Commedia dell'arte

Commedia dell'arte (UK: /kɒˈmeɪdiə dɛl ˈɑːrteɪ/,

US: /kəˈ- ... -ti, -ˈmɛd-/, Italian: [komˈmɛːdja delˈlarte];
meaning "comedy of the profession"[1]) was an early form of
professional theatre, originating from Italy, that was popular in
Europe from the 16th to the 18th century.[2][3] Commedia
dell'arte was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is
also known as commedia alla maschera, commedia
improvviso, and commedia dell'arte all'improvviso.[4]
Commedia is a form of theatre characterized by masked
"types" which began in Italy in the 16th century and was
responsible for the advent of actresses (Isabella Andreini[5]) A street play during the carnival of Venice,
Italy.
and improvised performances based on sketches or
scenarios.[6][7] A commedia, such as The Tooth Puller, is both
scripted and improvised.[6][8] Characters' entrances and exits
are scripted. A special characteristic of commedia dell'arte are
the lazzi. A lazzo is a joke or "something foolish or witty",
usually well known to the performers and to some extent a
scripted routine.[8][9] Another characteristic of commedia
dell'arte is pantomime, which is mostly used by the character
Arlecchino (Harlequin).[10]

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.[6][11] The Commedia dell'arte Troupe on a Wagon in a
characters are exaggerated "real characters", such as a know- Town Square, by Jan Miel, 1640
it-all doctor called Il Dottore, a greedy old man called
Pantalone, or a perfect relationship like the Innamorati.[5]

Many troupes were formed to perform commedia dell'arte, including I Gelosi (which had actors such as
Isabella Andreini, and her husband Francesco Andreini[12]), Confidenti Troupe, Desioi Troupe, and Fedeli
Troupe.[5][6] Commedia dell'arte was often performed outside on platforms or in popular areas such as a
piazza.[4][6] The form of theatre originated in Italy, but travelled throughout Europe and even to Moscow.[13]

The commedia genesis may be related to carnival in Venice, where by 1570 the author/actor Andrea Calmo
had created the character Il Magnifico, the precursor to the vecchio (old man) Pantalone. In the Flaminio
Scala scenario for example, Il Magnifico persists and is interchangeable with Pantalone, into the seventeenth
century. While Calmo's characters (which also included the Spanish Capitano and a dottore type) were not
masked, it is uncertain at what point the characters donned the mask. However, the connection to carnival
(the period between Epiphany and Ash Wednesday) would suggest that masking was a convention of
carnival and was applied at some point. The tradition in Northern Italy is centered in Mantua, Florence, and
Venice, where the major companies came under the aegis of the various dukes. Concomitantly, a Neapolitan
tradition emerged in the south and featured the prominent stage figure Pulcinella. Pulcinella has been long
associated with Naples, and derived into various types elsewhere—the most famous as the puppet character
Punch (of the eponymous Punch and Judy shows) in England.
Contents
History
Companies
List of known commedia troupes [32]
Characters
Costumes
Subjects
Influence in visual art
Influence in performance art
References
Sources
Further reading
External links

History
Although Commedia dell'arte flourished in Italy
during the Mannerist period, there has been a long-
standing tradition of trying to establish historical
antecedents in antiquity. While it is possible to detect
formal similarities between the commedia dell'arte
and earlier theatrical traditions, there is no way to
establish certainty of origin.[14] Some date the origins
to the period of the Roman Republic (Plautine types)
or the Empire (Atellan Farces). The Atellan Farces of
the Roman Empire featured crude "types" wearing
masks with grossly exaggerated features and an
Claude Gillot (1673–1722), Four Commedia dell'arte
improvised plot.[15] Some historians argue that Atellan
Figures: Three Gentlemen and Pierrot, c. 1715
stock characters, Pappus, Maccus+Buccus, and
Manducus, are the primitive versions of the
Commedia characters Pantalone, Pulcinella, and il
Capitano.[16][17][18] More recent accounts establish links to the medieval jongleurs, and prototypes from
medieval moralities, such as Hellequin (as the source of Harlequin, for example).[19]

The first recorded commedia dell'arte performances came from Rome as early as 1551.[20] Commedia
dell'arte was performed outdoors in temporary venues by professional actors who were costumed and
masked, as opposed to commedia erudita, which were written comedies, presented indoors by untrained and
unmasked actors.[21] 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. By the mid-
16th century, specific troupes of commedia performers began to coalesce, and by 1568 the Gelosi became a
distinct company. 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. Janus symbolized both the comings and goings of this
traveling troupe, and the dual nature of the actor who impersonates the "other." The Gelosi performed in
Northern Italy and France where they received protection and patronage from the King of France. 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)".[22]
Commedia often performed inside in court theatres or halls, and also as
some fixed theatres such as Teatro Baldrucca in Florence. Flaminio Scala,
who had been a minor performer in the Gelosi published the scenarios of the
commedia dell'arte around the start of the 17th century, really in an effort to
legitimize the form—and ensure its legacy. These scenari are highly
structured and built around the symmetry of the various types in duet: two
zanni, vecchi, inamorate and inamorati, etc.

