1. COMMEDIA DELL’ARTE
PROFESSORI GREGORI BARKINI

2. THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
ITALY IN THE HIGH-MIDDLE AGES
 Southern Italy in the 13th and 14th century was
partitioned between many small countries
 The Northern Part was highly developed because of
the strong trade links after the crusades
 The European economical boom of that era was highly
experienced in Italy
 The agriculture flourished in the inner city-states
 The Italian Mediterranean routes were also major
sources of knowledge and cultural exchange
 There were constant wars for dominance between the
city-states followed by a peaceful period at the end of
14th century

3. THE RENAISSANCE IN ITALY
 A period of Great cultural achievement in Europe,
it encompasses the period between the end of
the 14th century to about 1600
 The Italian Renaissance is considered to be the
opening stage of the entire epoch in Europe
 It marks the transition between the Medieval Ages
to the Early Modern Age
 The Italian Renaissance began in Tuscany,
Florence and Siena
 Some of the most important figures of the era are
Petrarch, Machiavelli, Leonardo Da Vinci,
Michelangelo, Castiglione
 As a cultural movement the Renaissance affected
only small portions of the society

4. THE ITALIAN THEATRE
 The Ancient legacy was revived and this led to
occasional performances of Roman comedies in many
small states in Italy – known as Neoclassicism
 The initial purpose of the Italian Theatre was to reflect
the glory and power of the current ruler
 The Renaissance Drama began developing in Italy at
that time, marking the end of medieval practices
 Fantasy and supernatural elements were avoided in
neoclassical plays
 The chorus and soliloquies were also discouraged.
Reality was stressed in drama plays along with plays that
teach moral lessons

5. THE ITALIAN THEATRE (CONT)
 The creation of a frame (proscenium arch) for the painted
scenery became standard and remains so – the oldest
theatre with permanent proscenium is Teatro Farnese in
Parma, built in 1618
 The themes and topics of the Italian plays were drawn from
ancient mythology
 At first the Italians did not have any permanent theatre
halls. They used to set up temporary performance stages in
large halls, used for different purposes
 The acceptance of perspective scenery brought the
foundation of movement from architectural to
representational and pictorial stage – the stage can be
modified according the specific production

6. SEBASTIANO SERLIO’S STAGE
 A prominent Italian architect known for his high-
quality illusions and plans for theatrical scenery and
stages

7. COMMEDIA DELL’ARTE
 It means – “Comedy of Art” or “Comedy of the
profession” – opposite to the literary comedy
“Commedia Erudita”
 It began in the 15th century and kept its
popularity until the late 18th century (still
performed today in some theatres in Italy)
 For the first time women had the right to
participate in theatrical production (in contrast
to the Elizabethan age). The number of female
roles increased, even though these didn’t
become as permanent and deep as the male
characters

8. COMMEDIA DELL’ARTE
 The troupe consisted usually of 10 people (7
men and 3 women), traveling around the
country
 The plays were supported at the beginning by
donations, like modern street performers
 The plays were held outside initially with poor
props and modest costumes
 Outside Italy it was known as “Italian Comedy”
 Improvised drama, implying the subject matter
of the play than the manner of performance of
the actors

9. COMMEDIA DELL’ARTE
 The play was adjusted through improvisation
and most of the plays had a satiric character
 Characters in plays were portrayed by actors
wearing masks (except the lovers)
 Amusement in the form of acrobatics and
juggling was also provided
 The material was divided into acts and scenes
with a prologue
 The situation (scenario) had been clearly
determined and outlined, although the actors
improvised the dialogue and the action to some
extent

10. COMMEDIA DELL’ARTE
 The performances created the impression of
spontaneity because the behavior of the
actors was quite unexpected by the other
actors on the stage
 The actor was the “heart” and the emphasis of
the play
 There were limited scenarios: they were tragic,
melodramatic, musical, and most of them were
comic, revolving around love affairs, intrigues
and disguises
 Many actors were required to record
appropriate sentiments from poetry and
popular literature

