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Introduction
Sometime during the second half of the thirteenth century a judge from Padua,
Lovato Lovati (ca. 1240-1309), found in the library of the Benedictine abbey of
Pomposa a Carolingian manuscript containing a number of tragedies attributed
to Seneca. This and other manuscript discoveries generated a great burst of
enthusiasm in the small group of Lovato’s Paduan friends and colleagues, all
passionate readers of ancient poets. They copied and studied the poems of
Catullus, Horace, Tibullus and Martial, in addition to Seneca’s metric tragedies
(some of which were spurious), and they sought to imitate the style and
language of Roman writers in their own literary works.
Albertino Mussato (1261-1329) was the most eminent and accomplished
member of this earliest group of Italian humanists. Mussato was a man from
the middle classes, the popolo, of Padua, who paid for his education working
first as a scribe, later a notary. He was lucky enough to marry Mabilia, a girl
from a prominent Paduan family, and became very active in the politics of his
proudly autonomous city. He acted as itinerant official (in Florence, among
other places), spoke authoritatively at the Paduan political council and more
than once was charged with important diplomatic missions, including to pope
Boniface VIII and Emperor Henry VII. In the meantime, his reputation as a man
of letters continued to grow. In December 1315 the Masters of Arts of the
University of Padua organised a solemn public ceremony where Mussato was
named official poet and historian and crowned with a laurel wreath.
Ecerinis was one of two writings cited in the motivations of the award and
would become Mussato’s most popular work. Written probably in a few
months between 1314 and 1315, Ecerinis brought together Mussato’s admiration
for Seneca, his talent as historian and his political passions. The model of
Ecerinis (five acts, a complex metrical structure, a prominent role for the chorus)
is Seneca’s tragedies and particularly Thyestes; the subject is the story of the
unforgotten tyrant of the March of Treviso, Ezzelino III da Romano (1194-1259);
the political message is a warning against the plans of Cangrande della Scala
(1291-1329), lord of Verona, who was in those years the most serious threat to
Padua’s libertas. The tragedy was recited in the public palace of Padua before a
crowd of citizens; it was meant to entertain and instruct them, emphasising the
Roman legacy of the city of Livy. Mussato offered antiquity as a repository of
moral and political values, not just aesthetic models. Like many of his beloved
republican Roman writers, he, too, paid a high price for his involvement in
politics and ended his life in melancholy exile in a small town of the Venetian
lagoon.
Dr Serena Ferente
History Department, KCL
1
Directors’ note
When we applied to direct this performance, all the way
back in October, we didn’t really know what we were letting
ourselves in for. Directing a play solely in Latin features
challenges above and beyond the normal production, not least the
fact that in rehearsal, the question ‘did I get that line right?’ can
generally only be met by a shrug. So it is with great delight that
we present to you the British premiere of ‘Ecerinis’, the tale of
Ezzelino the Tyrant, who is so feared still in his region of Italy that
children called Ezzelino are sometimes denied baptism there. The
story is one of darkness and retribution, showing the suffering
that one tyrant can wreak upon his land - a message that is
relevant, one could argue, in today’s world. The Chorus preach a
message of staying true, and loving one another, and as Friar Luca
tells Ezzelino, ‘the just God ordained that justice be practiced by
the mortal men he has created. Faith, hope, and charity, implanted
in us by Nature herself, teach us that these things are so.’ The
message of being good to one another and the importance of love
is one that runs through this play. It is customary also to say thank
you here. And we have so many people to say thank you to. To
Sue Dunderdale from RADA for her support, Daniel Hadas the
Latin Guru Extraordinaire, Anne-Marie Taylor from Birkbeck for
her courage in the face of room-booking nightmares, and closer
too - to our wonderful creative team, the musicians, the stage
managers, set design, costumes, Latin support and translators.
But then, of course, we must say a thank you to our cast. You all
came in with boundless energy and talent, prepared to do
anything we said, no matter how daft or seemingly dangerous,
and for that we thank you. You have all made this process an utter
joy. And finally, thank you to you - the audience - for coming to
enjoy the dark tale of when men go wrong. Feel free to shiver as
all hope is extinguished. Or is it...?
Doug R. Dunn & Serena Tabacchi
Directors
!
2
ECERINIS
!
Albertino Mussato (1261-1329)
!
Directed by Doug R. Dunn & Serena Tabacchi
!
!
Cast
Alex Dymond
Peter Astrup Sundt
Lizzy Hosgrove
Jake Ninan
Pippa Ovenden
Juliëtte van den Hil
Manuel Muñoz
Lena Frostestad
Rachel Slover
Sophia Moesch
!
Crew
Stage Manager
Stage Manager Assistant
Head Costumer/
Assistant Propmaster
Head Propmaster/
Assistant Costumer
Photography & Programme
!
Latin Coach
Assistant Latin Coach
Original Music
Translation/Surtitles
3
Ecerinus
Albericus
Adeleita
Messenger
Friar Luca
Ansedisius/Chorus 3
Ziramonte/Soldier
Chorus 1
Chorus 2
Chorus 4
Manuel Muñoz
Sophia Moesch
Lena Frostestad
Juliëtte van den Hil
Manuel Muñoz
Víctor Muñoz
Daniel Hadas
Peter Astrup Sundt
Alex Paxton
Lucas Ingen-Housz
Cast
ALEXANDER DYMOND
Ecerinus, tyrant of Padua
!
MA student in Medieval History, KCL
PETER ASTRUP SUNDT
Albericus, Ecerinus’ brother
!
Assistant Latin Coach
!
Study Abroad Postgraduate Taught student in
Classics, KCL
LIZZY HOSGROVE
Adeleita, Ecerinus, Albericus & Ziramonte’s
mother
!
MA student in Medieval History, KCL
JAKE NINAN
Messenger
!
MA student in Medieval History, KCL
PIPPA OVENDEN
Friar Luca
!
MMus student in Music, RAM
JULIËTTE VAN DEN HIL
Ansedisius, Ecerinus’ nephew
Chorus 3
!
Head Propmaster/ Assistant Costumer
!
MA student in Medieval History, KCL
RACHEL SLOVER
Chorus 2
!
MA student in Medieval History, KCL
MANUEL MUÑOZ
Ziramonte, Ecerinus’ half-brother
Soldier
!
Stage Manager
!
MPhil/PhD student in Palaeography
Research, KCL
5
LENA FROSTESTAD
Chorus 1
!
Head Costumer/ Assistant Propmaster
!
MA student in Medieval History, KCL
SOPHIA MOESCH
Chorus 4
!
Stage Manager Assistant
!
PhD student at the Department of History, KCL
MUSIC CREDITS
!
Composer / Conductor: Alex Paxton
Drumkit: Scott Chapman
Guitar: Rob Luft
Bass trombone: Alex Kelly
Soprano saxophone: Matt Sultzmann
Trumpet: Gwyn Owen
6
Acknowledgements
!
We would like to express our gratitude to the
following persons and institutions:!
King’s College London!
King’s College Chaplaincy!
Birkbeck, University of London!
Reverend Timothy Ditchfield!
Serena Ferente!
Claire Carlyle!
Alexis Correa!
Albert Pizzaia!
Julia Beynon!
Adam Sutcliffe!
Jacquie Glomski!
Anne Duggan!
Alex Paxton!