In commedia dell'arte, female roles were played by women, documented as

early as the 1560s, making them the first known professional actresses in
Europe since antiquity. Lucrezia Di Siena, whose name is on a contract of
actors from 10 October 1564, has been referrd to as the first Italian actress
known by name, with Vincenza Armani and Barbara Flaminia as the first
primadonna's and the first well documented actresses in Italy (and Europe).
[23] In the 1570s, English theatre critics generally denigrated the troupes
with their female actors (some decades later, Ben Jonson referred to one Pulcinella, drawn by Maurice
female performer of the commedia as a "tumbling whore"). By the end of Sand
the 1570s, Italian prelates attempted to ban female performers; however, by
the end of the 16th century, actresses were standard on the Italian stage.[24]
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. Taviani's term negativa poetica describes this and other practices
offensive to the church, while giving us an idea of the phenomenon of the commedia dell'arte performance.

By the early 17th century, the zanni comedies were moving from pure
improvisational street performances to specified and clearly delineated acts and
characters. Three books written during the 17th century—Cecchini's Fruti della
moderne commedia (1628), Niccolò Barbieri's La supplica (1634) and
Perrucci's Dell'arte rapresentativa (1699—"made firm recommendations
concerning performing practice." Katritzky argues, that as a result, commedia
was reduced to formulaic and stylized acting; as far as possible from the purity
of the improvisational genesis a century earlier.[25] In France, during the reign
of Louis XIV, the Comédie-Italienne created a repertoire and delineated new
masks and characters, while deleting some of the Italian precursors, such as
Pantalone. French playwrights, particularly Molière, gleaned from the plots and
masks in creating an indigenous treatment. Indeed, Molière shared the stage
with the Comédie-Italienne at Petit-Bourbon, and some of his forms, e.g. the
tirade, are derivative from the commedia (tirata).

Harlequin in a 19th Commedia dell'arte moved outside the city limits to the théâtre de la foire, or
century Italian print fair theatres, in the early 17th century as it evolved toward a more pantomimed
style. With the dispatch of the Italian comedians from France in 1697, the form
transmogrified in the 18th century as genres such as comédie larmoyante
gained in attraction in France, particularly through the plays of Marivaux. Marivaux softened the commedia
considerably by bringing in true emotion to the stage. Harlequin achieved more prominence during this
period.

It is possible that this kind of improvised acting was passed down the Italian generations until the 17th
century, when it was revived as a professional theatrical technique. However, as currently used the term
commedia dell'arte was coined in the mid-18th century.[26]
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. Commedia evolved into various configurations across Europe, and each country acculturated the
form to its liking. For example, pantomime, which flourished in the 18th century, owes its genesis to the
character types of the commedia, particularly Harlequin. 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. In
Italy, commedia masks and plots found their way into the opera buffa, and the plots of Rossini, Verdi, and
Puccini.

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. In 1797, in order to destroy
the impromptu style of carnival as a partisan platform, Napoleon outlawed the commedia dell'arte. It was not
reborn in Venice until 1979.[27]

Companies
Compagnie, or companies, were troupes of actors,
each of whom had a specific function or role. Actors
were versed in a plethora of skills, with many having
joined troupes without a theatre background. Some
were doctors, others priests, others soldiers, enticed by
the excitement and prevalence of theatre in Italian
society. 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.[28] Members would also
splinter off to form their own troupes, such was the
case with the Ganassa and the Gelosi. These Commedia dell'arte troupe I Gelosi in a late 16th-
compagnie traveled throughout Europe from the early century Flemish painting
period, beginning with the Soldati, then, the Ganassa,
who traveled to Spain,[29] and were famous for
playing the guitar and singing—never to be heard from again—and the famous troupes of the Golden Age
(1580–1605): Gelosi, Confidenti, Accessi. These names which signified daring and enterprise were
appropriated from the names of the academies—in a sense, to lend legitimacy. However, each troupe had its
impresse (like a coat of arms) which symbolized its nature. The Gelosi, for example, used the two-headed
face of the Roman god Janus, to signify its comings and goings and relationship to the season of Carnival,
which took place in January. Janus also signified the duality of the actor, who is playing a character or mask,
while still remaining oneself.

