Il Gimnasta (1751-1756): Acrobatic Performances in Connection with Other Theatrical Performances

Several prints of the libretto Il Gimnasta, published between 1751 and 1756 and written by Giovanni Borassatti, alias Giovanni Battista Rossi, account for performances by acrobats of an academy for gymnastics in Paris and London. These acrobats, who were of French, English, Dutch and Italian descent, presented their artistic jumps in several Italian theatres under the direction of Diego Secondo Rossi, ‘detto Il Turchetto.’ Il Gimnasta is generally considered an apology of the art of jumping in form of an academic dialogue between the different acrobats, inspired by the famous treatise by Arcangelo Tuccaro (1599). My paper analyses the contexts of the acrobatic performances which took place ‘per intermezzo con l’Opera nel Carnevale del 1753 nel Teatro Giustiniano di S. Mosé’ in Venice and in spring 1756 ‘per intermezzo nel dramma giocoso’ at the Regia Ducal Teatro in Milan. The libretti printed in other cities, such as Florence or Ferrara, do not mention any other theatrical genre on the title page. The dialogues in the libretto appear to address the audience as well as the reader, but as to what happened on stage is not easily unravelled.