Commedia dell'arte: storia, caratteristiche, autori | Studenti.it Vittoria is one of Commedia's female lovers--but unlike Isabella, she tends to meet the"Diamond in the Rough" trope. Dopo il successo riportato al Teatro Garibaldi di Santa Maria Capua Vetere il mese . She returned to the Gelosi company in 1595. It was not reborn in Venice until 1979 because of this.[30]. Some scholars have claimed she's more in love with the idea of being in love than actually having any true feelings for another, though I would argue this is a matter of actor and production interpretation. See notes on the"Commedia" history/style page about the importance of his costume! Additionally, each character has a singular costume and mask that is representative of the character's role. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Companies in fact preferred to not stay in any one place too long, mostly out of a fear of the act becoming "stale." Sono queste due delle 342 le lettere scritte dall'artista e adesso restaurate da Casa Buonarroti a Firenze. Some of the works are available elsewhere or are in the public domain; others are original pieces that -- as far as we know -- are only available on this site. Magistrates and clergy were not always receptive to the travelling compagnie (companies), particularly during periods of plague, and because of their itinerant nature. While these are often reproduced in large formats, it is important to note that the actual prints measured about 23 inches. See more ideas about stock character, commedia dell'arte, pagliacci. Vittoria Piisimi ( fl. The Italian players were also popular in England, Spain, and Bavaria. [16] Some date the origins to the period of the Roman Republic (Plautine types) or the Empire (Atellan Farces). After its dissolution (c. 1621) a number of its actors became associated with the French version of the commedia dellarte, the Comdie-Italienne in Paris. Almost always the daughter of a rich master character (very often Pantalone, the richest of them all), she often betrays a certain level of "spoiled," but it's important to note that she is not a "Mean Girl"-style villain. Ogni suo tentativo di uccidersi, per, viene sventato o mandato a monte dalle intromissioni dei suoi nuovi vicini, esuberanti e chiassosi, con cui poco per volta finisce per fare amicizia. commedia dell'arte improvisation, sight gags, and wordplay on the development of Shakespeare's plays, The first company, which performed in France and Spain as well as in Italy, was formed about 1574 under the leadership of the commedia actress Vittoria Piissimi and her actor husband, Giovanni Pellesini, who had created the mask of the character Pedrolino. His appetite (primarily for food, but also for drink and ladies) often leads him into mischief, though he doesn't have a single mean or cruel bone in his body. In England, elements from it were naturalized in the harlequinade in pantomime and in the Punch-and-Judy show, a puppet play involving the commedia dellarte character Punch. Often either an orphan or the daughter of an undesirable father (plot-wise at the time, "undesirable fathers" could include paupers, alcoholics, or--like Jessica in Merchant of Venice--Jews), Vittoria enters the play with a greater level of "street smarts," chutzpah, and--quite often--maturity due to her past. [48] Brighella was often depicted with a guitar, and many images of the commedia feature singing innamorati or dancing figures. It is known for having masked characters and physical comedy. Isabella | Lovers | Commedia dell'Arte | Isabella Andreini | Maurice Sand There are many characters associated with the form. 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. His mask has a ridiculously long nose. One part Kardashian, one part Taylor Swift, and a heaping helping of Cher from "Clueless. Pedrolino was his counterpart. [22] Commedia dell'arte was performed outdoors in temporary venues by professional actors who were costumed and masked, as opposed to commedia erudita,[a] which were written comedies, presented indoors by untrained and unmasked actors. ", Charlotte at the ball in thePrincess and the Frog, Archetype: Vittoria/Jessica/etc. Commedia dell'arte | History, Characters, & Facts | Britannica The Art of Commedia: A Study in the Commedia Dell'Arte 1560-1620 with special reference to the visual records, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vittoria_Piisimi&oldid=1106412202, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 24 August 2022, at 13:24. This page was last edited on 13 February 2023, at 10:09. Professional companies then arose; these recruited unorganized strolling players, acrobats, street entertainers, and a few better-educated adventurers, and they experimented with forms suited to popular taste: vernacular dialects (the commedia erudita was in Latin, or in an Italian not easily comprehensible to the general public), plenty of comic action, and recognizable characters derived from the exaggeration or parody of regional or stock fictional types. Commedia dell'arte is a theatrical form characterized by improvised dialogue and a cast of colorful stock characters that emerged in northern Italy in the fifteenth century and rapidly gained popularity throughout Europe. Actors were known to switch from troupe to troupe "on loan," and companies would often collaborate if unified by a single patron or performing in the same general location. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). With Harlequin she became a primary character in the English pantomimes harlequinade. Conventional plot lines were written on themes of sex, jealousy, love, and old age. Its like a teacher waved a magic wand and did the work for me. His fault is that he tends to carry the negative societal consequences of being a "dreamer," and--in some versions--lets his emotions run away from him, over-reacting to situations (whether falling madly in love or lashing out in anger). By the mid to late 16th century, references to characters like Pantalone began to appear. The first Commedia performances happened around 1551 when "unorganized strolling players, acrobats, street entertainers started to coalesce.". 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. She has been teaching English in Canada and Taiwan for seven years. This and all interview clips on this page created for Piccolo Theatre. 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]. Commedia dell'arte has a long history. He's known for wearing a colorful, diamond-checked, tight-fitting costume and a black and red half mask. Commedia dell'arte - Wikipdia Unlike other forms of theatre at the time, female Commedia characters were usually depicted by women. [27] The Italian scholar Ferdinando Taviani has collated a number of church documents opposing the advent of the actress as a kind of courtesan, whose scanty attire and promiscuous lifestyle corrupted young men, or at least infused them with carnal desires. Curiously, commedia dell'arte was equally if not more popular in France, where it continued its popularity throughout the 17th century (until 1697), and it was in France that commedia developed its established repertoire. The word ''Zanni'' is the etymological root for the English word ''zany.''. European puppet shows, the English harlequinade, French pantomime, and the cinematic slapstick of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton all recall the glorious comic form that once prevailed. Poor Pulcinella! Molly Ringwald in Pretty in Pink is, perhaps, the Queen of the Vittorias. You can . Some kinds of contemporary comic relief characters share similarities with their Commedia counterparts. As this book demonstrates, the diva's . The Innamorati. Goldoni: Pantalone The use of original materials from this work for commercial purposes is strictly prohibited. [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. Pulcinella, like Capitano, outgrew his mask and became a character in his own right, probably created by Silvio Fiorillo (died c. 1632), who had earlier created a famous Capitano, Mattamoros. The Capitano developed as a caricature of the Spanish braggart soldier, boasting of exploits abroad, running away from danger at home. Through their association with spoken theatre and playwrights commedia figures have provided opera with many of its stock characters. Igor Stravinsky's Petrushka and Pulcinella allude directly to the tradition. Goldoni: Beatrice The female character in the masters group is called Prima Donna and can be one of the lovers. Others include Pierrot, a clown, and Columbina, a maid. Pantalone represents the love of money. These characters were not the protagonists of plays, but they provided comic relief and helped move the plot along, often through humorous miscommunications. Like other female characters, she does not wear a mask. Harlequin, Italian Arlecchino, French Arlequin, one of the principal stock characters of the Italian commedia dell'arte; often a facile and witty gentleman's valet and a capricious swain of the serving maid. He often misunderstands orders he is given and is easily distracted. By the end of the 1570s, Italian prelates attempted to ban female performers; however, by the end of the 16th century, actresses were standard on the Italian stage. We've all heard of theater improv or improv art, well welcome to the 17th century's form of improv, commedia dell'arte. Fantaisie's Fools: an exploration of Commedia dell'Arte He often carries a slapstick (used for comic slaps, rather than overly violent ones), has very small eyeholes in his mask which make him fully turn his head to see things (Rudlin assumes this lack of peripheral visionis the origin of the "double-take"), and