Magistrates and clergy were not always receptive to the traveling compagnie (companies), particularly
during periods of plague, and because of their itinerant nature. 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 adultery...of both sexes" by the French Parliament.[30] The term
vagabondi was used in reference to the comici, and remains a derogatory term to this day (vagabond). This
was in reference to the nomadic nature of the troupes, often instigated by persecution from the Church, civil
authorities, and rival theatre organisations that forced the companies to move from place to place.

A troupe often consisted of ten performers of familiar masked and unmasked types, and included
women.[22] The companies would employ carpenters, props masters, servants, nurses, and prompters, all of
whom would travel with the company. They would travel in large carts laden with supplies necessary for
their nomadic style of performance, enabling them to move from place to place without having to worry
about the difficulties of relocation. This nomadic nature, though influenced by persecution, was also largely
due in part to the troupes requiring new (and paying) audiences. They would take advantage of public fairs
and celebrations, most often in wealthier towns where financial success was more probable. Companies
would also find themselves summoned by high-ranking officials, who would offer patronage in return for
performing in their land for a certain amount of time. Companies in fact preferred to not stay in any one
place too long, mostly out of a fear of the act becoming "stale." They would move on to the next location
while their popularity was still active, ensuring the towns and people were sad to see them leave, and would
be more likely to either invite them back or pay to watch performances again should the troupe ever
return.[31] Prices were dependent on the troupe's decision, which could vary depending on the wealth of the
location, the length of stay, and the regulations governments had in place for dramatic performances.

List of known commedia troupes [32]

Compagnia dei Fedeli: active 1601–52, with Giambattista Andreini
Compagnia degli Accesi: active 1590–1628
Compagnia degli Uniti: active 1578–1640
Compagnia dei Confidenti: active 1574–99; reformed under Flaminio Scala, operated again
1611–39
I Dedosi: active 1581–99
I Gelosi: active 1568–1604
Signora Violante and Her Troupe of Dancers: active 1729–32[33]
Zan Ganassa: active 1568–1610

Characters
Generally, the actors playing were diverse in background in terms of
class and religion, and performed anywhere they could. 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.[34] 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. In commedia each character embodies a mood:
mockery, sadness, gaiety, confusion, and so forth.[35]

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." (archetypes)[26][36] The
Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684–1721), character's persona included the specific dialect of the region or
Commedia dell'arte player of Pierrot,
town represented. Meaning that on stage, each character was
ca. 1718–19, identified as "Gilles".
performed in its own dialect. Characters would often be passed
Louvre, Paris.
down from generation to generation, and characters married onstage
were often married in real life as well, seen most famously with
Francesco and Isabella Andreini. This was believed to make
performances more natural, as well as strengthening the bonds within the troupe, who emphasized complete
unity between every member. Additionally, each character has a singular costume and mask that is
representative of the character's role.[26]
Commedia dell'arte has four stock character groups: the servants or
Zanni, these are characters such as Arlecchino, Brighella, Pulcinella
and Pedrolino, all masked; the old men or vecchi, characters such as
Pantalone and il Dottore also masked; the lovers or innamorati who
would have names such as Flavio and Isabella; and the captains or
Capitani who can also be La Signora if a female.[11] Masked characters
are often referred to as "masks" (in Italian: maschere), which, according
to John Rudlin, cannot be separated from the character. In other words,
the characteristics of the character and the characteristics of the mask
are the same.[37] In time however, the word maschere came to refer to
all of the characters of the commedia dell'arte whether masked or not.
Female characters (including female servants) are most often not
masked (female amorose are never masked). The female character in
the masters group is called Prima Donna and can be one of the lovers.
There is also a female character known as The Courtisane who can also
have a servant. Female servants wore bonnets. Their character was
played with a malicious wit or gossipy gaiety. The amorosi are often Harlequin and Pantalone in a
children of a male character in the masters group, but not of any female 2011 play in Tallinn, Estonia.
character in the masters group, which may represent younger women
who have e.g. married an old man, or a high-class courtesan. Female
characters in the masters group, while younger than their male counterparts, are nevertheless older than the
amorosi. The servants or the clowns are referred to as the zanni and include characters such as Arlecchino
(also known as Harlequin), Brighella, Scapino, Pulcinella and Pedrolino.[38] Some of the better known
commedia dell'arte characters are Pierrot and Pierrette, Pantalone, Il Dottore, Brighella, Il Capitano,
Colombina, the innamorati, Pedrolino, Sandrone, Scaramuccia (also known as Scaramouche), La Signora,
and Tartaglia.

