Upcoming Events
Lecture by Professor David Bethea, University of Wisconsin-Madison
"Darwin, Solov'ev, and the Evolution of Language"
4pm, March 8, 2009, Marston Hall, B01
Lecture by Professor Michael Wachtel, Princeton University
“The Birth of Avant-Garde Theater from the Spirit of Altertumswissenschaft: Dörpfeld, Ivanov, Meyerhold, Brecht”
The lecture begins with the archeologist Wilhelm Dörpfeld, who came to fame as Schliemann's assistant in the excavations at Troy and then became the director of the German Archeological Institute in Athens, where he did extensive archeological work on the ancient Greek theater. TheRussian Symbolist poetVyacheslav Ivanov spent 1901-1902 at the Institute, immersing himself in the study of Dionysian religion. Ivanov had a scholar's background; he had studied with Mommsenin Berlin and then spent three years writing his dissertation (on Roman tax law) at theGerman Archeological Institute inRome. In Athens he took advantage of Dörpfeld's presence, going faithfully to his lectures, attending numerous local excursions, and chatting with him in less formal setttings. Dörpfeld's conception of ancient theater is at the basis of Ivanov's own theories of Symbolist theater. These theories were enormously influential in Russia, especially in the avant-garde "anti-realist" theater of Vsevelod Meyerhold, who cites Ivanov repeatedly in his own writings. Meyerhold knew Ivanov well and attended the legendary Wednesday gatherings at his "tower" apartment. (It was at one of these gatherings that Meyerhold staged Calderon's "Adoration of the Cross.") The connection of Meyerhold's theater to that of Brecht is speculative; little is known about the precise nature of transmission. With appropriate caution, the final section of the lecture will suggest some curious parallels between Meyerhold's Ivanov-inspired ideas and Brecht's conception of "Verfremdung."
4pm, April 7, 2009, Marston Hall, B01