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Commedia
dell'Arte / Commedia Italiana
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From Amazon.comAll about Commedia dell'Arte and the porcelain figurines made by hundreds of European porcelain factories of the Commedia characters.
250 Comemdia dell'Arte comic scenes (lazzi)
A Commedia dell'Arte novel, a comic fantasy set in Renaissance Italy, of sorts. Rave reviews by readers.
An actor's handbook for Commedia dell'Arte.
History of Commedia dell'Arte.
An expensive, Italian-made Columbina mask of silver and gilt.
 Arlecchino is one of the most lasting of the Commedia dell'Arte characters. Known in English as Harlequin, the general term for a clown, Arlecchino has been transformed into many types of clowns, leading indirectly to Charlie Chaplin's Tramp, also known as Charlot. And Arlecchino is the indirect basis for the English puppet Punch. More below.
This on-line company offers a large selection of theatrical costumes.
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Commedia dell'Arte is a uniquely Italian improvisational theatrical form known throughout Europe since the 1500s as Commedia Italiana. In Italy, it was known as Commedia a braccio (Entertainments off-the-cuff). Stock characters, represented by standardized costumes and masks, peopled traveling theatrical troupes. They performed a repertoire of comic and melodramatic plays for courts, private merchant families and for the public, usually in a public square, at times in improvised theatres. Sometimes the characters took on different names but the characteristics and costumes remained the same so they were easily recognizable to the audiences. The characters, thin plotlines and slapstick were direct descendants of Roman comedic theatrical traditions. A theatre troupe would have a Zilbaldone or Generici, a book of prepared elements for each stock character:
These elements would be interwoven at will by the actors as they fleshed out the basic storyline, improvising whatever was needed, or whatever the crowd seemed to enjoy most. No two performances were the same. The story line generally consisted of young lovers impeded by old people, sometimes by lusty old men who wanted to take the young woman for themselves. The young lovers would turn to their servants for help. Sound familiar? It should. It's the basic plotline for all the Marx Brothers movies. Below I describe and show some common Commedia dell'Arte stock characters.
Before acting troupes formed, actors usually relied on local rulers and aristocracy to pay them to entertain their courts. As merchants became richer, they built private theatres and hired actors to perform for them, too, but not full-time. The merchants opened their private theatres to the public as a money-making venture. Those who could, paid handsomely for private box seats, while the others paid much less for a standing place in the gallery before the stage.
As more and more theatres were constructed, many actors began forming traveling troupes, who moved between these theatres and courts, performing their own versions of the Commedia dell'Arte standards. Stars headlined the troupes, guaranteeing audiences wherever they performed. Most troupes consisted of:
At the same time Commedia dell'Arte was making it's way across Europe, another theatrical tradition existed in Italy, too. Commedia Erudita (Educated Entertainments) was the dry reading of scripted plays by academics to other academics. Eventually, with some help from the Italian playwright Carlo Goldoni, and from the French playwright Moliere, the two forms would combined together to create a scripted theatre, populated by many stock characters. Commedia dell'Arte was adopted directly into the opera of it's day, stimulating what was called Opera Buffa, or silly opera. In their later works, those most often performed today, Carlo Goldoni and Moliere transformed Commedia dell'Arte's stock characters from one-dimensional props into more realistic multi-dimensional characters. Opera made the same transformation with the help of Mozart and his librettist Lorenzo da Ponte.
Descendents of this theatre can be seen in every form of entertainment today, from mime, puppetry, television series, films, plays, to comic sketches. The situations and characters appeal to basic human nature, which is why they traveled well and remain entertaining today. They are human archetypes.
Commedia dell'Arte in a modern form still exists, entertaining audiences around the world. Check the sites of these troupes to see where and when they perform.
Many of the stock characters were depicted in the popular marionette shows in appropriately sized theatres (Teatrino delle marionette) and in the puppet shows on the streets of Venice and other cities and in specially constructed theatres (Teatro dei burattini).
Arlechino and the Doctor marionettes Visit my page of reminiscences by a traveler to Venice in the 1860s for what these theatres were like, and why he found them more entertaining than human theatres. He also describes a visit to a Commedia dell'Arte show that left him enthusiastic with the casual, involving atmosphere of Italian theatre, where the behind the scenes antics of the performers happened before the scenes. Teatro di San Carlino (Naples) A Commedia dell'Arte puppet theatre, is the oldest continuous establishment of it's kind in the world. Their site is in Italian only. For children: the SimonRossi.it site has coloring pages of many of these characters. London's V&A Museum collection of Commedia dell'Arte paintings and more interestingly of marionettes. Be sure to view the 2, 3, and 4th pages for all the marvelous marionettes, strings included. Gardiner Museum Commedia dell'Arte porcelain statue collection.Sipario - Carnival and Costumes in English and Italian
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Common Commedia dell'Arte Characters (Masks)
Decadent Old Merchant - Pantalone dei Bisognosi
He is one of the oldest characters known, originally as Il Magnifico, who together with the First Servant, would entertain people in the streets for money from passers-by. He is a Venetian merchant, old master, who is pompous and foolish, rich and miserly, an indulgent father or a sexual predator of young women. He's known also as Cassandro, Zenobbio, Magnifico, Tartaglia (half-blind and stuttering), Tabbarino, Sior Tonin Bonagrazia (a very foolish Venetian). This is an image of Cassandro.
And an image of the half-blind and stuttering Tartaglia.
Il Dottore - The Doctor
He is a Bolognese University trained doctor who is learned and respected by others, but who in reality is foolish, ill-educated as seen by his mangling of the language, and prone to pointless, learned debates while his patients die. He is known by many names, including Graziano and Balanzone and Boloardo, but the character is always the same.
