COMMEDIA DELL

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COMMEDIA DELLARTE
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The Historical BackgroundItaly in the
High-Middle Ages

• Being the Core of the mighty Roman Empire,
  Southern Italy in the XIIIth and XIVth 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 this helped the
  numerous city-states to become independent from
  the Holy Roman Empire in XIII century
• The agriculture flourished in the inner
  city-states
• The Italian Mediterranean routes were also major
  sources of knowledge and cultural exchange
• Many Byzantine scientists and scholars who came
  after the Ottoman invasion in XV century, revived
  the academies in Italy
• From Egypt and the Levant, the scientific,
  philosophical, and mathematical thinking of the
  Arabs entered Northern Italy
• The XIV century was marked by a collapse of the
  European economy as a whole due to the
  English-French War, Little Ice Age, and the
  Ottoman Empire in the East
• Constant wars for dominance between the
  city-states followed by a peaceful period at the
  end of XV century

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The Renaissance in Italy

• A period of Great cultural achievement in Europe,
  it encompasses the period between the end of the
  XIVth 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
• Reawakened interests in Ancient Greek and Roman
  thought and achievements
• As a cultural movement the Renaissance affected
  only small portions of the society

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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 in
  Italian Theatre
• The initial purpose of the Italian Theatre was to
  reflect the glory and power of the ruler and the
  theatrical productions were secular
• Another major feature of the Italian Theatre was
  the desire to read and understand the basics of
  the works of Aristotle, Horace and other
  prominent ancient philosophers
• 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

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The Italian Theatre (contd)

• The creation of a frame (proscenium arch) for the
  pictorialized scenery became standard and
  remained so till today 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
• The architectural methods of perspectives gave
  the audience the illusion of distance and depth
• Teatro Olympico was built in 1584 used for a
  variety of productions

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Sebastiano Serlios stage

• A prominent Italian architect known for his
  high-quality illusions and plans for theatrical
  scenery and stages
• in his Architettura Book II (1545), interpreted
  what he thought were classic ideas on perspective
  and the periaktoi and published the first designs
  on the definitive types of sets to be usedfor
  tragedy, palaces for comedy, street scenes for
  satyr plays, the countryside.

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Commedia Dellarte

• It means Comedy of Art or Comedy of the
  profession opposite to the literary comedy
  Commedia Erudita
• It began in the XVth century and kept its
  popularity until the late XVIIIth 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 didnt become
  as permanent and deep as the male characters
• 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 and the were free to watch
• The plays were held outside initially with poor
  props and modest requisite
• 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
• Some of the plays can be traced back to the plays
  of Plautus and Terence
• The play was adjusted though improvisation and
  most of the plays had satiric character
• Characters in plays were portrayed by actors
  wearing masks
• Amusement in the form of acrobatics and juggling
  was also provided

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Commedia Dellarte

• 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
• 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 few scenarios which were tragic,
  melodramatic, musical, and most of them were
  comic, revolving around love affairs, intrigues,
  disguises and others
• Many actors were required to record appropriate
  sentiments from poetry and popular literature

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Characters

• Lovers the 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
• 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

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Characters
Arlecchino Brighella Columbina
Pagliaccio Pantalone (Truffaldino)
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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 always
  being made the joke of. He was always not allowed
  to do something but his eagerness brought 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 and 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.

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Characters
Pantalone, Jacques Callot, eau forte, 1618

• Arlecchino and Colombina, or
• Arlecchino the Seductor,
• Antoine Watteau, 1716-18

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The Masks

• They played crucial role in Commedia Dellarte
• All personages (except the lovers) wore color
  leather masks
• They were used to resemble and utilize the
  personages and also to extinguish 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

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The Masks
Arlecchino Brighella Pantalone
Smerdaldina Truffaldino
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Carlo Goldoni(1707-1793)

• One of the Italys (Europes) 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
• He was the first to realize that the Italian
  stage needs reformation and adoption of the
  Molieres model
• He created his first real comedy in 1738
  L'uomo di mondo ("The Man of the World") and
  later he founds his special line
• During his adventures and journey throughout
  Italy he was discovered as a talented playwright
  of the Venetian Theatre and was assigned by
  Medebac (a famous theatre manager at that time)
  and later by other managers.
• He also creates Momolo Cortesan in 1738
• He gradually develops his unique cross-style
  (writing through the Molieres style and and the
  model of Commedia Dellarte, along with his wit
  and vigour style) La Donna Di Garbo
• His main idea was that the Italian life was
  susceptible to artistic treatment

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Carlo Gozzi(1720-1806)

• He was born in Venice, he came from an old
  Venetian family
• First he joins the Dalmatian Army, and 3 years
  later he returns to Venice
• The old Italian dramas of Pietro Chiari and Carlo
  Goldoni, based on the French model, threatened to
  defeat the societys efforts for uniting
• Gozzi became popular after he published a
  satirical poem in 1757 The Love for Three
  Oranges a parody of the writing manner of the
  other two poets of that time
• Gozzi produced a series of dramatic pieces, as a
  response of the Goldonis works
• In his later years Gozzi wrote tragedies, in
  which the comic element was largely introduced.
  The innovation was reviewed with skepticism by
  the critiques
• Later he turned to the Spanish drama, from which
  he obtained models for various pieces
• Gozzi was one of the Greatest dramatist of that
  era in the Italian theatre (and art)

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The Servant of Two Mastersby Carlo Goldoni

• Written in 1745 by Goldoni for a Venetian
  commedia dellarte troupe
• Panatalone 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 whole dialogue is written by Goldoni, but the
  improvisational elements were based on scenic
  behavior and comic manners
• The play consists of three acts, with a total of
  ten scenes
• The play was written for the typical of that time
  theatre box, pit, and gallery arrangement of
  the auditorium, picture frame stage with
  perspective scenery
• The servant of two masters does not achieve a
  high level of characterization or social
  commentary

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The Influence and Popularity of Commedia Dellarte

• By the beginnig pf the XVIIth century Commedia
  Dellarte spread outside Italy, gaining
  popularity especially when women did not wear
  masks
• Moliere was strongly influenced by the commedia
• Some aspects were passed onto the silent
  tradition of the Mimes (or the French
  Pantomima)
• Many classical composers used the personages from
  Commedia Dellarte in their works (Stravinsky,
  Strauss etc.)
• The characters and tropes were used in many
  novels (Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini in 1921)
  and other literary works
• Its influence in written dramatic forms, helped
  Commedia Dellarte survive throughout the
  centuries (even till recent times)