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COMMEDIA DELL’ARTE
The Historical Background
Italy 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
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
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
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
Sebastiano Serlio’s stage
A prominent Italian architect known for his highquality 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 used—for tragedy,
palaces; for comedy, street scenes; for satyr plays,
the countryside.
Commedia Dell’arte
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 didn’t 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
Commedia Dell’arte
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
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
Characters
Arlecchino
(Truffaldino)
Brighella
Columbina
Pagliaccio
Pantalone
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.
Characters
Arlecchino and Colombina, or
Arlecchino the Seductor,
Antoine Watteau, 1716-18
Pantalone, Jacques Callot, eau
forte, 1618
The Masks
They played crucial role in Commedia Dell’arte
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
The Masks
Arlecchino
Brighella
Pantalone
Smerdaldina Truffaldino
Carlo Goldoni
(1707-1793)
One of the Italy’s (Europe’s) Greatest playwrights, born in Venice
in 1707
He attracted the theatre-goers by creating characters that were
similar to them, and often through dramatizing the conflicts and
dramas of the contemporary middle-classes
Initially he wrote tragedies but later he found he is better in the
comedy genre
He was the first to realize that the Italian stage needs
reformation and adoption of the Moliere’s 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
Moliere’s style and and the model of Commedia Dell’arte, along
with his wit and vigour style) – “La Donna Di Garbo”
His main idea was that the Italian life was susceptible to artistic
treatment
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 society’s 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 Goldoni’s
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)
“The Servant of Two Masters”
by Carlo Goldoni
Written in 1745 by Goldoni for a Venetian commedia dell’arte 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
The Influence and Popularity of
Commedia Dell’arte
By the beginnig pf the XVIIth century Commedia Dell’arte 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
Dell’arte 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
Dell’arte survive throughout the centuries (even till recent times)