First Zanni - First Servant - Brighella
Traditionally in a theatrical troupes, and in most plays they performed, there was a First Servant (Primo Zanni) who is scheming, more clever than his master, semi-serious, poor, illiterate, from Bergamo, and a busy-body. He goes by many names, but most commonly by Brighella, Mazzetino, Giangurgolo, Gioppino, Tabarino, Pedrolino, Fritellino or Pierrot which is a later, more romantic version of the same character. Here's an image of Mazzetino.
This is an image of Fritellino.
This is Tabbarino.
Second Zanni - Second Servant - Arlecchino
There is also a Second Servant (Secondo Zanni) who is stupid, foolish, poor, easily distracted, easily provoked into a fight, from Bergamo, sometimes carrying a stick, and always hungry. This character is generally called Arlecchino (Pulcinella is the Neapolitan version from which comes the English puppet character Punch), but is also known as Francatrippa, Polichinelle, Truffadino, Girandolaio, BeppeNappa (Sicilian version), Trivellino, Stentarello (Florentine version) or Burattino. Charlie Chaplin's Tramp character is known as Charlot outside the U.S., and is seen as a direct descendent of Arlecchino via Pulcinella. This is an image of the Neapolitan Pulcinella.
Here's an image of the Sicilian BeppeNappa.
Here is an image of Florentine Stenterello.
A variation of Arlecchino popular in Venice puppet theatres was the psychopathic character with the billy-club or night-stick who beat people to death after befriending them, in sang-froid, or cold-bloodedly, feeling no remorse what-so-ever. Other character in this same vein if a bit milder at times, are Ruzante, Macco, Fagiolino (Bologna, Dosseno, and Punch in England. This is an image of Ruzante.
Colombina - Zanni - Servant Girl
This is a female servant character, who is often paired with the Second Servant as his wife (in English she became Judy). She is often vicious, spiteful, wily, pragmatic, very clever, and Venetian. She goes by many names including Arlecchina, Corallina, Ricciolina, Camilla and Lisetta.
Loyal Maid Servant
A faithful personal maid to the Prima Donna who helps her survive the melodramatic travails of the story. Sometimes called Ragonda. Another version is Bela Majin (Piedmont) who is the beautiful and loyal wife of Bicciolano, dressed red with a long head veil.
Good Natured Man Milanese usually, moral, dignified, wise and likes the quiet life. He transforms from servant to merchant and back again, and has several incarnations, such as Meneghino, Gianduja (Torino), Bicciolano (Piedmont). This is Torinese Gianduja.
This is Piedmontese Bicciolano.
This is Milanese Meneghino.
Here is good Sicilian Pasquino.
Zanni - Musician - Scapino Scapino is the most famous musical servant. He's always depicted with an instrument. Coviello is another musical character that has a generally silly personality in whatever role he shows up. The French Scaramouche or Scaramuccia character is often with an instrument too. This is Scapino.
Here's an image of Coviello.
And this is Scaramouche.
Aspirational Peasant This comic character had many names and personifications, but the characteristics are the same. He has a strong regional dialect and pretends to be better bred than he really is. Beltrame, Sandrone. This is an image of Beltrame.
Wild Man - Caveman - Uomo selvatico
Also call Uomo selvaggio. A primitive, hairy man who responds to all his primitive urges. He's also used in plays as a wood nymph, causing all kinds of trouble for unsuspecting people who happen upon him.
El Capitan - The Captain
The Captain goes my many names, but the most popular is Capitan Spavento, image above. Spavento means 'fear' in Italian, which describes his character well. The Captain is a braggard soldier, vainglorious, Spanish or Neopolitan, a buffoon who considers himself a prize for any woman, and who is timid in combat. He's thought to be the basis of Shakespeare's famous character Falstaff. He's known variously as Capitan: Coccodrillo, Matamoros (more comical), Rinocerante, Narcisino, Scaramouche or Scaramuccia (France), Rugantino (Rome), Giangugolo (Calabria), Meo Pattaca. This is Narcisino.
Here is Capitan Matamoros.
And this is Scaramouche.
Meo Pattaca is based on a Roman mercenary character from a classic poem and play.
Saltembanco - Mountebank
This is the show barker, pitchman, salesman. He roams the town streets trying to draw in the crowds into the show. He would take part in a play by acting as the narrator, or playing any charlatan that needed playing. Saltembanco means jumps on the bench, suggesting he would often climb up on benches to be seen and heard in the busy streets. The humorous image above shows what the man might resort to in his job as barker.
The Lovers - Gli innamorati - Gli amorosi The first woman of a troupe, the Prima Donna, usually played the female romantic lead. Each performance had it's melodramatic element, star-crossed lovers, to please the softer emotions of the audience. There was also a handsome, masculine, young leading man to play her lover. They were both cultured, beautiful, elegant and eloquent. They went by various names like Flavio and Flaminia, Leandro and Isabella, Silvia and Silvio, Fiorella and Fiorello, Rosaura and Rosario. Think of the old Marx Brothers movies. They always had a story of young lovers in the middle of all the zany mayhem caused by the Zanni, the Marx Brothers, who tried to get the young lovers together while clashing with the establishment characters such as Doctors, Rich Men and Women, and the Captains of Police. This is Isabella.
Here's an image of Silvia.
Here is Fiorella.
There was often in a troupe a set of Second Lovers, who many time played friends or rivals of the First Lovers. The actors doubled for other characters when needed, and entertained the crowds during the musical acts. A Dancer.
A Singer.
An Apothecary.
A Notary.
Click through to my Venice Carnival page for some Venetian inspired characters associated with Carnival. Visit my Costumes page for more generic costumes you can purchase for parties and Carnival.
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This on-line company offers a large selection of low priced theatrical costumes for adults and in plus sizes.
