Plastic characteristics of the characters of the commedia dell'arte. Italian commedia dell'arte

COMEDY DEL ARTE(commedia dell"arte); another name - comedy of masks - is an improvisational street theater of the Italian Renaissance, which arose in the mid-16th century and, in fact, formed the first professional theater in history.

Commedia dell'arte emerged from street festivals and carnivals. Her characters are certain social images in which not individual, but typical traits are cultivated. There were no plays as such in the commedia dell'arte; only a plot scheme, a script, was developed, which during the course of the performance was filled with live replicas that varied depending on the composition of the audience. It was this improvisational method of work that led comedians to professionalism - and, first of all, to the development of an ensemble and increased attention to their partner. In fact, if the actor does not carefully follow the improvisational cues and the line of behavior of the partner, he will not be able to fit into the flexibly changing context of the performance. These performances were the favorite entertainment of the mass, democratic audience. Commedia dell'arte absorbed the experience of farcical theater, but the common characters of the "scientific comedy" were also parodied here. A specific mask was assigned to a specific actor once and for all, but the role - despite the rigid typical framework - varied endlessly and developed during each performance.

The number of masks that appeared in commedia dell'arte is extremely large - more than a hundred. However, most of them were rather variations of several basic masks.

Commedia dell'arte had two main centers - Venice and Naples. In accordance with this, two groups of masks emerged. The Northern (Venetian) consisted of Doctor, Pantalone, Brighella and Harlequin; southern (Neapolitan) - Coviello, Pulcinella, Scaramuccia and Tartaglia. The style of performance of the Venetian and Neapolitan commedia dell'arte was also somewhat different: Venetian masks worked primarily in the genre of satire; the Neapolitans used more tricks, rude buffoon jokes. According to functional groups, masks can be divided into the following categories: old people (satirical images of Pantalone, Doctor, Tartaglia, Captain); servants (comedic zanni characters: Brighella, Harlequin, Coviello, Pulcinella and a fantasy maid - Smeraldina, Francesca, Columbina); lovers (images closest to the heroes of literary drama, played only by young actors). Unlike the elderly and servants, the lovers did not wear masks, were luxuriously dressed, had exquisite plastic arts and the Tuscan dialect in which Petrarch wrote his sonnets. It was the actors who played the roles of lovers who were the first to abandon improvisation and begin to write down the texts of their characters.

The authors of the scripts were most often the main actors of the troupe (capo commico). The first printed collection of scripts was published in 1611 by the actor Flaminio Scala, who directed the famous Gelosi troupe. Other most famous troupes are Confidenti and Fedeli.

The Italian commedia dell'arte produced a whole constellation of brilliant actors (many of whom were the first theorists of stage art): Isabella and Francesco Andreini, Giulio Pasquati, Bernardino Lombardi, Marc Antonio Romagnesi, Nicolo Barbieri, Tristano Martinelli, Teresa, Catarina and Domenico Biancolelli, Tiberio Fiorilli and others. From the end of the 16th century. The troupes began to tour widely throughout Europe - in France, Spain, England. Her popularity reached its peak. However, by the middle of the 17th century. Commedia dell'arte began to decline. The tightening of the church's policy towards theater in general, and commedia dell'arte in particular, led to comedians settling in other countries for permanent residence. So, let’s say, in Paris, on the basis of an Italian troupe, the Comedy Italian theater was opened.

Masks of Venice. Commedia dell'arte masks

Commedia dell'arte (Italian: la commedia dell'arte), or comedy of masks - a type of Italian folk theater, performances of which were created using the method of improvisation, based on a script containing a brief plot outline of the performance, with the participation of actors dressed in masks. Various sources also refer to it as la commedia a soggetto (script theatre), la commedia all’improvviso (improvisation theatre) or la commedia degli zanni (zanni comedy).

The number of masks in commedia dell'arte is very large (there are more than a hundred of them in total), but most of them are related characters that differ only in names and minor details. The main characters of the comedy include two quartets of male masks, the Captain's mask, as well as characters who do not wear masks, these are the Zanni girls and the Lovers, as well as all the noble ladies and gentlemen.

