Commedia dell'arte

A commedia dell'arte street play during the

carnival of Venice, Italy.

Commedia dell'arte Troupe on a Wagon in

a Town Square, by Jan Miel, 1640

Commedia dell'arte (UK: /kɒˈmeɪdiǝ dɛl ˈɑːrteɪ/, US: /kǝˈ- ... -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]) 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
characters are exaggerated "real characters", such as a know-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.

History

Tap to display image.

Claude Gillot (1673–1722), Four Commedia dell'arte

Figures: Three Gentlemen and Pierrot, c. 1715

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 improvised plot.[15] Some historians argue that Atellan 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]

Tap to display image.

Pulcinella, drawn by
Maurice Sand

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
referred 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 female performer of the
commedia as a "tumbling whore"). 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.[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.

Tap to display image.

Harlequin in a 19th
century Italian print

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).

Commedia dell'arte moved outside the city limits to the théâtre de la foire, or 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
 Tap to display image.

Commedia dell'arte troupe I Gelosi in a late 16th-

century Flemish painting

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
compagnie traveled throughout Europe from the early 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
 Tap to display image.

Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684–1721),

Commedia dell'arte player of
Pierrot, ca. 1718–19, identified as
"Gilles". Louvre, Paris.

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
character's persona included the specific dialect of the region or town represented.
Meaning that on stage, each character was performed in its own dialect. Characters would
often be passed 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]
 Tap to display image.

Harlequin and Pantalone in a

2011 play in Tallinn, Estonia.

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 children of a male character in the masters group, but not of
any female 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
Arlecchino Yes Colorful tight fitting jacket and trousers
two masters)

Il Dottore Yes Head of the household Black scholarly robe

Il Capitano Yes Indigent loner Military uniform

High class hopeless

Innamorati No Nicely dressed on par with the time
lovers

Pantalone Yes Older wealthy man Dark capes and red trousers

Can be colorful on par with Arlecchino or

Colombina Yes Perky maid / servant
black and 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

Tap to display image.

Eduardo De Filippo as
Pulcinella

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]

Tap to display image. Tap to display image.

Masks of Il Capitano (left) and Il Dottore (right)

Il Dottore's costume was a play on the academic 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 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
 Tap to display image.

Harlequin and Colombina. Paint by

Giovanni Domenico Ferretti.

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 wish to be married, but one
elder (vecchio) or several elders (vecchi) 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

Tap to display image.

Jean-Antoine Watteau, Italian Comedians, 1720

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
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.

Tap to display image.

Johann Joachim Kändler's

commedia dell'arte figures in
Meissen porcelain, c. 1735–44

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 representative of that genre.

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

 Tap to display image.

Peeter van Bredael, Commedia dell'arte Scene in

an Italian Landscape

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 to sing
and have the popular repertoire under their 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.

Tap to display image.

Pierrot as "Pjerrot", Dyrehavesbakken,

Denmark

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.

References

|. "Commedia dell'arte" . Encyclopædia Britannica.

}. 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.

•. Wilson, Matthew R. "A History of Commedia dell'arte" . Faction of Fools. Faction of

Fools. Retrieved 9 December 2016.

€. Rudlin, John (1994). Commedia Dell'Arte An Actor's Handbook. London and New York:
Routledge. p. 48. ISBN 978-0-415-04769-2.

•. Ducharte, Pierre Louis (1966). The Italian Comedy: The Improvisation Scenarios Lives
 Attributes Portraits and Masks of the Illustrious Characters of the Commedia
dell'Arte . New York: Dover Publication. p. 17 . ISBN 978-0486216799.

‚. 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.

ƒ. "Faction Of Fools" .

„. 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.

…. Gordon, Mel (1983). Lazzi: The Comic Routine of the Commedia dell'Arte . New York:
Performing Arts Journal Publications. p. 4 . ISBN 978-0-933826-69-4.

|†. Broadbent, R.J. (1901). A History Of Pantomime. New York: Benjamin Blom, Inc. p. 62.

||. "Faction of Fools | A History of Commedia dell'Arte" . www.factionoffools.org.

