Is Brighella a servant?

Originally one of the comic servants, or zanni, of the commedia, Brighella was a jack-of-all-trades whose loyalty as a soldier, hangman's varlet, assassin, or gentleman's valet could be easily bought. Because of his almost sentimental view of love, though, the young lovers could trust him.

Is Harlequin a servant?

In the early years of the commedia (mid-16th century), the Harlequin was a zanni (a wily and covetous comic servant), and he was cowardly, superstitious, and plagued by a continual lack of money and food.

What type of character is Colombina?

What was Colombina's Character and Personality? Colombina may be a flirtatious and sometimes a capricious character but she plays an important role in Commedia dell'Arte. She is an efficient, carefree servant who is intelligent enough to have achieved a higher status.

Is Pantalone a master or a servant?

Pantalone originated as part of a master/servant duo and was the original il Magnifico stock character. Carlo Goldoni, in his memoirs, named Pantalone as one of the four primary Commedia dell'Arte characters.

Does Brighella wear a mask?

He wore a greenish half-mask (traditionally olive-green) displaying a look of preternatural lust and greed. It is distinguished by a hook nose and thick lips, along with a thick twirled mustache to give him an offensive characteristic.

Commedia Character Shorts: Lesson Five-Brighella

Who is Arlecchino's master?

Commedia characters are fixed types who fall into one of three categories: The Servants (eg: Arlecchino or Columbina) The Masters (eg: Pantalone) The Lovers (eg: Isabella and Flavio )

What kind of character is Brighella?

Brighella, stock character of the Italian commedia dell'arte; a roguish, quick-witted, opportunistic, and sometimes lascivious and cruel figure.

Is Pantalone a merchant?

Pantaloon, Italian Pantalone, stock character of the 16th-century Italian commedia dell'arte—a cunning and rapacious yet often deceived Venetian merchant.

Is truffaldino a Zanni?

In Goldoni's original, Servant of Two Masters, the character was called Truffaldino. This is an Arlecchino type, a 16th century zanni or servant mask from the region of Bergamo in the north of Italy.

What does Arlecchino mask look like?

Physically, Arlecchino is described as wearing a costume covered in irregular patches, a hat outfitted with either a rabbit or fox's tail, and a red and black mask. The mask itself is identified by carbuncles on the forehead, small eyes, a snub nose, hollow cheeks, and sometimes bushy brows with facial hair.

Who is the head servant in Commedia?

zanni, plural zanni or zannis, stock servant character in the Italian improvisational theatre known as the commedia dell'arte.

Who is columbina in love with?

Columbine aided her mistress, the innamorata, to gain the affections of her one true love. She is sometimes the lover of Harlequin, but not always. They sometimes engage in sexual activity, but not always. She may be a flirtatious and impudent character, indeed a soubrette.

Who does columbina work for?

In lazzis Colombina is always either the : Personal Maid to the prima donna innamorata (stock character Isabella) The servant, the soubrette. The maid of one of the Old Men (Pantalone, Il Dottore, etc) or the wife of Arlecchino.

Why does Harlequin wear a black mask?

Harlequin is often associated with wearing a black mask because that color was associated with trickery and mischievousness. We used paper plates and colored pencils to create a mask that also shows our more mischievous sides.

Why is Zanni's nose so long?

In the early days of Commedia dell'Arte, the Zanni mask used in the theatre was a full face mask with a long nose. It developed from here into a half mask covering the upper half of the face only with an extended, long nose. The longer the nose on the mask, then the more stupid was the character.

What animal is Zanni?

The Zanni character was a buffoon or clown and known in those days as a simpleton or 'stupid incompetent fool'!

Is Tartaglia A Zanni?

Some characters in Commedia that are derived from Zanni are Arlecchino (Harlequin), Brighella, Scapino, Mescolino and Mezzettino, Scaramuccia (aka Scaramouche), Pulcinella, Pedrolino, Giangurgolo, Tartaglia, Trappolino, and Burratino.

What type of characters are the innamorati?

Gli Innamorati (Italian: [ʎ innamoˈraːti], meaning "The Lovers") were stock characters within the theatre style known as commedia dell'arte, who appeared in 16th century Italy. In the plays, everything revolved around the Lovers in some regard.

How does il Dottore stand?

Il Dottore was born from the city of Bologna, Italy. He is comically inept. He is usually extremely rich, though the needs of the scenario might have things otherwise, and extremely pompous, loving the sound of his own voice and spouting ersatz Latin and Greek, Il Dottore is known to be overly self loving and greedy.

Where is Il Capitano from?

One of the earliest of the commedia characters, he was a descendant of the Miles Gloriosus, the braggart soldier of ancient Roman comedy. An unsympathetic character, he was originally a parody of the French and Spanish mercenaries who overran 16th-century Italy.

Where is Arlecchino from?

Early characteristics of Arlecchino paint the character as a second zanni servant from northern Italy with the paradoxical attributes of a dimwitted fool and an intelligent trickster. Arlecchino is sometimes referred to as putting on a show of stupidity in a metatheatrical attempt to create chaos within the play.

How does Arlecchino stand?

STATUS: Arlecchino is a shape shifting servant to Pantalone, Il Capitano or Il Dottore. A crafty low status character, Arlecchino tries to trick his patrons out of money, but usually fails. Arlecchino is very quick, acrobatic and limber. He's not as intelligent as Brighella, but he is not as stupid as the Zannis.

What is Pulcinella personality?

Pulcinella is a dualistic character: he either plays dumb, though he is very much aware of the situation, or he acts as though he is the most intelligent and competent, despite being woefully ignorant. He is incessantly trying to rise above his station, though he does not intend to work for it.

Where is Scaramuccia from?

Scaramouche was originally a variation of the commedia character Capitano, a braggart soldier. The role was closely associated with the Italian actor Tiberio Fiorillo (1608–94), who played without a mask. He transformed the military role to that of a comic servant, usually an indigent gentleman's valet.

Who are the lovers in commedia dell arte?

Isabella, Colombina (the latter being more versatile, playing the Soubrette too) Silvia, Corallina, the more known Female Lovers, and Lelio, Flavio, Orazio, Silvio, Leandro and others are the men, all with a simple name, easy to remember (in contrast with the Captains, sometimes with very elaborate and noble-like names ...