Male characters
Northern (Venetian) quartet of masks:
- Pantalone (Magnifico, Cassandro, Uberto), - Venetian merchant, stingy old man;
- Doctor (Doctor Balandzone, Doctor Graziano), - pseudo-scientific doctor of law; old man;
- Brighella (Scapino, Buffetto), - the first zanni, an intelligent servant;
- Harlequin (Mezzetino, Truffaldino, Tabarino), - second zanni, stupid servant;

Southern (Neapolitan) quartet of masks:
- Tartaglia, the stuttering judge;
- Scaramuccia, a boastful warrior, a coward;
- Coviello, first zanni, intelligent servant;
- Pulcinella (Policinelle), second zanni, stupid servant;

The captain is a boastful warrior, a coward, the northern analogue of the Scaramucci mask;
- Pedrolino (Pierrot, Clown), servant, one of the zanni.
- Lelio (also Orazio, Lucio, Flavio, etc.), young lover;

Female characters
- Isabella (also Lucinda, Vittoria, etc.), young lover; often the heroine was named after the actress who played this role;
- Columbina, Fantesca, Fiametta, Smeraldina, etc., are maids.

ZANNI - General name for a comedic servant. The name comes from the male name Giovanni, which was so popular among the common people that it became a common noun to designate a servant. The zanni class includes such characters as Arlecchino, Brighella, Pierino, who appeared later. The characteristics of the nameless zanni are an insatiable appetite and ignorance. He lives exclusively for today and does not think about complex matters. Usually loyal to its owner, but does not like discipline. At least 2 such characters took part in the play, one of whom was dull, and the other, on the contrary, was distinguished by a fox-like intelligence and dexterity. They were dressed simply - in a shapeless light blouse and trousers, usually made from flour sacks. The mask initially covered the entire face, so in order to communicate with other heroes of the zanni comedy, one had to lift its lower part (which was inconvenient). Subsequently, the mask was simplified, and it began to cover only the forehead, nose and cheeks. A characteristic feature of the zanni mask is the elongated nose, and its length is directly proportional to the stupidity of the character.

HARLEQUIN (Arlecchino) - zanni of the rich old man Pantalone. The Harlequin costume is bright and colorful: it is made up of diamonds of red, black, blue and green. This pattern symbolizes Harlequin's extreme poverty - his clothes seem to consist of countless poorly chosen patches. This character can neither read nor write, and by origin he is a peasant who left the impoverished village of Bergamo to go to work in prosperous Venice. By nature, Harlequin is an acrobat and a clown, so his clothes should not restrict his movements. The mischievous man carries a stick with him, which he often uses to bludgeon other characters.

Despite his penchant for fraud, Harlequin cannot be considered a scoundrel - a person just needs to live somehow. He is not particularly smart and is quite gluttonous (his love for food is sometimes stronger than his passion for Columbine, and his stupidity prevents the fulfillment of Pantalone’s amorous plans). Harlequin's mask was black, with ominous features (according to one version, the word “Harlequin” itself comes from the name of one of the demons of Dante’s “Hell” - Alicino). On his head was a white felt hat, sometimes with fox or rabbit fur.
Other names: Bagattino, Trufaldino, Tabarrino, Tortellino, Gradelino, Polpettino, Nespolino, Bertoldino, etc.

Columbina - servant of the Lover (Inamorata). She helps her mistress in matters of the heart, deftly manipulating the other characters, who are often not indifferent to her. Columbine is distinguished by coquetry, feminine insight, charm and dubious virtue. She is dressed, like her constant boyfriend Harlequin, in stylized colored patches, as befits a poor girl from the provinces. Columbine's head is decorated with a white hat, matching the color of her apron. She doesn’t have a mask, but her face is heavily made up, her eyes are especially brightly lined.
Other names: Harlequin, Corallina, Ricciolina, Camilla, Lisette.

