L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2016 www.italoamericano.org 3 NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS Flaminio Scala in 1611. T h e c o m m e d i a d e l l ' a r t e d e v e l o p e d t y p e s , a l s o c a l l e d maschere, or masks, for different stock characters. These types were regional, wore a typical costume and spoke the dialect of their region. Among these char- acters, the lovers, the inamorata and the inamorato, had a special place. Often, the improvised play w o u l d s p i n a r o u n d t h e i r peripeties as they were. Like Romeo and Juliet, by the inimical will of their parents. Only, since we were in the realm of comedy, a happy ending was assured! The lovers did not wear a mask and their speech was lofty and romantic. They provid- ed a semi-tragic quality to the action with their love troubles. We must point out that, unlike in E l i z a b e t h a n t h e a t e r , w o m e n actually played women's roles on the Italian stage. The comic characters were called maschere because on the scene they wore masks to have a stylized effect. The romantic plot was reinforced with iazzi, that is, improvisations of a bawdy or slapstick nature. The zanni (this n a m e c o m e s f r o m G i o v a n n i , Zuanni, in Veneto dialect) were comic characters that gave the word "zany" to the English lan- g u a g e . T h e s c e n a r i o w o u l d change, but the types remained the same, giving the public a sense of familiarity with the dra- matic action. There was no need to explain what each type or actor would do: the audience knew ahead of time. Among the n u m e r o u s m a s k s , t h e m o s t f a m o u s a r e : A r l e c c h i n o , Pantalone, Brighella, Pulcinella a n d t h e C a p t a i n . W e d o n o t know where Arlecchino got his Continued from page 2 name. Famous for his patchwork c o s t u m e m a d e o f d i a m o n d - shaped lozenges of all colors, he was a devious and naughty ser- vant. He was a mixture of cun- ning and grace and spoke in the d i a l e c t o f B e r g a m o i n L o m b a r d i a . T h e a c t o r w h o played Arlecchino has to be very acrobatic and be able to jump, scale, walk on stilts, somersault, and walk on his hands. Brighella was Pantalone's servant and worked to under- mine his padrone at every turn. He wore a white livery with green stripes. His name comes from the word briga, denoting an imbroglio, a mess. He was a troublemaker. Abroad, the name of Pulcinella evolved into Punch. His name means literally little c h i c k , a n d m a y h a v e b e e n inspired by the clucking sounds he made. Pulcinella was hunch- back with a hooknose, tradition- a l l y d r e s s e d w i t h a f l o w i n g chemise tied with a rope around his waist. He wore a short black mask and the typical sugar loaf hat. He was intelligent, funny, h u m a n , a s p a g h e t t i - e a t i n g Neapolitan master of intrigue. T h e m a s k o f P a n t a l o n e i s Venetian. His name appears to have come from Pantaleone, a saint patron of Venice. Pantalone de' bisognosi, as he was called, Pantalone of the Needy, because he was very stingy. He was old, rich, a doctor by profession, and always unsuitably in love with a young woman. The Captain was always present. In those days of Spanish domination, the brag- ging Spanish Captain was a way for Italians to make fun of the invaders and to vent their anger against the over-powering mili- tary men invading them. The Captain would have like Capitan Spavento (terror) or Capitan T e r r e m o t o ( e a r t h q u a k e ) o r Matamoro (killer of Moors) or Spaccamonti (mountain-splitter). He would speak a funny mixture of Spanish and Italian. He would strut about and spin endless tales of military prowess and amorous conquests. The dramatic action would in the end show him for the contemptible coward he was. W i t h m e , m o r e a n d m o r e minor comic masks developed, some created by famous actors t h e m s e l v e s - m a s k s h a v i n g b i z a r r e o r r i d i c u l o u s n a m e s : F r a n c a T r i p p a , F r i t e l l i n o , Pedrolino (from whom came the French Pierrot), Mezzettino, Carlin, Pasquariello, and many others. Il Dottore was a mock doctor, most of the time pedan- tic. We also had the bespectacled Tartaglia (the Neapolitan lawyer who stuttered), Coviello, and Scapino, a type that Molière immortalized in his theater. The most prominent actress o f c o m m e d i a d e l l ' a r t e w a s Isabella Andreini, married to F r a n c e s c o A n d r e i n i . S h e belonged first, then managed, with her husband, the troupe of the Gelosi. She created her own mask, Isabella, a beautiful hero- ine always about to go crazy because her parents would not let her marry her beloved. Her husband, Francesco Andreini, became very famous playing C a p i t a n S p a v e n t o ( C a p t a i n Terror). Commedia dell'arte is not dead. We see dramatic action with roots in this genre on the stage even today. We also see residues of commedia dell'arte in the television show "Whose line is it anyway", showing that improvisation and slapstick are still very popular with the pub- lic.

• Cover