Dante Today

Citings & Sightings of Dante's Works in Contemporary Culture

Hadestown Musical – Music, Lyrics, and Book by Anaïs Mitchell (2019)

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“The musical Hadestown (music, lyrics, and book by Anaïs Mitchell) brings a new take on the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Much like Dante in the Inferno, the characters of Orpheus in Hadestown travel through an inferno-like factory run by Hades, the god of the underworld. Although the tragic hero Orpheus is mentioned in Canto IV of Dante’s Inferno, the similarities between the Divine Comedy and Hadestown do not stop there.”    –Contributor Ava Buchanan

A notable link between the musical and the Inferno is the staging of the piece, which relies heavily on circular motion to move the plot forward (a common motif employed by Dante). Furthermore, the character of Hermes within the musical acts as a Virgil-like guide for Orpheus with the added omnipresent, post-narrative knowledge of Dante “the Poet”.

As a side note, the official Hadestown website notes that it is a “haunting and hopeful theatrical experience that grabs you and never lets go.” This statement echoes Peter Hawkins who – in his biographic essay on Dante – states that “no one remains unchanged by the Commedia.”

The original cast Broadway cast recording of Hadestown can be found here.

Contributed by Ava Buchanan (University of Arkansas, ’23)

Wandering Star Short Film, dir. Sai Kelly (2015)

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“Wandering Star is a short film by filmmaker Sai Kelly. The short film begins with Dante’s opening lines from Inferno, Canto 1 but with a notable difference in that the words “our life” are replaced in the film with “my life.” The protagonist of the film, Dante, is clearly in distress and confused, much like the poet Dante when he appears in the dark wood. As Kelly’s Dante struggles with his confusion, a payphone nearby rings. On answering the payphone, we, along with the protagonist are introduced to a voice who later is called Virgil. Virgil shows the protagonist the most painful and darkest parts of the city where Dante lives. The people suffering “see no way out” mimicking the way in which there is no escape for the sinners of the Inferno. In the end, Dante faints, calls out to Virgil who tells him to run, and wakes up back on the streets of his city a changed person.”    –Contributor Cameron Gunter

A full video of Wandering Star and more information about Sai Kelly can be found here.

Contributed by Cameron Gunter (University of Arkansas, ’22)

“From the Dark Wood to Paradise: Dante Alighieri at the University of Nairobi” (2021)

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dante-alighieri-at-university-of-nairobi“The University of Nairobi’s Department of Linguistics, Languages, and Literature, the Italian Embassy, and the Italian cultural institute collaborated on a conference dubbed ‘From the Dark Wood to Paradise: Dante Alighieri at the University of Nairobi.’

“During the event, excerpts of the audiobook version of From the Dark Wood to Paradise were read to the participants in English, Kiswahili, and Italian; some parts of the Divine Comedy have been translated into 33 languages including Swahili.

“(The event) also included a segment for the collaborators to share their perspectives.

“Speaking at the conference, the Italian Ambassador to Kenya, Ambassador Alberto Pieri noted that some Italian words are used in Kenya and across the globe thus showcasing the undeniable influences of Italian culture to the world.

“‘There is no better partner in terms of culture than Italy because culture goes back to the Greco-Roman period. Aspects of culture and technology like road-building are drawn from that early cultural heritage.  As a university, we would like to see this collaboration grow into a full collaboration where we are able to interact in terms of theatre and languages’ (Dean Faculty of Arts, Prof. Ephraim Wahome).

“‘The Italian language has been part of the population of the country of Kenya for a long time. Malindi for example has often been referred to as Little Italy since the late 60s because of its cultural inclination’ (Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Stephen Kiama).

“‘He is part of what came to be known as three crowns of Italian literature. The others are the writer Giovanni Boccaccio well known for his text and Francesco Petrarch the father of the Renaissance movement. Indeed, the works of the three crowns of Italian literature have been known to comprise an entire teaching unit in English and literature departments the world over signaling the importance of the contribution of the Italian language to world literature’ (Alex Wanjala, Dept. of Linguistics, Languages, and Literature).

“Dante Alighieri at University of Nairobi concluded with the screening of the film The Sky over Kibera by Marco Martinelli (Teatro delle Albe).” [. . .]     —University of Nairobi, October 27, 2021

See also the related post about The Sky over Kibera here.

The Sky Over Kibera (2019 film)

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“THE SKY OVER KIBERA is an art film: it tells us about the ‘bringing to life’ of the Divine Comedy in the immense slum of Nairobi, Kibera, where the director has worked with 150 children and adolescents, reinventing Dante’s masterpiece in English and Swahili. And he does so with his poetic and visionary style, interweaving other images with the filming of the play, sequences shot specifically in the slum to carry out the alchemical operation of transforming theatre into cinema. Three teenagers from Nairobi offer face and voice to Dante, Virgil, and Beatrice: they are the guides that lead the viewer into the labyrinth of Kibera, where the ‘dark forest’ in which the poet is lost is more than just a metaphor: in Swahili, Kibera means ‘forest.’ Around them a chorus swarming with bodies recites the tumult of being both beasts and damned, thieves and murderers, devils and corrupt politicians and poets who indicate the ways of salvation: between songs and acting, frenetic races and wild dances, the 150 protagonists give life to a fresco full of moving poetry, further confirmation of the universality of Dante’s masterpiece.” [. . .]    —Teatro Delle Albe

View the trailer here.

Image credit Andrea Signori

Contributed by Silvia Valisa (Florida State University)

How to Cite

Coggeshall, Elizabeth, and Arielle Saiber, eds. Dante Today: Citings and Sightings of Dante's Works in Contemporary Culture. Website. Access date.

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