PEDROLINO or PIERINO (Pedrolino, Pierino) - one of the servant characters. Pedrolino is dressed in a loose white tunic with huge buttons and too long sleeves, a round ribbed collar on his neck, and a cap hat with a narrow round crown on his head. Sometimes the clothes had large pockets filled with souvenirs of a romantic nature. His face is always heavily whitened and painted, so there is no need to wear a mask. Despite the fact that Pedrolino belongs to the Zanni tribe, his character is radically different from that of Harlequin or Brighella. He is sentimental, amorous (although he suffers mainly from soubrette), trusting and devoted to his owner. The poor guy usually suffers from unrequited love for Columbine and from the ridicule of the other comedians, whose mental organization is not so subtle.
The role of Pierino in the troupe was often played by the youngest son, because this hero was obliged to look young and fresh.

BRIGELLA - another zanni, partner of Harlequin. In a number of cases, Brighella is a self-made man who started without a penny, but gradually accumulated money and secured a fairly comfortable existence for himself. He is often depicted as a tavern owner. Brighella is a big money lover and a ladies' man. It was these two emotions - primitive lust and greed - that froze on his green half mask. In some productions, he appears as a servant, more cruel in character than his younger brother Harlequin. Brighella knows how to please her master, but at the same time she is quite capable of deceiving him, not without benefit for herself. He is cunning, cunning and can, depending on circumstances, be anyone - a soldier, a sailor and even a thief.

His costume is a white camisole and trousers of the same color, decorated with transverse green stripes. He often carries a guitar with him, as he is inclined to play music.

Brighella's mask, although it was one of the most beloved by ordinary spectators, as a rule, was in the background of intrigue; the lack of active action was compensated by a large number of insert tricks and musical interludes. Images close to Brighella are present in the comedies of Lope de Vega and Shakespeare; these are also Scapin, Mascarille and Sganarelle by Moliere and Figaro by Beaumarchais.

LOVERS (Inamorati) - the constant heroes of the commedia del arte, gentlemen Columbine, Harlequin and other zanni. The lovers look detached from life, pompous characters. If they move, it’s like a ballet, with their toes pointed out unnaturally. They gesticulate a lot and often look in the mirror. The main features of the Lovers are vanity, morbid attention to one's own appearance, nervousness, absorption in one's feelings and complete inability, which is actively used by zanni. Even their names sound stilted (men were usually called Silvio, Fabrizio, Aurelio, Orazio, Ottavio, Lelio, Leandro or Florindo, and women were called Isabella, Flaminia, Vittoria, Silvia, Lavinia or Ortensia).
Inamorati always dressed in the latest fashion, exaggeratedly carefully and elegantly. The masks were replaced by a thick layer of makeup, thanks to which the roles of Isabella and Lelio were accessible to far from young actors. In addition, wigs, flies and all kinds of jewelry were an indispensable accessory to their toilet. Young men often dressed up in beautiful military uniforms. During the course of the action, the lovers' costumes could change several times.

Despite the fact that it is around the love of the young that the intrigue of the comedy is built, the lovers always remain in the shadow of the zanni masks, and their love is always perceived with a certain amount of irony.

ISABELLA (also, Lucinda, Vittoria, etc.), young lover; often the heroine was named after the actress who played this role

PULCINELLA (Pulcinella) - the Italian analogue of the Russian Parsley, the English Mr. Punch and the French Polichinelle. A typical representative of the Neapolitan proletariat with all its characteristic features. It is interesting that Pulcinella is an ambiguous character; in the play he could be a stupid person, a cunning person, a servant, a master, a coward, and a bully. This character's name translates to "chicken" in Italian and is apparently related to his mask, the most noticeable element of which is a large beak-like nose. Pulcinella's costume consists of a long, baggy white blouse tied at the waist with a leather strap, loose shapeless pants and an unusual oblong hat. He was often depicted as a hunchback. At first, the hump was barely noticeable, then it began to quickly increase in size, and the stomach grew at the same time. Pulcinella's bending symbolizes his fear of beatings (and in the comedy everyone who stood higher on the social ladder beat him, that is, very many).

