From José de Alencar’s and Carlos Gomes’ O Guarany, to clown Benjamin de Oliveira’s Os Guaranis: dialogues between literature, cinema, circus and music

Abstract

At the dawn of the twentieth century, Circo Spinelli staged Benjamin de Oliveira’s Os Guaranis, a pantomime based on two versions of O Guarany, both symbols of Brazilian patriotism: José de Alencar’s historical novel (from 1857) and Carlos Gomes’ opera (from 1870). The success Benjamin’s play  (a black clown who was also its protagonist), determines the works migration from the circus stage to the movies, and the increasing in the Cinema-Palace’s orchestra on the occasions the film was presented. This article reflects upon the meanings constructed by Benjamin’s stage adaptation of the circus-theatre to the screen, highlighting the displacements operated by cultural production during the first cinema.