Christian singing "Your Song" in Moulin Rouge, Archetype: Silvio/Flavio/etc. Though merely speculative, these conjectures have revealed the existence of rustic regional dialect farces in Italy during the Middle Ages. I feel like its a lifeline. Commedia dell'arte troupes are still performing today, so don't pass up the chance to see this unique and influential theatrical form! Bean: Harry Dangle. The Gelosi, summoned to Blois in 1577 by the king, later returned to Paris, and the Parisians embraced the Italian theatre, supporting resident Italian troupes who developed additional French characters. In other words, the characteristics of the character and the characteristics of the mask are the same. She is last mentioned in 1595. Protagonista della farsa Francesco Patria che cura anche la regia. More than any other element, the Commedia Dell'Arte characters are remembered as the most important and enjoyable elements of the performances. Marivaux softened the commedia considerably by bringing in true emotion to the stage. E vo' che sappi che, dinanzi ad essi, spiriti umani non eran salvati. Commedia Dell'Arte, sometimes known simply as Commedia, was a type of theatrical performance that was popular in Italy and other parts of Europe from the 16th to 18th centuries. The jacket became shorter and his hat changed from a soft cap to a double pointed hat. Commedia iconography is evident in porcelain figurines many selling for thousands of dollars at auction. For examples of strange instruments of various grotesque formations, see articles by Tom Heck, who has documented this area. In 1579-1581, she was the leader of her own theatre company. Commedia dell'arte is a term that came into use after the Renaissance to describe a type of theatrical entertainment that began in Italy in the mid-1500s.It was best known for its improvised, or unscripted, performances. Arlecchino originally wore a tight fitting long jacket with matching trousers that both had numerous odd shaped patches, usually green, yellow, red, and brown. The Flaminio Scala scenarios, published in the early 17th century, are the most widely known collection and representative of its most esteemed compagnia, I Gelosi. It is an academic teaching tool notintended for public use, and its contents are covered under U.S. copyright law as it pertains to classroom and teaching materials. She and Isabella Andreini were the two most famed actresses of the era, and described as great rivals. Pantalone represents the love of money. In 1589, the Gelosi troupe performed in Florence at the wedding of Grand Duke Ferdinand de Medici and Christina of Lorraine. Arlecchino, often known in English as Harlequin, is a servant whose primary interest is food. Some kinds of contemporary comic relief characters share similarities with their Commedia counterparts. [nota 2] Adems de las intrigas y escenarios tpicos de la comedia erudita, se incluan en el repertorio . The name 'Zanni' is a diminutive of . They would travel in large carts laden with supplies necessary for their nomadic style of performance, enabling them to move from place to place without having to worry about the difficulties of relocation. The earliest known company formed in Padua in 1545, and by the turn of the seventeenth century troupes such as the Gelosi . Leliothe male counterpart to Vittoria, Lelio is sensitive and philosophical. I Gelosi was the first incorporated theatre troupe of its kind that employed professional actors. His mask has round cheeks and a snub nose. The pittore vago can be attributed with establishing commedia dell'arte as a genre of painting that would persist for centuries. Pierrot is actually a French addition to Commedia and he is not always considered one of the Zanni. Additionally, each character has a singular costume and mask that is representative of the character's role. Most of these characters, with the exception of the lovers and Columbina, wore masks. Bean: Rachel. Depending on the version, he is the epitome of the grumpy old man, the dirty old man, the miserly old man, or all three. The company, first mentioned in 1568, was the first Commedia to tour outside Italy when it performed in Paris in 1571, and was described as the foremost commedia dellarte troupe. Giacomo Oreglia (2002). [24] This view may be somewhat romanticized since records describe the Gelosi performing Tasso's Aminta, for example, and much was done at court rather than in the street. Although this might make him seem like an unlikeable character, his dastardliness is offset by a dark charisma and an alluring guardedness which often makes him extremely enjoyable to watch.Examples includeRobert Guillaume's brilliant "Benson" character, Geoffrey from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and, as included below, Rowan Atkinson as the Prince's Butler in the third season of Blackadder. [49][50] Movements of the piece reflect the names of many characters of the Commedia, including Pierrot, Harlequin, Pantalon, and Columbine. commedia dell'arte improvisation, sight gags, and wordplay on the development of Shakespeare's plays, The amorosi are often children of a male character in the masters group, but not of any female character in the masters group, which may represent younger women who have e.g. [48] Brighella was often depicted with a guitar, and many images of the commedia feature singing innamorati or dancing figures. 