Beyond the most basic plot elements, the only scripted components of the performance were lazzi-rehearsed interludes of comic stage business, music, acrobatics, or fighting-often unrelated to the development of the scenario. Occasionally, stock characters acted out stories from mythology and ancient Greek and Roman comedies as well. Other popular scenari involved adultery, marital jealousy, and the outwitting of a foolish character by his servant. The innamorati seek assistance from servant characters called zanni (from which the word “zany” derives) who, with cunning intervention, bring the play to a happy conclusion. Most commonly, the plot centered on the struggles of young lovers, or innamorati, whose union is hindered by one or several elders ( vecchi), possibly a jealous guardian or even an aged spouse. Thus actors were at liberty to tailor a performance to their audience, allowing for sly commentary on current politics and bawdy humor that would otherwise be censored. Performances were based on a set schema, or scenario-a basic plot, often a familiar story, upon which the actors improvised their dialogue. ![]() In its golden age, plays of the commedia dell’arte (literally, “comedy of professional artists”) were usually performed in open air by itinerant troupes of players, as seen in Pater’s The Fair at Bezons ( 49.7.52). Some troupes were favored at foreign courts, especially in France, where images from the commedia became a favorite theme of artists such as Jean-Baptiste Joseph Pater (1695–1736) and Antoine Watteau (1684–1721) ( 49.7.54). The earliest known company formed in Padua in 1545, and by the turn of the seventeenth century troupes such as the Gelosi, Confidenti, and Fedeli enjoyed international celebrity. ![]() Commedia dell’arte is a theatrical form characterized by improvised dialogue and a cast of colorful stock characters that emerged in northern Italy in the fifteenth century and rapidly gained popularity throughout Europe.
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