While borrowing elements from the Greek theater and Etruscan festivals of antiquity, the genre of Commedia dell’arte really become its own distinct style in the early 16th century, and enjoyed prominence in the world of performance for the next two hundred years. Elsewhere in Europe, especially in Great Britain and the northern countries, theater was a luxury of the aristocracy, and the subject matter and manner of presentation was rigid and static. Actors could afford to unimaginative amateurs because the richness of the language on the playwright’s page was what people paid to see. Commedia dell’arte, performed on provisional stages in public squares for the common man, was a reaction that strove to display the exact opposite. These troops of traveling thespians were professionals and artists, with extra skill in music, pantomime, acrobatics, and improvisation. Women too could get onto the act, as this genre paved the way for the modern actress. This was not true of Elizabethan England or other northern European theater environments.
In traditional Commedia dell’arte, all the scenes are improvised and each actor in the troop takes on the character, physicality, and mask of one of the stock personalities; one for each region or major city and/or dialect in Italy. There are three types of characters: the elders or vecchi, the young lovers or inamorata and finally the Zanni, the eccentric servants whose mistakes and mishaps allow for hilarity to ensue. Most of the rough plot lines followed the thread that the young lovers were prevented from being together by the elders and sought the help of their dimwitted or crazy servants to unite them. While mix-ups and miscommunications were plenty, eventually all was sorted, identities revealed, and the lovers given their happy albeit melodramatic ending; much to the pleasure of the audience.
The servants are all derived from the original character called Zanni, an impoverished immigrant from the town of Bergamo, who is described as a sprite from hell and whose only motivation is the immediate gratifications of his own physical desires, despite the task his master requires of him. The antics equated to this character allowed for the English word “zany” to take on its contemporary meaning.
The most famous of these zany servants, as well as the most iconic of the commedia dell’arte characters, is Harlequin the acrobatic clown. His costume consists of a diamond patterned smock that looks as if he had sewn together all scraps of fabric available to him, and his mask is usually a black or burnt-clay color. The actor who would take on this character would have to have inexhaustible energy, as Harlequin rarely entered the stage without a summersault, jump, or flip of some kind. He also was on the receiving end of most of the slapstick style humor and violence at the hand of his displeased master. While originally a crass and lowly character, in the 18th century with the influence of the French, Harlequin began to evolve into a more refined character, and the central figure in many stories with his own love interest. He also lightened up on the physical comedy and was given license for a quick wit and sharp tongue.
From Venice hailed Pantalone, the old greedy merchant who typically fathered one of the lovers and prevented their being wed. While shrewd and penny pinching, he was also naïve and trusting, allowing other elders and servants to talk him into the ridiculous. One of this character’s lazzi, or typically predetermined jokes or gags, was to have Pantalone be talked into funding any harebrained scheme.
Naples adopted Pulcinella as it’s representative figure and many of the stereotypes of the Neapolitan people are reflected in his personality. Pulcinella physically was an anomaly; burdened with growing potbelly, an accentuated hunchback and a large beak-like nose, Pulcinella resembles a top-heavy chicken. He also in some cases, spokes with a light chirping voice. However, this character has two very different sides, reflective of his supposed two fathers from classical theater. One the one hand Pulcinella is a soft spoken and melancholy philosopher, a dreamer, while at other times he is a crafty and violent thief. Often times he would faint ignorance of a situation before turning volatile and beating another character.
The doctor was the second of the main older characters in a troop’s repertoire and was meant to lampoon the learned men of the University of Bologna. The doctor dawns the dress typical of scholarly gentlemen of that era but has a large belly and a very uniquely shaped mask that only covered the forehead and nose of the actor portraying him. This character always created more problems than he solved, and always botched a diagnosis instead of providing the cure. It was a common lazzi that he would pronounce any ailing characters, even males, as being pregnant. He was also prone to long winded speeches where he would pretentiously lecture the other characters and would claim to have brilliantly discovered obvious and commonplace things.
The final archetypal male character was the captain, a boastful braggart who would sell himself as a great warrior and conqueror but who was actually afraid of his own shadow or anything else for that matter. He was more bark than bite and when threatened would stand his ground before fleeing away. While originally Italian, upon the missionary occupation of the Spanish Bourbons in southern Italy, Il Capitano transformed into a swaggering sword-yielding Spaniard. In this way, a character or plot could always transform to satirize or provide social commentary on the issues of the day, since the performers had the liberty to throw in whatever comments they wished. The captain could be portrayed with or without a mask but usually had a large hat and a long pointy moustache perfect for twirling diabolically. Always an outsider, this character functioned as not only a ladies man but also a lone wolf who the vecchi would require to do their dirty work.
These five characters in addition to the several others included in the Commedia dell’arte repertoire can be seen as distant ancestors of many contemporary characters we see in our movies and television comedies today. It seems that no sitcom is complete without a zany neighbor or a bragging Don Juan, and many other comedic stylistic elements are used commonly in today’s improvisational and sketch theater. It’s said that Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, the Vaudeville acts of the 20th century, even Freddie Mercury and Queen all drew inspiration from this art form. Harlequin and the others also pop up frequently in the visual art and toys associated with or created during this historical period, and every year during the Carnival festivals, contemporary theater troops are hired by Italian cities to perform for crowds of locals and tourists alike.
A perfect example of this was the opening ceremonies for this year’s Carnival celebrations in Venice, where the Italian theater company Teatro Piccolo performed a production of Carlo Goldoni’s Arlecchino Servant of Two Masters; the longest running show in Italian theater history. Makeshift stages were also erected all throughout Rome, including in Piazza Navona, where other groups celebrated the tradition of Commedia dell’arte for Carnival.
But the most interesting place Commedia dell’arte’s influence can still be seen in not on the stage, but in everyday life and the stereotypes different regions and cities remain to have. It’s shocking how Venetians can still be linked to the merchant Pantalone and Neapolitans to the dual nature of Pulcinella. Those characters, images, and traits are still attributed and ring true today.
While Italian theater cannot be limited to this historic genre, Commedia dell’arte can certain claim many of the stylistic elements of contemporary comedy as we know it and it will remain engrained in the Italian identity for centuries to come.
Bibliography
Belloni, Mario. Marchere a Venezia. Una Tantum Editore.
"Carnevale di Venezia - Official website - ARLECCHINO SERVITORE DI DUE PADRONI DI FERRUCCIO SOLERI." Carnevale di Venezia - Official website - Carnevale di Venezia. 08 Mar. 2010
"Commedia dell'arte -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 08 Mar. 2010
Delpiano, Roberto. "Italian Comedy | Commedia dell'Arte | masks | Venice." Photography | Art | Web Design | Carnival | Roberto Delpiano's website. 2007. 08 Mar. 2010
Ducharte, Pierre Louis. The Italian Comedy Dover Publications, inc. 1966
Shane, Tim. "Brief History on Commedia Dell'arte." Commedia Dell'arte Homepage. 8 Mar. 2010
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