typically has a puppy love infatuation with Columbina. Influences appear in the lodgers in Steven Berkoff's adaptation of Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis. Its stock characters and their costumes have developed over time. Shakespeare's Romeo andMoulin Rouge's Christian are two possible examples of Lelios. Each commedia dellarte company had a stock of scenarios, commonplace books of soliloquies and witty exchanges, and about a dozen actors. His costume is red and black, and he wears tight-fitting trousers and a flowing cape to suggest his flair and worldliness. The method has been used for different purposes in theatrical history. Be sure to tag us whenposting (public-appropriate) rehearsal Commedia dell'Arte - Theatre History - Google He is typically portrayed as relatively corpulent, and often wears the recognizable attire of his profession. Commedia Dell'Arte Characters & Plays - Study.com 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. Sometimes called Arlechinno, Harlequin is one of the most instantly recognizable characters from commedia dell'arte. In 1579-1581, she was the leader of her own theatre company. Greco - COMPLETO E RIASSUNTIVO - LA COMMEDIA La cosa pi interessante Janus also signified the duality of the actor, who is playing a character or mask, while still remaining oneself. In addition to individuated masks, characters often wore recognizable outfits that, to modern eyes, tend to be reminiscent of jester and clown costumes. They would take advantage of public fairs and celebrations, most often in wealthier towns where financial success was more probable. These fun, outlandish characters have had a deep impact on theater and other art forms. [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. 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. Arlecchino is the lovable pauper who is usually on the wrong side of the Masters, but always beloved by the audience. As the form developed over the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, the stock characters became associated with particular costumes and masks. Harlequin's love Columbina is portrayed as an innocent maid or servant. Often portrayed as either in a domino or with no mask, she has the beauty of the lovers (if often a bit more voluptuous), the freedom of movement of the servants, and intelligence which outshines any of the classes. More often than not, if Columbina is present in a Commedia scenario, she'll be the one to unravel the play's many knots, or at least give the leads the advice they need. 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. Despite fluctuations the Gelosi maintained stability for performances with the "usual ten": "two vecchi (old men), four innamorati (two male and two female lovers), two zanni, a captain and a servetta (serving maid)". In keeping with the tradition of the Italian Academies, I Gelosi adopted as their impress (or coat of arms) the two-faced Roman god Janus. He is not above lying, cheating, or even--in some plays--violence, if it means extra gold or power. 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. Actors in Commedia troupes would often dedicate their careers to performing a single character. Among the great innamorate, Isabella Andreini was perhaps the most widely known, and a medallion dedicated to her reads "eternal fame". In the early years of the commedia (mid-16th century), the Harlequin was a zanni (a wily and covetous comic servant), and he was cowardly, superstitious, and plagued by a continual . Commedia dell'Arte Characters. What You Need to Know About Commedia Dell'Arte - ThoughtCo Arlecchino, often known in English as Harlequin, is a servant whose primary interest is food. He may be portrayed as standing slightly bent over or with a humpback. Any included videos, graphics,photographs, or other protected materialis utilized under the provisions ofU.S. [25] Commedia often performed inside in court theatres or halls, and also as some fixed theatres such as Teatro Baldrucca in Florence. E vo' che sappi che, dinanzi ad essi, spiriti umani non eran salvati. [26] In the 1570s, English theatre critics generally denigrated the troupes with their female actors (some decades later, Ben Jonson referred to one female performer of the commedia as a "tumbling whore"). Description of Commedia dell'Arte characters - Italymask Despite his ambition, Pantalone is treated as an old fool by the other characters. The Italian arte here translates as "profession" or "craft," distinguishing it from more amateur theatre forms such as pageants and festival plays. La Commedia dell'Arte tom inicialmente sus tramas y situaciones de la commedia erudita, pero a diferencia de sta, cuyo texto se escriba ntegramente, ahora la improvisacin libre de los actores era privilegio esencial, por lo que se llam tambin commedia all'improviso.