Short list of characters[39]

Character(s) Masks Status Costume
Servant (sometimes to two
Arlecchino Yes Colorful tight fitting jacket and trousers
masters)
Il Dottore Yes Head of the household Black scholarly robe
Il Capitano Yes Indigent loner Military uniform
Innamorati No High class hopeless lovers Nicely dressed on par with the time
Pantalone Yes Older wealthy man Dark capes and red trousers
Can be colorful on par with Arlecchino or black and
Colombina Yes Perky maid / servant
white
Pierrot Yes Servant (Sad clown) White, flowy costume with large buttons

In the 17th century as commedia became popular in France, the characters of Pierrot, Columbine and
Harlequin were refined and became essentially Parisian, according to Green.[40]

Costumes
Each character in commedia dell'arte has a distinct costume that helps the audience understand who the
character is.
 Arlecchino originally wore a tight fitting long jacket with matching trousers
that both had numerous odd shaped patches, usually green, yellow, red, and
brown.[41][42] Usually, there was a bat and a wallet that would hang from his
belt.[42] His hat, which was a soft cap, was modeled after Charles IX or after
Henri II, and almost always had a tail of a rabbit, hare or a fox with the
occasional tuft of feathers.[42][41] During the 17th century, the patches
turned into blue, red, and green triangles arranged in a symmetrical
pattern.[42] The 18th century is when the iconic Arlecchino look with the
diamond shaped lozenges took shape. The jacket became shorter and his hat
changed from a soft cap to a double pointed hat.[42]

Il Dottore's costume was a

Eduardo De Filippo as play on the academic
Pulcinella dress of the Bolognese
scholars.[42][41] Il Dottore
is almost always clothed
entirely in black.[42] He wore a long black gown or jacket
that went below the knees.[42][41] Over the gown, he
would have a long black robe that went down to his heels,
and he would have on black shoes, stockings, and
breeches.[42][41] In 1653, his costume was changed by Masks of Il Capitano (left) and Il Dottore (right)
Augustin Lolli who was a very popular Il Dottore actor.
He added an enormous black hat, changed the robe to a
jacket cut similarly to Louis XIV, and added a flat ruff to the neck.[42]

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.[41] This costume would therefore change depending on where the Capitano character is from, and the
period the Capitano is from.[41][42]

Pantalone has one of the most iconic costumes of Commedia dell'arte. Typically, he would wear a tightly
fitting jacket with a matching pair of trousers. He usually pairs these two with a big black coat called a
zimarra.[42][41]

Women, who usually played servants or lovers, wore less stylized costumes than the men in commedia. The
lovers, Innamorati, would wear what was considered to be the fashion of the time period. They would only
wear plain half-masks with no character distinction or street makeup.

Subjects
Conventional plot lines were written on themes of sex, jealousy, love and old age. Many of the basic plot
elements can be traced back to the Roman comedies of Plautus and Terence, some of which were themselves
translations of lost Greek comedies of the 4th century BC. 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. Not all scenari were comic, there were some mixed forms and even tragedies. Shakespeare's The
Tempest is drawn from a popular scenario in the Scala collection, his Polonius (Hamlet) is drawn from
Pantalone, and his clowns bear homage to the zanni.

Comici performed written comedies at court. Song and dance were widely used, and a number of innamorati
were skilled madrigalists, a song form that uses chromatics and close harmonies. Audiences came to see the
performers, with plot lines becoming secondary to the performance. Among the great innamorate, Isabella
Andreini was perhaps the most widely known, and a medallion dedicated to her reads "eternal fame".
Tristano Martinelli achieved international fame as the first of the great Arlecchinos, and was honored by the
 Medici and the Queen of France. Performers made use of well-
rehearsed jokes and stock physical gags, known as lazzi and concetti,
as well as on-the-spot improvised and interpolated episodes and
routines, called burle (singular burla, Italian for joke), usually
involving a practical joke.

Since the productions were improvised, dialogue and action could

easily be changed to satirize local scandals, current events, or
regional tastes, while still using old jokes and punchlines. Characters
were identified by costumes, masks, and props, such as a type of
baton known as a slapstick. These characters included the forebears
of the modern clown, namely Harlequin (arlecchino) and the zanni.
Harlequin, in particular, was allowed to comment on current events
in his entertainment.[43]

The classic, traditional plot is that the innamorati are in love and
Harlequin and Colombina. Paint by wish to be married, but one elder (vecchio) or several elders (vecchi)
Giovanni Domenico Ferretti. are preventing this from happening, leading the lovers to ask one or
more zanni (eccentric servants) for help. Typically the story ends
happily, with the marriage of the innamorati and forgiveness for any
wrongdoings. There are countless variations on this story, as well as many that diverge wholly from the
structure, such as a well-known story about Arlecchino becoming mysteriously pregnant, or the Punch and
Judy scenario.