PANTALONE - one of the most famous Venetian masks. Pantalone is an elderly rich merchant who is constantly chasing after some female character (always to no avail). This image embodied the growing class of the Venetian bourgeoisie. A characteristic feature of Pantaloon's costume is a huge codpiece, symbolizing his imaginary masculine strength. Usually the old man was dressed in a dark red camisole and tight trousers of the same color, a black cloak with short sleeves and a small black cap, like a fez. He had a dagger or purse hanging from his belt, and his shoes were yellow Turkish shoes with sharp, curved toes. The dark brown mask had a prominent hooked nose, shaggy gray eyebrows and the same mustache (sometimes also glasses). Pantalone's beard stuck out upward, sometimes almost touching the tip of his nose, which gave the old man's profile a particularly comical look. Often in the story, Pantalone wanted to marry the girl with whom his son was in love, and flirted with Columbina, the maid of his daughter Isabella.

CAPTAIN (Il Capitano) - one of the oldest characters in the commedia dell'arte. The captain in a comedy is never a native resident of the city where the action takes place, but always comes from somewhere far away. A type of arrogant and unprincipled warrior - a braggart and adventurer. Depending on the political situation, he could look like a Spaniard or a Turk, although this image was originally Italian. Accordingly, his character also changed - in different periods the Captain could represent a parody of various national traits. His main features are aggressiveness, unrestrained lies about his imaginary exploits, lack of conscience, the desire to get rich and the desire to appear dandy and handsome. All this was reflected in his costume, which could be different, but was always distinguished by its absurd pretentiousness and brightness. His clothes, in fact, have always been a parody of the military profession: his hat was decorated with feathers of loud colors, his feet were buried in high boots with large garters, his camisole was made of fabric with contrasting diagonal stripes, and a huge sword hung from his belt. The Captain's mask could be flesh-colored or dark in color, with a long militant nose and a menacingly sticking out stiff mustache. Its purpose was to indicate the contrast between the true (cowardly and deceitful) nature of the character and who he claims to be.

DOCTOR (Il Dottore) - a mask similar in character to Pantalone, an elderly character, usually the father of one of the Lovers (Inamorati). The Doctor's external features were characterized by obesity (sometimes this hero is truly huge), clumsiness on stage and the important manners of a scientist. He is a parody of graduates of the University of Bologna, so he constantly utters seemingly meaningful, but in fact absurd Latin phrases. Has a penchant for gluttony and pornographic jokes, usually offensive to the female sex. He is not rich. The Doctor's costume is a black university robe to the toes, black shoes, stockings and breeches and a black academic cap. A dark mask with gray scraggly eyebrows covered, as a rule, only the forehead and nose. The actor's cheeks remained open - they were brightly colored to show the character's love for alcohol.
In the story, the Doctor often acted as Pantalone's friend (or rival) and Pedrolino's master.

Jester (Jester, Jolly) -presented in commedia dell'arte, this is a classic mask. The Jester first appeared in the Italian theater, then became popular throughout Europe. The costume of this character is variegated and multi-colored. On the head there is a cap with three “ears”, to each of which bells are tied.

SCARAMUCCHIO (Scaramuccia) - is an adventurer and warrior. In later comedies he often coincided with the image of the Captain. Scaramuccio is usually a servant to one of the older characters. Most often dressed in all black and wearing a black velvet mask.

TARTAGLIA (Italian: Tartaglia, stutterer) - mask character of the Italian Commedia dell'Arte. Represents the southern (or Neapolitan) quartet of masks, along with Coviello, Scaramucci and Pulcinella. This mask did not catch on in France.
The Tartaglia mask appeared in Naples ca. 1610. One of the first interpreters of it were the actors Ottavio Ferrarese and Beltrani da Verona.
Origin: Spaniard, poor Italian speaker.
Occupation: civil servant: he can be a judge, policeman, pharmacist, notary, tax collector, etc.
Costume: stylized official suit, uniform hat on bald head; there are huge glasses on his nose.
Behavior: He is generally an old man with a fat belly; always a stutterer, his signature trick is the fight against stuttering, as a result of which a serious monologue, for example, in court, turns into a comic stream of obscenities.
The mask reached its greatest popularity in the second half of the 17th century. In the 18th century in the fiabs of Carlo Gozzi, this role was played by the actors Agostino Fiorilli and Antonio Sacchi, but in Gozzi this mask no longer has such a limited framework; in his fiabs this mask can be worn, for example, by a minister (fiaba “Raven”) and a royal son (“Love for three oranges").

