The Prophetess and the Vampire

In 2001 the renowned American poet Dana Gioia brought to life a work in which the centuries-old myth of the vampire, the richness of the operatic phrase, and the vague echoes of the poet’s Italian heritage dialogued with the modern taste of the American public. The aim of this paper is to investigate the dialogue between past and future, which is innovatively expressed in both the content and form of Nosferatu. Inspired by Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau’s Nosferatu (1922), Gioia’s work merges the Gothic with Opera, thus renovating and giving new strength to the art of the Opera libretto. Moreover, Gioia’s vampire eludes Hollywood’s unforgettable stereotypes and is endowed with an emotional and psychological insight that the German movie lacked. Line after line, the poet develops the drama of the undead creature, whose humanity is enhanced by the controversial confrontation with the libretto’s female protagonist. No longer a victim, Gioia’s heroine recalls the omniscient figure of the prophetess, dear to both classical and Christian heritages. Further, in the play between the immortal past of the vampire and the visionary future of the prophetess, lies the dramatic present of the first Italian immigrants, the nightmare of misery, the hope for a better life, and the ever-present traces left by Catholicism