The Rise of the Diva on the Sixteenth-Century Commedia dell’Arte Stage examines the emergence of the professional actress from the 1560s onwards in Italy.

Rosalind Kerr is a professor emerita in the Department of Drama at the University of Alberta.

‘Timely and fascinating, this study addresses what is arguably the single most important change in western theatre since classical times: the advent of the actress on the male-dominated stage… Everyone who is interested in how women broke into professional theatre and managed to stay there should read this book.’

Julie D. Campbell:

‘It is an excellent resource for English-speaking scholars. It opens the way for those interested in these aspects of theater history, women’s history, and commedia dell’arte in general to enrich their understanding of the multi-faceted impact of women’s performances on the early modern stage.’

Domenico Pietropaolo:

‘Kerr has made a significant contribution to our knowledge of commedia, identifying exciting themes for future examination and indicating fruitful ways of approaching them.’

Maria Galli Stampino:

‘Kerr’s work is commendable for several reasons. It is theoretically grounded in unusual ways…It reflects her deep knowledge of the then prevailing social and cultural constructs of status and gender.’

Linda L. Carroll:

‘Kerr’s analysis of how actresses used their skill at recitation to capture the public is very fine, as is her account of their personal rivalries and those of their followers… Kerr’s study opens this area to English-speaking public and provides valuable insights.’

Erith Jaffe-Berg, Department of Theatre, University of California, Riverside:

“A thorough consideration of the early modern actress is long overdue in theatre studies, and Rosalind Kerr’s Rise of the Diva more than satisfies this need.”

Anne MacNeil, Department of Music, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill:

“With The Rise of the Diva on the Sixteenth-Century Commedia dell’Arte Stage, Rosalind Kerr offers both masterful research and compelling cultural critique, transported by clear, elegant writing. What a joy it is to read such an engaging text! Anyone studying celebrity culture, women’s negotiations of public space, or Renaissance theater writ large will need to come to terms with Kerr’s work.”