"A
Glimpse of Theatre History"
Commedia dell 'Arte
I. Characteristics:
| A. Actor centered |
| 1. Stock characters: |
| a. Old Men: |
| i. Pantalone ii. Dottore |
| b. Capitano, the braggart warrior derived from
the Miles Gloriosus of Plautus c. Lovers |
| i. Inamorata (Isabella) ii. Inamorato (Lelio, Flavio, etc.) |
| d. Zanni: Originally a term meaning a servant from Bergamo, it came to be used for a whole class of servant types |
|
i. Arlecchino (Harlequin) |
| a. Tristano Martinelli (1557-1630), author of Compositions
de rhetorique b. Evaristo Gherardi (1663-c.1701) author of Le Theatre Italien de Gherardi |
| ii. Brighella iii. Coviello iv. Tartaglia v. Scaramouche vi. Pulcinello vii. Pedrolino |
| e. Female characters |
| i. Colombina ii. Servetta birichina or Soubrette, a confidante, of somewhat loose moral character, flippant and cunning |
| a. Fiametta b. Spinetta c. Franceschina, etc. |
| B. Improvised (See Andrea Perucci) |
| 1. Scenario or Sogetto (Flaminio Scala, Evaristo Gherardi) 2. Lazzi 3. Concetti (See Isabella Andreini's Rime) |
| C. Masked D. Professional |
II. Historical periods: It is convenient to look at the rise and
fall of this fascinating form in three periods:
| A. Period of the famous troupes (c.1565-c.1637) |
| 1. I Gelosi (pre-1565-c.1637) |
| a. Flaminio Scala (b. 1578) b. Francesco Andreini (1550-1624) c. Isabella Andreini (1562-1604) |
| 2. I Confidenti (c.1574-1621) 3. I Uniti (c.1578-1614) 4. I Accesi (c.1590-c1632) 5. I Fedeli (1604-1637) |
| B. Period of the cities: (1637-1700) |
| 1. Parma 2. Modena 3. Paris |
| C. Period of the Luigi Riccoboni's Theatre-italien (1700-1765) In the early years of the 18th century, a few professional troupes continued to perform in Italy and sometimes abroad. Most prominent was the theatre Italien of Luigi Riccoboni. |