11. THE STOCK CHARACTERS
 Lovers – they had the most realistic roles. They gained
popularity very fast because they did not wear masks
and were dressed according to the latest fashion
trends at that time. Usually the “lovers” were children of
the “Masters”. Their affairs were directly related to the
opposition of their parents (cf Romeo and Juliet)
 Masters – The plutocrats, rich merchants, bank owners
and ship owners. E.g. Pantalone, Dottore, and
Capitano. They had dual characteristics. They were
intelligent and braggart, but later their controversial
personality is revealed by the plot
 Servants – Most of them were male actors. They were
the most diversified part of the plays. E.g. – Arlecchino,
Pulcinelo and others

12. THE STOCK CHARACTERS
 Arlecchino – a poor and illiterate servant from Bergamo, who
sought for his fortune in Venice. He is also an acrobat and a clown.
Arlecchino was originally created in the French Theatre, but later
he was adapted by the Italians
 Brighella – A friend of Arlecchino, who is always the butt of the joke.
He is often not allowed to do something but his eagerness brings
him into very funny situations
 Columbina – a maidservant, a lover of Arlecchino. She is intelligent
and in many cases she gets involved into love intrigues and
scandals
 Pantalone – an old, rich and miserly merchant from Venice. He
employs Arlecchino and treats him cruelly. He always speaks in a
Venetian dialect
 Pedrolino – A kind and courteous servant who has always been
blamed for the others’ troubles and things he has never done.

13. THE MASKS
 They played crucial role in Commedia Dell’arte
 All personages (except the “lovers”) wore coloured
leather masks
 They were used to resemble and utilize the personages
and also to distinguish them from each other
 As a means of character identification they demanded
extremely advanced mimicry and sometimes
acrobatics
 Many of them were similar to masks used in the Ancient
Roman Theatre

14. ZANNI – THE CLOWNS
The Zanni include…
 Brighella
 Columbina
 Arlecchino
The clowns were
typically servants
in the scenarios,
providing the laughter.

15. BRIGHELLA
 Personality
 crafty, quick, unscrupulous
 thrives on double dealings,
intrigues, and foul play
 sometimes depicted as an
innkeeper, shop owner,
valet, or soldier
 cynical liar who only looks
out for himself
 He is sleazy, seductive,
dangerous
 He is a drunkard and
boisterous
 Physically
 lazy but can move quickly
 He slinks without muscular
effort
 Always ready to pounce
 He might blithely be
cleaning his nails with the
knife which will soon cut a
throat.
 He gets very close to
people when he speaks.
 He can sing and dance,
and drink with the best of
them.
 His costume is usually
trimmed in green.

16. BRIGHELLA

17. COLUMBINA
 Personality
 female servant
 fresh and frisky,
sometimes crafty, and
often without morals
 makes use of disguises,
dressing up as doctors,
cavaliers, barristers,
and other servants
 often the smartest
character in a
scenario
 She was autonomous,
self-sufficient and
quite rational
 Physically
 Columbina was not
afraid to show her
buxom contours or
flaunt her robust hips
 She stands with hands
on her hips, or holding
a basket or
tambourine, while
flirting

18. COLUMBINA (SMERALDINA)

19. ARLECHINO
 Personality
 like a 5-year-old
 eager to please his master or
mistress
 His first attention is to food:
how to get it, how to savour
it
 He loves tricks and physical
antics
 usually cannot read, which
makes him confuse
messages sent by lovers
 He is ignorant yet clever;
slow mentally but quick
physically
 Physically
 his lower back is arched
 his arms are often bent with
hands on his hips, in
readiness to serve
 His legs turn out, sometimes
with heels together and
other times with the back
knee bent and the front leg
straight.
 He runs quickly and lightly,
kicking his feet forward.
 He sneaks to steal food with
large, exaggerated, silent
steps.
 He can stop in an instant,
especially when caught in
one of his pranks.