While generally personally unscripted, the performances often were based on scenarios that gave some
semblance of plot to the largely improvised format. The Flaminio Scala scenarios, published in the early
17th century, are the most widely known collection and representative of its most esteemed compagnia, I
Gelosi.

Influence in visual art

The iconography of the commedia dell'arte represents an
entire field of study that has been examined by commedia
scholars such as Erenstein, Castagno, Katritzky, Molinari,
and others. In the early period, representative works by
painters at Fontainebleau were notable for their erotic
depictions of the thinly veiled innamorata, or the bare-
breasted courtesan/actress.

The Flemish influence is widely documented as

commedia figures entered the world of the vanitas genre,
depicting the dangers of lust, drinking, and the hedonistic
lifestyle. Castagno describes the Flemish pittore vago
(wandering painters) who assimilated themselves within
Jean-Antoine Watteau, Italian Comedians, 1720 Italian workshops and even assumed Italian surnames:
one of the most influential painters, Lodewyk Toeput, for
example, became Ludovico Pozzoserrato and was a
celebrated painter in the Veneto region of Italy. The pittore vago can be attributed with establishing
commedia dell'arte as a genre of painting that would persist for centuries.
While the iconography gives evidence of the performance style (see
Fossard collection), it is important to note that many of the images
and engravings were not depictions from real life, but concocted in
the studio. The Callot etchings of the Balli di Sfessania (1611) are
most widely considered capricci rather than actual depictions of a
commedia dance form, or typical masks. While these are often
reproduced in large formats, it is important to note that the actual
prints measured about 2×3 inches. In the 18th century, Watteau's
painting of commedia figures intermingling with the aristocracy
were often set in sumptuous garden or pastoral settings and were Johann Joachim Kändler's commedia
representative of that genre. dell'arte figures in Meissen porcelain,
c. 1735–44
Pablo Picasso's 1921 painting Three Musicians is a colorful
representation of commedia-inspired characters.[44] Picasso also
designed the original costumes for Stravinsky's Pulcinella (1920), a ballet depicting commedia characters
and situations. Commedia iconography is evident in porcelain figurines many selling for thousands of
dollars at auction.

Influence in performance art

The expressive theatre influenced Molière's comedy
and subsequently ballet d'action, thus lending a fresh
range of expression and choreographic means. An
example of a commedia dell'arte character in literature
is the Pied Piper of Hamelin who is dressed as
Harlequin.

Music and dance were central to commedia dell'arte

performance. Brighella was often depicted with a
guitar, and many images of the commedia feature
singing innamorati or dancing figures. In fact, it was
considered part of the innamorati function to be able
Peeter van Bredael, Commedia dell'arte Scene in an
to sing and have the popular repertoire under their
Italian Landscape
belt. Accounts of the early commedia, as far back as
Calmo in the 1570s and the buffoni of Venice, note the
ability of comici to sing madrigali precisely and
beautifully. The danzatrice probably accompanied the troupes, and may have been in addition to the general
cast of characters. For examples of strange instruments of various grotesque formations see articles by Tom
Heck, who has documented this area.

The works of a number of playwrights have featured characters influenced by the commedia dell'arte and
sometimes directly drawn from it. Prominent examples include The Tempest by William Shakespeare, Les
Fourberies de Scapin by Molière, Servant of Two Masters (1743) by Carlo Goldoni, the Figaro plays of
Pierre Beaumarchais, and especially Love for Three Oranges, Turandot and other fiabe by Carlo Gozzi.
Influences appear in the lodgers in Steven Berkoff's adaptation of Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis.

Through their association with spoken theatre and playwrights commedia figures have provided opera with
many of its stock characters. Mozart's Don Giovanni sets a puppet show story and comic servants like
Leporello and Figaro have commedia precedents. Soubrette characters like Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro,
Zerlina in Don Giovanni and Despina in Così fan tutte recall Columbina and related characters. The comic
operas of Gaetano Donizetti, such as Elisir d'amore, draw readily upon commedia stock types. Leoncavallo's
tragic melodrama Pagliacci depicts a commedia dell'arte company in which the performers find their life
situations reflecting events they depict on stage. Commedia characters also figure in Richard Strauss's opera
Ariadne auf Naxos.

