Encyclopedia of Performing Arts

Starting in 1945 or 1946, D'Amico conceived of a project to develop an encyclopedia of the performing arts. Undertaken by an editorial team composed of a few people and led by D'Amico, it was produced in three or four years and contained four volumes. Considered superficial, it was not publishable. However, it developed a model for scientific study of the theater and other performing arts.[6]

Conceived as a set of 12 volumes, the second project took on an ethnographic approach. It had the advantage of a stable editorial group and used foreign employees. D'Amico's editorial staff worked at the Palazzo Doria Pamphili, Via del Plebiscito 112.[6] The attorney Carlo Minù, D'Amico's brother-in-law, found funding for the second project and referred D'Amico to publishers.[7] In drawing up lists of dramas, operas, ballets and films, the editorial team wondered if it their work was worthwhile or helpful. It was Francesco Savio who sometimes said, "Of course it is; if someone else wants one day to create an Encyclopedia of Performing Arts, they would find this materials to be useful." When the news spread that the encyclopedia was about to be published, a delegation arrived wanting guidance in the organizational work to start up an encyclopedia of Prague theater.[7]

The structure of the work was better articulated. Responsibility for each section, such as film, music, or theater, was delegated to an initial small staff that rapidly grew to thirty editors that coordinated over five hundred employees.[6] Large blocks of work were assigned to collaborators, many of them in foreign countries.

D'Amico felt that the second project benefited from finding amateur collectors without whose assistance entire sectors of biographical entries would have been less detailed. Collected material came from abroad or was bought directly in the antique market. An example of a collector was Ulderico Rolandi, a gynecologist who lived in the Via Veneto, and who had made a hobby of collecting, filing and examining librettos. He had accumulated what was thought to be the largest collection of opera librettos after the Library of Congress. Another example was David Turcotte who had developed a catalog of American cinema.

The project suffered a severe crisis in 1957, two years after the death of D'Amico, due to disagreements between the editorial office and the publisher. The publisher's expectation was to publish two volumes a year, but the editorial staff was only able to put out a single volume each year. Because of this crisis, there is an imbalance between the first volume and the last four whose detail is considered sometimes less accurate.[6]

Published between 1954 and 1962, the original nine volume Enciclopedia dello Spettacolo covers ballet, films, opera, plays, theater, vaudeville, and other areas of entertainment. They include signed essays that discuss performers, directors, and writers. Other sections discuss genres and themes, as well as history, technical subjects, and bibliographies.[8] The encyclopedia is over 18,000 pages in length and profusely illustrated with thousands of illustrations of which 700 are in the text, 1800 are out of the text, and there are 320 color plates. The first print run of 10,000 copies was followed by a reprint of 5,000 additional copies. Originally published in Rome by Casa Editrice Le Maschere, reprints were published by UNEDI.

Published in Rome by Unione Editoriale in 1966, the Enciclopedia dello spettacolo. Aggiornamento 1955-1965 ("Encyclopedia of Performing Arts, Supplementary 1955-1965) is an update of the main set. The Aggiornamento addresses developments and biographies.[8]

Published in Rome by Unione Editoriale in 1968, the Enciclopedia dello spettacolo. Indice-repertorio (Encyclopedia of Performing Arts. Index-Directory) is a title index of the 145,000 entries cited in the main set and the supplements. It addresses author, genre and year of composition.[8]