Commedia dell'arte

Commedia dell'arte (Italian, meaning "comedy of professional artists") was a form of improvisational theater which began in the 16th century and was popular until the 18th century, although it is still performed today. Traveling teams of players would set up an outdoor stage and provide amusement in the form of juggling, acrobatics, and, more typically, humorous plays based on a repertoire of established characters with a rough storyline, called Canovaccio.

The characters

Many male commedia dell'arte characters were depicted by actors wearing masks, although the Amorosi (or lovers) did not wear masks. Female characters, however, were usually not masked, until the 1800s. Unlike their English contemporaries (see Shakespeare), commedia troupes usually employed female actresses for female roles. The theatrical device of men in women's clothing and wigs, en travesti, was used for humour.

Related Topics:
Shakespeare - En travesti

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In some cases, the characters were also traditionally considered as respectively representing some Italian regions or main towns. Often they are still now symbolic of the related town.

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Character List

Following is a list of the original Italian characters, with other English or French names, or descendant characters (in parentheses), and the towns/regions to which they are eventually associated:

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• Arlecchino (Harlequin), is Pantalone's servant. He is extremely poor. The famous Harlequin costume, with its lozenge pattern of red, green, and blue diamonds, is a stylised representation of clothes that are so old and patched as to have lost their original colour and material. He is a peasant with no instruction (he can't read or write), who has left his native Bergamo to seek his fortune in the city of Venice, as it grows rich from its commerce with the orient. This often causes amusement, as no-one can understand his dialect. He is an acrobat and a clown, he carries a baton which he sometimes uses to bash other characters, leading to the modern term slapstick. Harlequin is not really a villain; he just tries to get by. There are three types of Harlequin mask, the cat, the pig and the monkey (some say the bull too). The lozenge costume has given its name to the fashion motif, the mask to a shape for eyeglass frames: see Harlequin.
• Brighella (Figaro, Molière's Scapin), Bergamo, a money-grubbing villain, a partner of Arlecchino. He is a self made man, who has become comfortably off by starting his own business, despite humble beginnings. He is often the proprietor of the local tavern. He is a ladies' man, who has a lot of success with them. If he were a character of today, he would own a flashy car and have lots of flashy clothes and jewellery. He's a typical Latin macho man, with all the charm that involves, and all the drawbacks.
• Columbina (Colombina, the Servant, Columbine, Harlequine, Pierrette), Venice, maidservant to the Innamorata and lover of Arlecchino, usually involved in intrigue. She is rather intelligent.
• Il Capitano (the Captain), boastful he-man soldier, but a coward underneath
• Il Dottore (usually called Dottore Balanzone or Dottore Graziano, the Doctor), Bologna, The Doctor is the local aristocrat, who went all the way to Bologna to read for his degree. He is extremely rich, with "old" money. He adores food and good wines, thus he is a little round...
• Gianduia, Turin, a well-mannered Piedmontese peasant.
• Innamorata (the Lover), the leading woman, who wore no mask (see innamorati)
• Innamorato (the Lover), the leading man, who wore no mask (see innamorati)-his partner is also called a lover.
• Isabella (Lucinda, Cornelia, Silvia, Rosaura), Pantalone's daughter. She is very headstrong, flirtatious, sensuous, and articulate. Men are constantly falling hopelessly in love with her. She loves to tease and test the men. Her father always tries to control her life by arranging meetings and agreements with inappropriate overaged gentlemen suitors.
• Mezzetin, a French figure, painted by Antoine Watteau
• Pagliaccio (the Clown), a forerunner of today's clowns. The opera I Pagliacci centers around a commedia troupe.
• Pantalone (Pantalon de' Bisognosi, Pantaloon), Venice, a rich and miserly merchant who is the father of Isabella. He also employs Arlecchino and treats him cruelly.
• Pedrolino (or Pierino, Vicenza, and most commonly nowadays known as Pierrot a dreamer with a white mask, now considered the French version of a clown).
• Pulcinella, Naples, a hunchback who still chases women, he was the model for Punch in the English variation Punch and Judy.
• La Ruffiana (old woman), usually a mother or gossipy townswoman who intrudes into the lives of the Lovers
• Scaramuccia (see also Scaramouche), a roguish adventurer and swordsman who replaced Il Capitano in later troupes. Was the servant for another character. He wears a black velvet mask and black trousers, shirt and hat.
• Zanni, Venice, a threadbare old servant from Bergamo.