The piano piece Carnaval by Robert Schumann was conceived as a kind of masked ball that combined
characters from Commedia dell'arte with real world characters, such as Chopin, Paganini, and Clara
Schumann, as well as characters from the composer's inner world. [45][46] Movements of the piece reflect the
names of many characters of the Commedia, including Pierrot, Harlequin, Pantalon and Columbine.

Stock characters and situations also appear in ballet. Igor

Stravinsky's Petrushka and Pulcinella allude directly to the
tradition.

Commedia dell'arte is performed seasonally in Denmark on

the Peacock Stage of Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, and
north of Copenhagen, at Dyrehavsbakken or "Bakken". Tivoli
has regular performances. Bakken has daily performances for
children by Pierrot and a puppet version of Pulcinella
resembling Punch and Judy.
Pierrot as "Pjerrot", Dyrehavesbakken,
Denmark

References
1. "Commedia dell'arte" (https://www.britannica.com/art/commedia-dellarte). Encyclopædia
Britannica.
2. Lea, K.M. (1962). Italian Popular Comedy: A Study In The Commedia Dell'Arte, 1560–1620
With Special Reference to the English State. New York: Russell & Russell INC. p. 3.
3. Wilson, Matthew R. "A History of Commedia dell'arte" (http://www.factionoffools.org/history).
Faction of Fools. Faction of Fools. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
4. Rudlin, John (1994). Commedia Dell'Arte An Actor's Handbook. London and New York:
Routledge. p. 48. ISBN 978-0-415-04769-2.
5. Ducharte, Pierre Louis (1966). The Italian Comedy: The Improvisation Scenarios Lives
Attributes Portraits and Masks of the Illustrious Characters of the Commedia dell'Arte (https://a
rchive.org/details/italiancomedyimp0000duch/page/17). New York: Dover Publication. p. 17 (htt
ps://archive.org/details/italiancomedyimp0000duch/page/17). ISBN 978-0486216799.
6. Chaffee, Judith; Crick, Olly (2015). The Routledge Companion to Commedia Dell'Arte. London
and New York: Rutledge Taylor and Francis Group. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-415-74506-2.
7. "Faction Of Fools" (http://www.factionoffools.org/history).
8. Grantham, Barry (2000). Playing Commedia A Training Guide to Commedia Techniques.
United Kingdom: Heinemann Drama. pp. 3, 6–7. ISBN 978-0-325-00346-7.
9. Gordon, Mel (1983). Lazzi: The Comic Routine of the Commedia dell'Arte (https://archive.org/d
etails/lazzicomicroutin00gord/page/4). New York: Performing Arts Journal Publications. p. 4 (ht
tps://archive.org/details/lazzicomicroutin00gord/page/4). ISBN 978-0-933826-69-4.
10. Broadbent, R.J. (1901). A History Of Pantomime. New York: Benjamin Blom, Inc. p. 62.
11. "Faction of Fools | A History of Commedia dell'Arte" (http://www.factionoffools.org/history).
www.factionoffools.org. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
12. Maurice, Sand (1915). The History of the Harlequinade. New York: Benjamin Bloom, Inc.
p. 135.
13. Nicoll, Allardyce (1963). The World of Harlequin: A Critical Study of the Commedia dell'Arte.
London: Cambridge University Press. p. 9.
14. Castagno 1994, p. 94.
15. Smith 1964, p. 26, quote: "Atellanae were forced marked by improvisations and masked
personages...
16. Duchartre, Pierre (1966). The Italian Comedy. New York: Dover Publications, INC. p. 29.
"Pulcinella was always dressed in white like Maccus, the mimus albus, or white mime."
17. Duchartre, Pierre (1966). The Italian Comedy. New York: Dover Publication, INC. p. 18. "Next
there is the ogre Manducus, the Miles Glorious in the plays of Plautus, who is later
metamorphosed into the swaggering Captain, of Captain."
18. Duchartre, Pierre (1966). The Italian Comedy. New York: Dover Publications, INC. p. 18.
"...Bucco and the sensual Maccus, whose lean figure and cowardly nature reappear in
Pulcinella."
19. Palleschi 2005, Part One.
20. Katritzky 2006, p. 82.
21. Rudlin p. 14
22. Rudlin & Crick 2001, p. 15
23. Giacomo Oreglia (2002). Commedia dell'arte. Ordfront. ISBN 91-7324-602-6
24. Katritzky 2006, p. 90.
25. Katritzky 2006, p. 106.
26. Katritzky 2006, p. 19
27. "Carnival in Venice" (http://www.zainoo.com/en/italy/veneto/venice/carnival-venice).
28. Ducharte, Pierre Louis (1966). The Italian Comedy. Toronto: General Publishing Company.
p. 70.
29. Kenley, M. E. (2012-11-01). "Il Mattaccino: music and dance of the matachin and its role in
Italian comedy". Early Music. 40 (4): 659–670. doi:10.1093/em/cas089 (https://doi.org/10.109
3%2Fem%2Fcas089). ISSN 0306-1078 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0306-1078).
30. Ducharte, Pierre Louis (1966). The Italian Comedy. Toronto: General Publishing Company.
p. 74.
31. Ducharte, Pierre Louis (1966). The Italian Comedy. Toronto: General Publishing Company.
p. 79.
32. Ducharte, Pierre Louis (1966). The Italian Comedy. Toronto: General Publishing. pp. 86–98.
33. McArdle, Grainne (2005). "Signora Violante and Her Troupe of Dancers 1729-32". Eighteenth-
Century Ireland / Iris an Dá Chultúr. 20: 55–78. JSTOR 30071051 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/
30071051).
34. Castagno 1994, p. .
35. Green & Swan 1993, pp. xi–xii.
36. Oreglia, Giacomo (1968). The Commedia dell'Arte. Hill & Wang. pp. 65, 71. OCLC 939808594
(https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/939808594).
37. Rudlin, An Actor's Handbook. p. 34.
38. Rudlin, An Actor's Handbook. p. 67.
39. "Commedia Stock Characters" (https://web.archive.org/web/20050207174226/http://shane-art
s.com/commedia-stock-characters.htm). shane-arts.com. Archived from the original (http://sha
ne-arts.com/commedia-stock-characters.htm) on 2005-02-07. Retrieved 2016-04-05.
40. Green & Swan 1993, p. 163.
41. Rudlin, John (1994). Commedia dell'Arte An Actor's Handbook. New York: Routledge. pp. 67–
156. ISBN 978-0-415-04769-2.
42. Ducharte, Pierre (1966). The Italian Comedy. New York: Dover. pp. 164–207.
43. Oreglia, Giacomo (1968). The Commedia dell'Arte. Hill & Wang. p. 58. OCLC 939808594 (http
s://www.worldcat.org/oclc/939808594).
44. Katritzky 2006, p. 26.
45. https://calperformances.org/learn/program_notes/2011/pn_gerstein.pdf
46. http://benjaminpesetsky.com/writing/program-notes/robert-schumann-carnaval-op-9/