COVIELLO (Italian Coviello, French Covielle) - a mask character of the Italian Commedia dell'Arte, the first zanni, the southern version of Brighella. Represents the southern (or Neapolitan) quartet of masks, along with Tartaglia, Scaramuccia and Pulcinella.
The name of the mask comes from Iacoviello, a Neapolitan tribute to the name Giacomino, Iacoviello Giacometto - that was the name of one of the creators of this mask.
Origin: former peasant, native of Cava or Acerra (ancient cities near Naples), speaking a vibrant Neapolitan dialect. Occupation: servant.
Costume: Wears a tight-fitting suit, but may sometimes be dressed in simple pantaloons and a vest; often with a sword and a beating stick in his belt; wears a hat with feathers.
Mask: red, with a long, beak-like nose; often wears glasses. Behavior: always acts with cunning, pressure, clever invention, intelligence; grimaces a lot, dances and plays the mandolin or guitar).
The mask was formed by the end of the 16th century. and was typical of Southern Italy. An attempt to move it to the north was unsuccessful, because... lost its recognition and southern temperament; having retained only its external form, the mask became shameless and obscene. However, it received an unexpected development in France, where Moliere saw this mask and used it in his comedy “The Bourgeois in the Nobility”

The lack of dramaturgy close to the people forced the actors to rework literary plots into scripts and, in the course of the action, to compose the text of their roles themselves, while maintaining the main conflict of Renaissance comedy - the struggle between the old way of life and new young forces. But Love triumphed over everything - in the name of the joys of love, the most cunning intrigues, the most daring practical jokes, substitutions and disguises were built.

Each character speaks his own dialect: Pantalone - Venetian; Doctor - in Bolognese (the first law university was built in Bologna); Captain - in Neopolitan; Servants - in Bergamo; Lovers - in Tuscan: the literary language of Italy.
The mask in the Commedia Dell'Arte had a double meaning: firstly, it was a stage accessory, and secondly, the mask expressed a certain social type, with once and for all established psychological traits, an unchanging appearance and a corresponding dialect. Having once chosen such a mask, the actor did not part with it throughout his entire stage life.

Commedia dell'arte arose in Italy in the 16th century, at the turn of the Middle Ages and modern culture, and absorbed features of both periods. First of all, it was born as a folk theater, the stage of which was the city square during carnival festivities, where the crowd has long been entertained by jugglers and mimes. Representatives of different social classes, different nationalities and professions intersected here.

The square is the birthplace of the commedia dell'arte, and the townspeople themselves are its heroes. At the same time, they can be considered a special “living map” of Italian cities, since each of them spoke the dialect of the region from which they came and represented the image of its typical resident. It is not for nothing that on the stage for the theater of masks the view of a street opening onto a wide square, with two houses belonging to the heroes, on opposite sides, was reproduced as scenery. It is on the square that he places the characters in his series of engravings “Balli di Sfessania” (“Dances of the Assless/Boneless”) from 1622.

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In each scenario, a brief presentation scheme, the acting characters were a fixed set of images - masks, embodied in costume, body language, and speech patterns, based on the national dialects of Italy. The troupe usually consisted of two old men, for example, the stingy Venetian merchant Pantalone and the pedantic, stupid doctor from Bologna, four or two Lovers, a boastful Captain - a satirical image of Spanish soldiers, a cowardly braggart and masks of zanni - servants. Comic roles included all masks except the Lovers, who did not wear this attribute. The plot of the script was usually based on contrasting pairs of characters: fathers against sons and daughters; masters versus servants; Captains are against anyone who gets in their way.

