hours of different acts. and I think that we see how this has affected even television. As a matter of fact, silent movies or at the beginning started to insert the most comic,

Legacy of Rosalia in Modern Entertainment

00:09:48 - So, but even tv or even if you look at the Saturday Night Live show today, right? That, comprise different skits and satire, the suburban of roles. I think that it's, that's where we see the Rosalie's work.

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