Sources
Castagno, Paul C. (1994). The Early Commedia dell'arte (1550–1621): The Mannerist Context.
Bern, New York: Peter Lang Publishing.
Green, Martin; Swan, John (1993). The Triumph of Pierrot: The Commedia dell'arte and the
Modern Imagination (https://books.google.com/books?id=Z7WYaq1jqsMC&dq=commedia+dell
+arte). Pennsylvania State University. ISBN 978-0-271-00928-5.
Katritzky, M. A. (2006). The Art of Commedia: A Study in the Commedia dell'arte 1560–1620
with Special Reference to the Visual Records (https://books.google.com/?id=9fV4gz5FmiAC&d
q=the+art+of+commedia&printsec=frontcover). New York: Editions Rodopi. ISBN 978-90-420-
1798-6.
Palleschi, Marino (2005). "The Commedia dell'arte: Its Origins, Development & Influence on
the Ballet" (http://auguste.vestris.free.fr/Essays/Commedia.html). Auguste Vestris.)
Rudlin, John. Commedia dell'arte: An Actor's Handbook (https://books.google.com/books?id=P
IXRy1G8bHcC&dq=john+rudlin+commedia++dell'arte&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=AB
EH7-Nahd&sig=Hgml-rxPh7P1rOUSXdOMMSapMVI&hl=en&ei=H4teSoHzJ5SQNtmT7L8C&s
a=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3). Ebook Corporation.
Rudlin, John; Crick, Oliver (2001). Commedia dell'arte: A Handbook for Troupes (https://books.
google.com/books?id=CgMKhwelZzUC&printsec=frontcover). London: Routledge. ISBN 041-
520-408-9.
Smith, Winifred (1964). The Commedia dell'arte. Benjamin Bloom.

