Maria Velluti’s Theater Translations in Nineteenth-Century Brazil: A Mise-En-Scène

Abstract

Maria Velluti (1827-1891) was a dancer, actor, director, translator and playwright. She arrived in Brazil in her twenties and became a renowned actor, playwright, and translator. She translated over forty plays, many of which she directed, produced, cast, and starred. Two of her translations from French were published in her lifetime: A vida de uma actriz (1859) and A viuva das camelias (1859). Based on her prolific output, it could be said that Velluti shook the foundations of Brazil’s nineteenth-century theater scene not only by introducing modern dramas of French realist tradition to the major theater companies of her time, but also by writing in an environment where most playwrights were men with a solid literature background. This study highlights the significance of Velluti’s life and works. It is a mise-en-scène of Velluti as a nineteenth-century woman, actor, playwright, and translator in her own right. It “places on the stage” the myriad of roles Velluti played, thus countering dominant historiographical discourses that describe her in a merely supporting role —a role she unmistakably did not set out to play.