Keywords

• The paper considers the relationship between Italian Opera and silent film
• first from a technological perspective
• so with attention to the role of the musicians
• and finally through the paradigm of female stardom. In this way
• paying attention to the character of the diva
• it is possible to understand the differences between opera &ndash
• where the singer's body was the vehicle of a complex and unified language
• which referred at once to voice
• gestures
• characters
• stardom
• economic values
• national identity
• advertising &ndash
• and cinema &ndash
• where the star was completely devoid of voice
• to the benefit of the body. Through analysis of several singers who had gone into silent film (Rosina Storchio
• Gemma Bellincioni
• Lina Cavalieri) we understand how the cinema asked them to give up a part of their Diva personality
• that of voice. In this way the relationship between cinema and opera
• which also have much in common
• reveals unresolved and problematic aspects