Further reading
Aguirre, Mariano 'Qué es la Commedia dell'arte' (Spanish) [1] (http://tv.dokult.com/blog/2013/0
7/que-es-la-commedia-dellarte)
Chaffee, Judith; Crick, Oliver, eds. (2014). The Routledge Companion to Commedia Dell'Arte.
Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-61337-4.
Callery, Dymphna. Through the Body: A Practical Guide to Physical Theatre (https://books.goo
gle.com/books?id=mbEa2gowoFQC). London: Nickalis Hernt Books (2001). ISBN 1-85459-
630-6
Cecchini, Pier Maria (1628) Frutti delle moderne comedie et avvisi a chi le recita, Padua:
Guareschi
Perrucci, Andrea (1699) Dell'arte rappresentativa premeditata, ed all'improviso
Scala, Flaminio (1611) Il Teatro Delle Favole Rappresentative (online pdf (http://daten.digitale-
sammlungen.de/~db/0004/bsb00048646/images/) available at Bavarian State Library website).
Translated into English by Henry F. Salerno in 1967 as Scenarios of the Commedia dell'arte.
New Italian edition cured by F.Mariotti (1976). New partial translation (30 scenarios out of 50)
by Richard Andrews (2008) The Commedia dell'arte of Flaminio Scala, A Translation and
Analysis of Scenarios Published by: Scarecrow Press.
Darius, Adam. The Commedia dell'arte (1996) Kolesnik Production OY, Helsinki. ISBN 952-90-
7188-4
DelPiano, Roberto La Commedia dell'arte (http://www.delpiano.com/carnival/html/commedia.ht
ml) 2007. Retrieved 2009-07-09.
 Grantham, Barry Playing Commedia, Nick Hern Books, London, 2000. ISBN 978-1-85459-466-
2
Grantham, Barry Commedia Plays: Scenarios – Scripts – Lazzi, Nick Hern Books, London,
2006. ISBN 978-1-85459-871-4
Jordan, Peter (2013). The Venetian Origins of the Commedia Dell'Arte. Routledge. ISBN 978-
1-136-48824-5.
Katritzky, M A (2019). "Stefanelo Botara and Zan Ganassa: Textual and Visual Records of a
Musical commedia dell'arte Duo, In and Beyond Early Modern Iberia". Music in Art:
International Journal for Music Iconography. 44 (1–2): 97–118. ISSN 1522-7464 (https://www.
worldcat.org/issn/1522-7464).
Puppa, Paolo A History of Italian Theatre. Eds. Joseph Farrell. Cambridge University Press.
2006. ISBN 0-521-80265-2
Sand, Maurice (1860). Masques et bouffouns:(comédie italienne) (https://books.google.com/bo
oks?id=0hxzTjhpXosC&printsec=titlepage#v=onepage&q=&f=false) (in French). Illustrated by
Maurice Sand. Paris: Michel Levy Freres. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
Smith, Winifred (1912). The Commedia dell'Arte: A Study in Popular Italian Comedy (https://ar
chive.org/details/commediadellart00smitgoog). New York: The Columbia University Press.
Retrieved July 10, 2009. "john rudlin commedia dell'arte."
Taviani, Ferdinando and Marotti, Ferruccio, and Romei, Giovanna. La Commedia dell'arte e la
societa barocca M. Bulzoni, Roma : 1969
Taviani, Ferdinando and M. Schino (1982) Il segreto della commedia dell'arte.
Tessari, R. (1969) La commedia dell'arte nel seicento
Tessari, R. (1981) Commedia dell'arte: la maschera e l'ombra
Tony, Kishawi Teaching Commedia dell'arte (2010) A step by step handbook for the theatre
ensemble and Drama teacher. [2] (https://web.archive.org/web/20150114081936/http://www.lig
htwire.com.au/Lightwire-teaching-resources/Teaching-Commedia-dell-Arte-Book.html)
ISBN 978-0-646-53217-2
Simply Masquerade (https://www.simplymasquerade.co.uk/page_2931797.html) – types of
masks used

External links
commedia-dell-arte.com (http://www.commedia-dell-arte.com) – Judith Chaffee's Commedia
website, with resources, annotated bibliography, and links
Meagher, Jennifer (2007) Commedia dell'arte (http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/comm/hd_c
omm.htm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, July 2007
Bellinger, Martha Fletcher (2002) "The Commedia dell'arte" (http://www.theatrehistory.com/itali
an/commedia_dell_arte_001.html), A Short History of the Drama (1927)
Wilson, Matthew R. (2010) A History of Commedia dell'Arte (http://www.factionoffools.org/histo
ry)

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Commedia_dell%27arte&oldid=954238218"

This page was last edited on 1 May 2020, at 11:10 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this
site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia
Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.