In zanni scripts there are usually two. The first, most often called Brighella, came from Bergamo, an industrial center in Lombardy. After the collapse of industry in this area, the Bergamo people scattered throughout Italy in search of work, most often as laborers. Brighella is cunning and smart. The second, Harlequin, came from the village, from the plains, he was considered simple-minded and naive. He always gets a lot of punches for what he did and for what he didn't do. Harlequin's distinctive feature is bright, covered in patches that were supposed to cover the holes in the suit. The behavior of zanni masks has always been associated with the lower strata of society. Unlike the Lovers, they did not speak correctly, distorted their language, behaved dishonestly, lustfully and were often obsessed with hunger.

It was the zanni who most often used lazzi in commedia dell'arte - comic tricks not directly related to the plot. An example is a scene where two servants tied back to back are trying to get to a dish of food and lift each other into the air. Or Harlequin, out of hunger, grabbing and swallowing flies. There are also scenes with fights and demonstrations of sexual desire. They are characterized by wheel movement (when the head strives to take the place of the back and vice versa), exaggeration, grotesqueness, extreme expressiveness: if a zanni cries, then tears always flow on those around him. Lazzi is a specific fixed way of using and representing the body, the origins of which lie in medieval carnival square culture.

The human body of commedia dell'arte actors on stage and in Callot's engravings is grotesque, as M. Bakhtin called it. It is becoming, it is not completed, it always absorbs and is absorbed by the world, therefore all the protruding parts play an important role in it: the nose, phallus, womb, ass, gaping mouth. Bakhtin wrote that “the main events in the life of the grotesque body, acts of bodily drama - eating, drinking, bowel movements (and other secretions: sweating, blowing the nose, sneezing), copulation, pregnancy, childbirth, growth, old age, illness, death, tearing apart, dismemberment into parts, absorption by another body - occur at the boundaries of the body and the world or at the boundaries of the old and new body; in all these events of the bodily drama, the beginning and end of life are inextricably intertwined.” Lazzi are practically devoid of modesty, they are extremely naturalistic and close to the bodily tradition of the Middle Ages, reflected in Rabelais’ “Gargantua and Pantagruel”.

While the Lovers embodied a new canon of behavior inherent in people from the highest aristocratic society. They are less like masks, their clothes were luxurious costumes with a lot of jewelry, since these heroes belonged to the rich strata of society, spoke the Tuscan dialect, recognized as a literary language, and in their speech often used interspersed poetry of Petrarch and Pietro Bembo. The Lovers were also distinguished by the refined manners inherent in high society.

During the early modern period, traditions associated with the expression of human emotions began to change. Violent lamentation over the death of relatives or lovers was now considered unacceptable; madness lost its sacred meaning associated with the image of a wise “fool”, and turned into a disease requiring isolation. The idea of the body in medicine was changing: the humoral theory was losing its former significance, science began to rely on observation and experiment as the main methods that it applies to the patient. Tears were no longer associated with divine grace, but only with negative emotions, so public crying was condemned. Even laughter began to be divided into that caused by buffoonery - low laughter - and that caused by a successful joke.

All parts of the body, protruding in grotesque images, not only cease to play a leading role, but their very demonstration moves into the zone of immorality and becomes shameful. The stomach, mouth, nose lose their symbolic meaning, this body is closed and complete, it is at rest, static, hyperbolization is alien to it. All bodily acts moved into the sphere of individual psychological and everyday life. And now more attention was paid to the head, face, eyes. This new bodily canon was created at court with the help of treatises on good manners, for example Giovanni della Casa's Galateo, or on Customs (1558), and Norbert Elias called it “the process of civilizing morals.”

In the 16th century, a new type of society emerged - an aristocratic court society, in which nobles took the place of feudal lords. The high rank of the nobleman and his house imposed rules of behavior defined by a strict hierarchy and etiquette, the importance of which was increasingly increasing. Luxury in this society acquired a socially representative value, and “good taste” was cultivated as a mechanism of differentiation from other classes. It turned out that collecting art objects, as well as patronage of artists and poets, became part of the courtier’s lifestyle. This also includes the conclusion of contracts with commedia dell'arte troupes, the presence of which at court turned into the same symbol of prestige as orders of personal portraits or sculptures from famous masters. By the 18th century, this trend intensified and spread far beyond Italy.