Retrieved 2016-12-09.

|}. Maurice, Sand (1915). The History of the Harlequinade. New York: Benjamin Bloom,
Inc. p. 135.

|•. Nicoll, Allardyce (1963). The World of Harlequin: A Critical Study of the Commedia
dell'Arte. London: Cambridge University Press. p. 9.

|€. Castagno 1994, p. 94.

|•. Smith 1964, p. 26, quote: "Atellanae were forced marked by improvisations and
masked personages...

|‚. 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."

|ƒ. 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."

|„. 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."

|…. Palleschi 2005, Part One.

}†. Katritzky 2006, p. 82.

}|. Rudlin p. 14

}}. Rudlin & Crick 2001, p. 15

}•. Giacomo Oreglia (2002). Commedia dell'arte. Ordfront. ISBN 91-7324-602-6

}€. Katritzky 2006, p. 90.

}•. Katritzky 2006, p. 106.

}‚. Katritzky 2006, p. 19

}ƒ. "Carnival in Venice" .

}„. Ducharte, Pierre Louis (1966). The Italian Comedy. Toronto: General Publishing
Company. p. 70.

}…. 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 .
ISSN 0306-1078 .

•†. Ducharte, Pierre Louis (1966). The Italian Comedy. Toronto: General Publishing
Company. p. 74.

•|. Ducharte, Pierre Louis (1966). The Italian Comedy. Toronto: General Publishing
Company. p. 79.

•}. Ducharte, Pierre Louis (1966). The Italian Comedy. Toronto: General Publishing.
pp. 86–98.

••. McArdle, Grainne (2005). "Signora Violante and Her Troupe of Dancers 1729-32".
Eighteenth-Century Ireland / Iris an Dá Chultúr. 20: 55–78. JSTOR 30071051 .

•€. Castagno 1994, p. .

••. Green & Swan 1993, pp. xi–xii.

•‚. Oreglia, Giacomo (1968). The Commedia dell'Arte. Hill & Wang. pp. 65, 71.
OCLC 939808594 .

•ƒ. Rudlin, An Actor's Handbook. p. 34.

•„. Rudlin, An Actor's Handbook. p. 67.

•…. "Commedia Stock Characters" . shane-arts.com. Archived from the original on

2005-02-07. Retrieved 2016-04-05.

۠. Green & Swan 1993, p. 163.

€|. Rudlin, John (1994). Commedia dell'Arte An Actor's Handbook. New York: Routledge.
pp. 67–156. ISBN 978-0-415-04769-2.

€}. Ducharte, Pierre (1966). The Italian Comedy. New York: Dover. pp. 164–207.

ۥ. Oreglia, Giacomo (1968). The Commedia dell'Arte. Hill & Wang. p. 58.
OCLC 939808594 .

€€. Katritzky 2006, p. 26.

ۥ. https://calperformances.org/learn/program_notes/2011/pn_gerstein.pdf

€‚. 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 . 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 . New York: Editions Rodopi.
ISBN 978-90-420-1798-6.

Palleschi, Marino (2005). "The Commedia dell'arte: Its Origins, Development & Influence
on the Ballet" . Auguste Vestris.)

Rudlin, John. Commedia dell'arte: An Actor's Handbook . Ebook Corporation.

Rudlin, John; Crick, Oliver (2001). Commedia dell'arte: A Handbook for Troupes .
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]

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 . 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 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 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 .

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) (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 .
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] ISBN 978-0-646-53217-2
 Simply Masquerade – types of masks used

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Commedia dell'arte.

commedia-dell-arte.com – Judith Chaffee's Commedia website, with resources,

annotated bibliography, and links

Meagher, Jennifer (2007) Commedia dell'arte , Metropolitan Museum of Art, July 2007

Bellinger, Martha Fletcher (2002) "The Commedia dell'arte" , A Short History of the
Drama (1927)

Wilson, Matthew R. (2010) A History of Commedia dell'Arte