Commedia dell’Arte
The Servant of Two Masters
Lara Anderson
Benjamin Bankert
Amos Baynes
Jocelyn Green
Sydney Hunt
Justin Katz
Kelly Smoot
Alex Westver
Shoua Yang
Italian Renaissance
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14th-15th Centuries beginning in Northern Italy
Reawakened interest in Greek and Roman
thought, literature, and art
Early 16th Century – classic plays were written in
Italian
The plays became the standard at festivals
which were organized and produced by the
community to celebrate weddings, royal birth,
and visits of emissaries from other states.
The influence of religion was fading and a new
age of humanism and self-interest arose.
Commedia dell’Arte
Commedia dell’Arte combined professional and public
theater
 First historically recorded in the 1560s
 Most popular between 1575 and 1650, but continued
into the late 18th Century
 Venice was the center of Commedia dell’Arte
 Origin?
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Mimes and other entertainers in Roman times
Improvisations based on the Roman comedies of Plautus and
Terence
By 1600s, Commedia dell’Arte troupes were performing
in France, Spain, and other European countries.
Essentials of Commedia dell’Arte
The actor = heart
 Performances were flexible and adaptable.
 Script provided a scenario (summarizing
the situations, complications, and
outcomes) and the actors provided the
dialogue and actions.
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Audience and category
The audience’s reactions influenced
each performance.
 Categories of Commedia dell’Arte
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Tragedy
Melodrama
Musical
Comedy – most
popular!
Performing Commedia dell’Arte
Actors within a troupe played the same
roles and improvised the “script” for each
performance.
 Improvisation was a distinctive feature of
Commedia dell’Arte.
 Actors often reused pieces of comedic
business (lazzi).
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 Ex.
Sack lazzi, fight lazzi, and lazzi of fear
Actors
Best known feature of Commedia dell’Arte
 Males and females performed
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Troupes traveled
frequently and
contained an
average of 10 to 12
members, while
working under a
sharing plan.
Stock Characters
Three Categories
 The Lovers (2 sets) – most realistic
 The Masters (3) – reoccur most often
 The Servants (zanni)most varied, mostly male
Arlecchino =(Harlequin)
the most popular
Pantalone
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Fixed Costume
 Red
vest, breeches,
and stockings
 Ankle-length black
coat
 Brown mask with a
large hooked nose
 Scraggly gray beard
Dr. Lombardi
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Fixed Costume
 Academic
Cap
 Popular gown of
the time period
 Half-Mask
Costumes
Half Masks for most characters
 Latest fashions for lovers (no masks)
 Fixed costumes for some characters
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Popular Men’s Fashion
Bob-wigs
 Frock Coats
 Elaborate cuffs,
fronts, and cravats!!!
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 Silks,
Gold and Silver
Thread, Lace
The Latest in Men’s Fashion
Bob-wigs
 Frock Coats
 Elaborate cuffs, fronts
and cravats!!!
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Silks, Gold and Silver
Thread, Lace
Popular Women’s Fashion
Small caps and tight curls
in hair
 Large circular hoop skirts
 Gowns heavily
embellished like men’s
clothing!!!
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Popular Fashions for Lovers
(but no masks)
History of Italian Theater
Italian festivals
drew on classical
sources [Such as
Vitruvius (Roman
architect of the 1st
century B.C.)]
 Vitruvius described
how a theater is
laid out and the
settings for
tragedy, comedy,
and pastoral.
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History Continued
Italians created the theater structure and
scenic practices that would dominate the
European theater into the 20th Century.
 No permanent theater spaces; Used
temporary performances spaces in large
halls.
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Pictorial Stage
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1500s – Italian Renaissance moved away from the
formal and architectural stage to the
representational and pictorial stage.
With perspective, each place was represented in 3
dimensions, as seen from a fixed eye point (much
like looking at a painting).
1600s - Pictorial presentation would become the
standard for stage scenery throughout Europe.
Perspective Drawing
Eventually accepted everywhere, 3 scenic
elements: side wings, backdrops, and overhead
borders. The floor was raked upward toward
the back (upstage, downstage) and a
proscenium arch was used to frame the stage.
 Shifted scenery during interludes (Intermizzi)
during performances.
 Led to the birth of Italian Opera (1590s)
 Opera popular because it combined drama,
music, dance, spectacle, and special effects.
