A Brief History of Commedia dell'Arte - Odyssey Theatre He's a trickster, a bit devilish, known for causing mayhem. Companies in fact preferred to not stay in any one place too long, mostly out of a fear of the act becoming "stale." Updates? [12], The characters of the commedia usually represent fixed social types and stock characters, such as foolish old men, devious servants, or military officers full of false bravado. Stock characters and situations also appear in ballet. It is known for having masked characters and physical comedy. Molly Ringwald in Pretty in Pink is, perhaps, the Queen of the Vittorias. Commedia dell'Arte and the Development of Modern Comedy: An Enduring Characters like Harlequin, Columbina, Il Capitano, and Pantalone emerged as the form developed, representing stereotypes like trickery, innocence, and foolishness. Commedia Dell'Arte features stock characters, masks, and slapstick humor. In Italy, commedia masks and plots found their way into the opera buffa, and the plots of Rossini, Verdi, and Puccini. Bean: Alan. However, it is more probable that the comici used contemporary novella, or, traditional sources as well, and drew from current events and local news of the day. Yet the art form never really died out. 7 chapters | This Commedia Dell . This chapter examines the lives and careers of some of the first commedia dell'arte actresses, who worked in Italy and toured to other European countries, such as France, Spain and England, from the mid-sixteenth century until the first decades of the seventeenth century. In the 17th century as commedia became popular in France, the characters of Pierrot, Columbina and Harlequin were refined and became essentially Parisian, according to Green.[43]. If you could combine Vizzini from the Princess Bride, Zoidberg from Futurama, andOwl from Winnie the Pooh, you'd have Il Dottore. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Archetype: Isabella/Angellica/etc. Pierrot has his Harlequin, and Pantalone has Il Dottore, He's also known for being an older man with money. This was believed to make performances more natural, as well as strengthening the bonds within the troupe, who emphasized complete unity between every member. For examples of strange instruments of various grotesque formations, see articles by Tom Heck, who has documented this area. Audiences came to see the performers, with plotlines becoming secondary to the performance. Performances took place on temporary stages, mostly on city streets, but occasionally even in court venues. Some of the better known commedia dell'arte characters are Pierrot and Pierrette, Pantalone, Gianduja, Il Dottore, Brighella, Il Capitano, Colombina, the innamorati, Pedrolino, Pulcinella, Arlecchino, Sandrone, Scaramuccia (also known as Scaramouche), La Signora, and Tartaglia. Virginia Ramponi is a talented actress, having only a week to learn the title role of Arianna after the tragic passing of the young soprano. [38], According to 18th-century London theatre critic Baretti, commedia dell'arte incorporates specific roles and characters that were "originally intended as a kind of characteristic representative of some particular Italian district or town." Not necessarily the funniest character, though she has heart,and there's sometimes room for comic relief surroundinghertroubles withsome feminine social graces. 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. This site has been designed for the sole purpose of providinga dramaturgical resource guide for students involved with the Ohio State University Theatre Department's 2016 production of Richard Bean's One Man, Two Guvnors. Here are some of the most important ones. Piisimi was the primadonna of the famous commedia dellarte Gelosi Company of Flaminio Scala. He usually pairs these two with a big black coat called a zimarra.[45][44]. 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. [1] She was one of the most famous Italian actors of the period and known as the Divine Vittoria Piisimi. Her innocence is a bit of a ruse--depending on how she is performed, she may be a perky and flirtatious character, or a quick-witted one known to outsmart the others. We've all heard of theater improv or improv art, well welcome to the 17th century's form of improv, commedia dell'arte. Among the great innamorate, Isabella Andreini was perhaps the most widely known, and a medallion dedicated to her reads "eternal fame". Numerous acting companies formed commedia dell'arte troupes, and the character types and costumes began to solidify in their performances in countries like Italy, France, and England. Its like a teacher waved a magic wand and did the work for me. Some of the important characters in Commedia Dell'Arte include Arlecchino, Columbina, Il Dottore, Pantalone, Il Capitano, and the young lovers, Lelio and Isabella. Actors were versed in a plethora of skills, with many having joined troupes without a theatre background. The audience should feel that, given time to grow up and get some experience, he could actually be a decent human being, and part of our experience should be routing for him to do so. The naive Pierrot is known as a sad clown: he is dressed in frills and puffy clothing, but he's in all white and is constantly heartbroken that the vivacious Harlequin has stolen his love, Columbina. Il Dottore ("the Doctor") fancies himself as the wisest gent in the village; displaying the hypocracy inherent in all Commedia masters, however, Il Dottore is actually extremely foolish, given to malaprops, flights of illogical