Famous troupes, such as Jelosi, were always associated with the court in one way or another or sought to get there in order to ensure a stable income and a home for a long period. Famous actors, having gained fame and patronage, tried to disassociate themselves from street theater. They no longer performed in front of the city public in squares, but in specially built theaters in front of invited spectators, and also tried to get closer to the literary tradition, especially with learned comedy. An example of this is the release of collections of scripts, the first of which was the collection of Flaminio Scala (1611). In addition to comedies, which made up the majority of the actors’ repertoire, the collections included pastorals and tragedies. Printing scripts became a means of advertising and an attempt to move from body language to literary language.

Initially, the theater of masks combined the outgoing medieval bodily tradition and the emerging rules of behavior in modern society. Ultimately, however, this duality, reflected in scripts, actions and the body of the actor, led to the extinction of the commedia dell'arte at the end of the 18th century, because it was impossible to imagine Italian folk theater without zanni, masks, improvisation or crazy acrobatic lazzi.

Commedia del Arte, also known as Italian comedy or comedy of masks, is a comic theatrical performance performed by professional itinerant actors who traveled throughout Italy in the 16th century. The performances took place on temporary stages, mostly on city streets, but sometimes wealthy citizens invited them to perform in their homes. The best troupes gave performances in palaces and even became famous outside of Italy and toured abroad. Music, dancing, witty dialogues and all sorts of tricks that the characters arrange for each other create that unique comic effect. This form subsequently spread throughout Europe, and some elements of it can still be found in modern theater today.

What did he say there?

With touring, everything was not so simple. Given the huge number of Italian dialects, the question arises: how did people in different parts of Italy, not to mention other countries, understand the actors? It is unlikely that for each performance the text of the play was translated into the desired dialect, especially since the comedy of masks is mostly improvisation. Everything is much simpler: so that no one would be offended, even if the troupe performed in its home region, half of the dialogues were impossible to understand. And why? And because, regardless of the region, the Captain spoke Spanish, the Doctor in Bolognese, Pantalone in Venetian, Pulcinella in the Neapolitan dialect, Brighella in the Bergamo dialect, and Harlequin was the easiest of all, he spoke gibberish. In Del Arte's comedy, the action comes first, and not the text at all. Comedy Del Arte is a game of the body, a game of emotions. All movements are deliberate, convex and maximally exaggerated, so that it is impossible to confuse whether the character is happy or afraid, whether he is overwhelmed by passion or overcome by anger.

Props from what you have on hand

Despite the leapfrog with languages, Del Arte's comedy is incredibly convenient for touring. There is no need to transport a huge number of sets and costumes, since the costumes are always the same, and the sets are assembled from what is at hand. All the props were collected from whatever caught the eye: some furniture of local origin, kitchen utensils, fruits, brooms, shovels, even pets. Harlequin carried sticks tied together, which made a lot of noise. From these clapping sounds the word “slapstick” was born, which gave the name to the comedy “slapstick”, also known as a farce comedy.

Back to back

Despite some external anarchy and disorderliness, Del Arte comedy is a very disciplined and organized art, requiring the ability to improvise and feel for your stage partners. The uniqueness of the comedy of masks lies in the fact that the performance does not have clearly defined acts, scenes and words of the characters. The play is built around a schematically sketched script, that is, it is known in advance what it is about. The beauty of such a performance lies in the uniqueness of each performance. At the same time, all the actors had so-called lazzi stored in their bins - pre-rehearsed sets of lines and movements that they could insert into the performance, depending on the reactions of the audience, in order to make the play as interesting as possible for the viewer. However, no two performances were alike, so the same play could be seen over and over again.

The influence of the Commedia Del Arte on European drama can be seen in the French pantomime and the English harlequinade. A theater of Italian comedy was even founded in Paris in 1661. And in the early 18th century, the comedy of masks survived due to its enormous influence on written dramatic forms.

The number of masks that appeared in commedia dell'arte is extremely large - more than a hundred. However, most of them were rather variations of several basic masks.