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Italian Theaters
& Opera Houses
Oldest surviving proscenium theater –
Teatro Farnese, Parma, Italy built in 1618
 5 levels of spectators
 3 Divisions – separate different social
classes
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 Box:
upper-class
 Pit (today’s orchestra)
 Gallery: lower/working-class
Music and Lighting
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Stringed Instruments
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Guitar, Violin, Mandolin
(most popular)
Candles and oil-lamps
Footlights and
sidelights were
developed in 1628 by
Joseph Furstenbach
 Nicoli Sabbatini
developed a system of
dimming lights in 1638
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18th Century Music Halls
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The music in Italy advanced to a great extent during this
century. It is the time in which the great opera houses in
Naples, the San Carlo Theater and in Milano, La Scala
were built.
These light-hearted musical plays began to be offered as
an alternative to weightier opera seria (17th-century
Italian opera based on classical mythology).
The San Carlo Theater, Naples
La Scala, Milano
Carlo Osvaldo Goldoni
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Born in Venice, Italy in 1707
Italy’s most famous comic dramatist
Began writing scenarios for commedia companies in
Venice around 1734 because he felt the current
situations were trite and vulgar
Many of his plays are still performed today
As Goldoni wrote more plays, they became less
improvisational and more scripted
Goldoni Timeline
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Carlo Osvaldo Goldoni
(1707) Born in Venice
(1723) Studied at Collegio Ghislieri in Pavia
(1725) Wrote Libellias poem and forced to leave Pavia, studied at
Udine and Modena
(1731) father died
(1732) to avoid marriage left Venice for Milan then Verona, Married
Nicoletta Conio
(1738) Produced first real comedy L'uomo di mondo ("The Man of
the World")
(1757) Engaged in dispute with Carlo Gozzi
(1761) Moved to Paris
(1771) Le Bourru bienfaisant for Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette
(1793) died in France
Carlos Controversy
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Advocated for the abandonment of masks because they
handicapped the actors by hiding their facial expressions
With the help of Carlo Gozzi (Goldoni’s rival), the art of
Commedia dell’Arte diminished, although many scenarios
have survived.
Goldoni died in 1793 in France
Legacy
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As Goldoni wrote more plays, they
became less improvisational and
more scripted
Advocated for the abandonment
of masks because they
handicapped the actors by hiding
their facial expressions
With the help of Carlo Gozzi
(Goldoni’s rival), the art of
Commedia dell’Arte diminished,
although many scenarios have
survived.
Goldoni died in 1793 in France
The Servant of Two Masters
Written in 1745 for a Venetian troupe
 Less exaggerated than typical Commedia
dell’Arte plays
 Middle class characters were treated with
respect and women were seen as more
sensible than men.
 Lacks coarse humor and sexual innuendos
of previous commedia
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Plots and Themes
Disguise
 Coincidence
 Misunderstandings
 Withholding Information
 Reversal of Social Roles
 Self Interest
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Characters
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Masters
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Lovers
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Pantalone, Venetian Merchant
Dr. Lombardi
Clarice and Silvio
Beatrice (“Federigo”) Rasponi and Florindo Aretusi
Servants
Truffaldino
 Smeraldina, maidservant of Clarice
 Brighella, the innkeeper
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Truffaldino
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Most varied costume in
productions
Red, green, blue
diamond-shaped pattern
Rakish hat
Black half-mask
Slapstick – used to
enhance violence and
comedic performance
Scenery
Three Acts with 10 scenes
 Only requires five settings
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A room in Pantalone’s home
The Courtyard of Pantalone’s home
The Street in front of Brighella’s inn
A room inside the Inn
A street
Little or no furniture
 A sign depicting the entrance of Brighella’s Inn
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Summary of the Play
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Clarice dei Bisognosi was engaged to marry Federigo Rasponi
But Federigo dies (accident with a sword very sad)
So Clarice is engaged to Silvio Lombardi (nice guy)
(The thought dead) Federigo shows up at Clarice’s house
Federigo is actually his sister Beatrice Rasponi (in drag disguise)
Then Florindo (Beatrice’s lover) shows up looking for Beatrice
Confusion is caused by the servant Truffaldino (the guy in diamond
pattern)
He is the servant to both Federigo (actually Beatrice) and Florindo
Truffaldino fed the masters and lovers misinformation that causes
confusion
Clarice and Silvio almost break up (Silvio wants to kill Florindo)
Truffaldino and Beatrice reveal their true selves
The revelation leads to a happy ending for everyone (even
Truffaldino is getting married!)
Fun and Interesting Facts
Goldoni was “finacially challenged” (a.k.a. poor)
due to his extravagant spending on luxuries.
 Goldoni was an notoriously honest man; playing
fair even when he knew his comerades were
cheating (which also led to his finacial
difficulties).
 Theaters during Goldoni’s time featured oillamps that not only produced a great deal of
smoke, but also gave off a foul odor due to the
burning of low quality oil.
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Any questions?