ramblings, and superstition. [46], The classic, traditional plot is that the innamorati are in love and wish to be married, but one elder (vecchio) or several elders (vecchi) are preventing this from happening, leading the lovers to ask one or more zanni (eccentric servants) for help. Il Capitano brags of grand achievements as a lover and military captain, but it's probably all talk. InOne Man, Two Guvnors his typical loud plaid is undoubtedly an homage to the famous multi-colored "patched" wardrobe -- in later years seen as a brightly colored diamond jester's jumpsuit (a la "Harley-Quinn"), but originally a comical outfit made up of clashing patches (the theory being that he is so poor and he has patched his suit so often that there is no original suit left -- just scores of patches!). The first Commedia performances happened around 1551 when "unorganized strolling players, acrobats, street entertainers started to coalesce.". Despite contemporary depictions of scenarios and masks and descriptions of particular presentations, impressions today of what the commedia dellarte was like are secondhand. Actors, both male and female, were known to strip nearly naked, and storylines typically descended into crude situations with overt sexuality, considered to teach nothing but "lewdness and adulteryof both sexes" by the French Parliament. 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). The earliest works to feature characters that strongly resemble those from commedia dell'arte appeared in the early 16th century, like Machiavelli's La Mandragola (1518). Others include Pierrot, a clown, and Columbina, a maid. During the Napoleonic occupation of Italy, instigators of reform and critics of French Imperial rule (such as Giacomo Casanova) used the carnival masks to hide their identities while fueling political agendas, challenging social rule and hurling blatant insults and criticisms at the regime. Commedia dell'arte moved outside the city limits to the thtre de la foire, or fair theatres, in the early 17th century as it evolved toward a more pantomimed style. Valsznleg mg az kori atellana-jtk hagyomnyaibl alakult, de termszetesen kzrejtszottak kialakulsban a minden vidken meglv npi csfoldk is. The following list is not exhaustive but does cover the most important and famous Zanni in the Commedia canon. 28 Febbraio 2023. The comic operas of Gaetano Donizetti, such as Elisir d'amore, draw readily upon commedia stock types. [49][50] Movements of the piece reflect the names of many characters of the Commedia, including Pierrot, Harlequin, Pantalon, and Columbine. 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. These characters included the forebears of the modern clown, namely Harlequin (Arlecchino) and the zanni. 1595), was an Italian actress, singer, dancer, theatre director and musician. What You Need to Know About Commedia Dell'Arte - ThoughtCo These characters tended to be stereotypes, with most of them embodying a single primary trait. Pulcinella is sometimes called the Southern Arlecchino because of his similarities to the Harlequin character. [28] In France, during the reign of Louis XIV, the Comdie-Italienne created a repertoire and delineated new masks and characters, while deleting some of the Italian precursors, such as Pantalone. Some characters in commedia dell'arte are more successful. She has been teaching English in Canada and Taiwan for seven years. The lovers, who played unmasked, were scarcely true commedia dellarte characterstheir popularity depending on looks, grace, and fluency in an eloquent Tuscan dialect. In his smartest incarnations, he's part Charlie Chaplin, part Bugs Bunny; the rest of the time, when not QUITE so wise, he's. Early in the 17th century, with the demise of the Gelosi, the leading commedia company, it became the favourite of the Mantuan court. [37] Theatre historian Martin Green points to the extravagance of emotion during the period of commedia's emergence as the reason for representational moods, or characters, that define the art. The theatrical form known as the commedia dell'arte was highly improvisational, although through repeated performances its characters developed stock speeches and stage business and its scenarios gained fairly standard form. Thus, though many players are individually associated with partsthe elder Andreini is said to have created the Capitano, and Tiberio Fiorillo (160894) is said to have done the same for Scaramuccia (the French Scaramouchefor an understanding of the commedia dellarte, the mask is more important than the player. Indeed, Molire shared the stage with the Comdie-Italienne at Petit-Bourbon, and some of his forms, e.g. There is also a female character known as The Courtisane who can also have a servant. 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. Typically, Capitano wears an exaggerated military uniform, with a feathered hat and ornate boots. Characters | oneman Greco - COMPLETO E RIASSUNTIVO - LA COMMEDIA La cosa pi interessante [1] She was one of the most famous Italian actors of the period and known as the Divine Vittoria Piisimi. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Commedia dell'arte. [48] Brighella was often depicted with a guitar, and many images of the commedia feature singing innamorati or dancing figures. Shakespeare's Romeo andMoulin Rouge's Christian are two possible examples of Lelios. 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. They were characterized by shrewdness and self-interest; much of their success depended on improvised action and topical jokes.