'comedy of the profession')[3] was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. Of the same period were the Desiosi, formed in 1595, to which Tristano Martinelli (c. 15571630), the famous Arlecchino, belonged; the Comici Confidnti, active from 1574 to 1621; and the Uniti, under Drusiano Martinelli and his wife, Angelica, a company first mentioned in 1574. Shakespeare's The Tempest is drawn from a popular scenario in the Scala collection, his Polonius (Hamlet) is drawn from Pantalone, and his clowns bear homage to the zanni. [45] The 18th century is when the iconic Arlecchino look with the diamond shaped lozenges took shape. He's a pastiche of a servant or worker like a baker: he's dressed in long, white, baggy clothes with a big hat that looks something like a chef's hat. For instance, in England Pulcinella eventually evolved into another stock character, Punch, who became part of its own tradition of theatrical and puppet performances. Actors in Commedia troupes would often dedicate their careers to performing a single character. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/art/commedia-dellarte, The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Commedia dell'arte, World Encyclopedia of Puppetry Arts - Commedia dellArte, Academia - Commedia Dell'Arte: The Theatre of the Streets, commedia dellarte - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). Already in its early days, commedia dell'arte began influencing other theater, like William Shakespeare's plays The Tempest, The Taming of the Shrew, and Love's Labor's Lost, which feature characters and situations that recall those from commedia dell'arte. Many attempts have been made to find the forms origins in preclassical and classical mime and farce and to trace a continuity from the classical Atellan play to the commedia dellartes emergence in 16th-century Italy. Dopo la morte della moglie, Otto, un sessantenne scorbutico e cocciuto, costretto a lasciare il lavoro che ha svolto per quasi quarant'anni e per questo comincia a pensare di farla finita. These Roman comedies became quite popular in France, Germany, and England as well. Unlike other forms of theatre at the time, female Commedia characters were usually depicted by women. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. These helped audiences identify what each character personifies and made it easy to identify the character in each commedia dell'arte performance. [45], Il Capitano's costume is similar to Il Dottore's in the fact that it is also a satire on military wear of the time. [1] She was one of the most famous Italian actors of the period and known as the Divine Vittoria Piisimi. Robert Guillaume's brilliant "Benson" character, Geoffrey from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and, as included below, Rowan Atkinson as the Prince's Butler in the third season of Blackadder. [45][44] In 1653, his costume was changed by Augustin Lolli who was a very popular Il Dottore actor. Copyright law governing Academic Fair Use. Female characters in the masters group, while younger than their male counterparts, are nevertheless older than the amorosi. The comical Hanswurst, of German folklore, was also a commedia dellarte character. The characters in Commedia shows were usually stereotypes, embodying a single primary emotion or trait. The Punch and Judy puppet shows, popular to this day in England, owe their basis to the Pulcinella mask that emerged in Neapolitan versions of the form. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. His hands (despite the picture) are often held in a Tyrannosaurus-like gestus before him, and his money pouch--conspicuously displayed--has often slipped forward due to his bent posture, now hanging in front of his crotch, giving the unpleasant image of a scrotum. Influences appear in the lodgers in Steven Berkoff's adaptation of Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis. Characters like Harlequin, Columbina, Il Capitano, and Pantalone emerged as the form developed, representing stereotypes like trickery, innocence, and foolishness. Lucrezia Di Siena, whose name is on a contract of actors from 10 October 1564, has been referred to as the first Italian actress known by name, with Vincenza Armani and Barbara Flaminia as the first primadonnas and the first well-documented actresses in Italy (and Europe). Performers made use of well-rehearsed jokes and stock physical gags, known as lazzi and concetti, as well as on-the-spot improvised and interpolated episodes and routines, called burle (singular burla, Italian for 'joke'), usually involving a practical joke. Castagno describes the Flemish pittore vago (wandering painters) who assimilated themselves within Italian workshops and even assumed Italian surnames: one of the most influential painters, Lodewyk Toeput, for example, became Ludovico Pozzoserrato and was a celebrated painter in the Veneto region of Italy. Arlecchino (Harlequin), one of the zanni, was created by Tristano Martinelli as the witty servant, nimble and gay; as a lover, he became capricious, often heartless. With the dispatch of the Italian comedians from France in 1697, the form transmogrified in the 18th century as genres such as comdie larmoyante gained in attraction in France, particularly through the plays of Marivaux. As one of the lovers, the audience must care for her, and forgive her spoiled ways as a symptom of youth rather than true greed. Bean: Dolly. Bean: "Charlie the Duck". Goldoni: Clarice Goldoni: Brighella Taviani's term negativa poetica describes this and other practices offensive to the church, while giving us an idea of the phenomenon of the commedia dell'arte performance. Poor Pulcinella! Its like a teacher waved a magic wand and did the work for me. Commedia characters also figure in Richard Strauss's opera Ariadne auf Naxos. His costume is red and black, and he wears tight-fitting trousers and a flowing cape to suggest his flair and worldliness. Filmed & edited by Rachel Bykowski, 2011. 90% of romantic comedies (which, of course, owe a lot to Commedia) have this character -- part Johnny Bravo, part Captain Hammer, part Disney World guy who plays Gaston [rather than the more "evil" Gaston ofthe film]. Castagno posits that the aesthetic of exaggeration, distortion, anti-humanism (as in the masked types), and excessive borrowing as opposed to originality was typical of all the arts in the late Italian Renaissance. He's known for wearing a colorful, diamond-checked, tight-fitting costume and a black and red half mask. The following list is not exhaustive but does cover the most important and famous Zanni in the Commedia canon. Concomitantly, a Neapolitan tradition emerged in the south and featured the prominent stage figure Pulcinella, which has been long associated with Naples and derived into various types elsewheremost famously as the puppet character Punch (of the eponymous Punch and Judy shows) in England. Doltish yet honest, he was often the victim of his fellow comedians pranks. Commedia dell'arte is performed seasonally in Denmark on the Peacock Stage of Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, and north of Copenhagen at Dyrehavsbakken. The Capitano developed as a caricature of the Spanish braggart soldier, boasting of exploits abroad, running away from danger at home. The lovers, who played unmasked, were scarcely true commedia dellarte characterstheir popularity depending on looks, grace, and fluency in an eloquent Tuscan dialect. Molly Ringwald in Pretty in Pink is, perhaps, the Queen of the Vittorias. Typically the story ends happily, with the marriage of the innamorati and forgiveness for any wrongdoings. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Commedia dell'Arte. Pantalone is known for wearing a brown or black mask with a hooked nose, and sometimes he is depicted with a mustache or flowing wide beard. What is Commedia Dell'Arte? Moliere made great use of the Columbina archetype in his maids (see especially Dorine in Tartuffe), though she also often pops up in "funny-but-wise best friend" positions in various contemporary romantic comedies. Yet the art form never really died out. Bean: Lloyd Boateng. The scenario used symmetrical pairs of characters: two elderly men, two lovers, two zanni, a maidservant, a soldier, and extras. Piisimi was the primadonna of the famous commedia dellarte Gelosi Company of Flaminio Scala. & production shots! The Flemish influence is widely documented as commedia figures entered the world of the vanitas genre, depicting the dangers of lust, drinking, and the hedonistic lifestyle. Over time, Commedia Dell'Arte fell out of style and was replaced by other types of theatre. Commedia dell'arte performance, Paris, 1768. Silviois the male counterpart to Isabella, and matches her posing and gesticulating every step of the way.
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