20. ARLECHINO (TRUFFALDINO)

21. VECCHI
Vecchi are the old men
characters. They are
typically father figures or
evil characters.
They include…
- Pantalone
- Il Dottore
- Il Capitano

22. PANTALONE
 Personality
 wealthy, paranoid,
 merchant
 Money is his obsession
 He is a master at
seducing beautiful
young women
 He suspects that
everyone is out to
deceive him
 He complains about his
physical ailments: aching
back, bad knees, gout,
etc. that conveniently
come and go at his
discretion
 Physically
 His pelvis is tilted under but he
is not hunched over
 His knees are bent with his
heels together, toes pointing
outward
 he runs and walks heels first
 His hands and fingers actively
fidget in counting money or
holding his money pouch
 In spite of being old and sick,
he is surprisingly agile
 Pantalone usually has a
curled, pointed beard, red
leggings, and a long cape
(denoting higher status)

23. PANTALONE

24. IL DOTTORE
 Personality
 professes to know
everything, but actually
knows nothing
 He loves to hear himself
speak and expounds on
answers, whether asked
or not (but he is always
wrong)
 He claims to be a doctor
of medicine, philosophy,
science, law, language,
literature, art, politics, or
the classics, or all of them
 He is a delightfully
pretentious bag of wind
 Physically
 His mask covers the
forehead and nose,
signifying his heady
thoughts and nosy
intrusions
 He bounces when he
walks
 uses his hands
expressively to clarify his
vivid ideas

25. IL DOTTORE

26. IL CAPITANO
 Personality
 the cowardly braggart
soldier
 He is the foreigner in the
scenario, speaking with an
accent (or two)
 enters to conquer
arrogant foes, to rescue
young damsels in distress,
or to win the hearts of
beautiful widows
 He is, however, a wimp.
He avoids fighting at all
costs by deflecting
conflicts, feigning death,
or outsmarting aggressors
 Physically
 long nose, signifying brawn
over brains (the longer the
nose, the fewer the brains..)
 He holds his weapon strongly
and aggressively (anything
from an old, rusty or crooked
sword to a stick he thinks is a
sword),
 but doesn't really know how to
use it
 he stands tall and has a wide
stance, with feet firmly planted
 But when avoiding conflict he
becomes small and shy,
shriveling and shivering in fear
 He can run very fast when
necessary

27. IL CAPITANO (FLORINDO)

28. THE LOVERS
 The Lovers were the normal characters who were
typically being kept apart. They included…
 Leandro
 Inamorata (“the one who is in love”)
• The Lovers did not typically wear masks. However,
they did wear heavy make-up.
• The Lover, whether called Leandro, Flavio, Lelio or
Ottavio, is always charming, dapper, and sometimes
a bit ridiculous. His sole purpose in the script is to be
in love. He must be young, good looking, courteous
and gallant.
• The Inamorata was a role originally played by men in
France and England

29. THE LOVERS (SILVIO & CLARICE)

30. CARLO GOLDONI
(1707-1793)
 One of the Italy’s (Europe’s)
Greatest playwrights, born in
Venice in 1707
 He attracted the theatre-goers by
creating characters that were
similar to them, and often through
dramatizing the conflicts and
dramas of the contemporary
middle-classes
• Initially he wrote tragedies but later he found he is
better in the comedy genre
• His main idea was that the Italian life was susceptible
to artistic treatment

31. “THE SERVANT OF TWO MASTERS”
BY CARLO GOLDONI
 Written in 1745 by Goldoni for a Venetian commedia dell’arte
troupe
 Pantalone and Brighella are presented with entirely new traits
 In contrast to other commedia plays, here the middle-class
characters were treated with respect and the women are much
more sensible than the men
 The cast of characters belongs to commedia (Arlecchino,
Brighella etc.)
 The coarse and sexual topics here are avoided
 The plot is based on disguise, coincidence and misunderstanding
 “The servant of two masters” does not achieve a high level of
characterization or social commentary

32. LAZZI
• Stage business
• Humorous interjections which had nothing to do
with the play itself such as:
• Humorous remarks
• Acrobatics
• Juggling
• Wrestling

33. LAZZI
• Each actor has a notebook filled with well-
rehearsed comic action such as:
• Sententious remarks
• Figures of speech
• Love discourses
• Rebukes

34. LAZZI
Used to:
• Fill up time
• Occasionally amuse the audience
• Create a change of pace
Different forms of Lazzi:
• Weeping and laughing
• Fear
• Knocking at the door
• Fight

35. WATCH
COMMEDIA RESOURCES
 A demonstration of the main characters
 Modern interpretation of a Commedia scene
 Some nice visuals