In fact, it was in France where it developed its established repertoire. As it moved elsewhere across Europe it continued to evolve and adapt based on the cultural preferences of its adoptive countries. In England, The Punch and Judy puppet shows, still popular today, owe their concept to the Pulcinella mask from the Neapolitan the city of Napoli version of the form. Unfortunately Commedia took a big hit during the 17th century in Great Britain, mostly due to the Puritan influence.
The Puritans were not big supporters of the arts of any kind and shows were often banned altogether. Napoleon also played his part in limiting its spread. During his occupation of Italy, proponents of reform and critics of French rule used the carnival masks to hide their identities while pushing political agendas, challenging social rule, and hurling insults and criticisms at the regime.
His banning was a major blow as Commedia did not resurface again until in Venice, and much of its original quality has been lost history. They are the popular names of clowns now heard frequently today in all types of theatrical performances. Regardless of region, the oft-used character il Capitano would have spoken in Spanish, il Dottore in Bolognese, and l'Arlecchino in utter gibberish. The focus was placed on physical business, rather than spoken text.
There were no elaborate sets in commedia. Staging, for example, was minimalistic, with rarely anything more than one market or street scene, and the stages were frequently temporary outdoor structures. Instead, great use was made of props including animals, food, furniture, watering devices, and weapons. The character Arlecchino bore two sticks tied together, which made a loud noise on impact. This gave birth to the word "slapstick.
In spite of its outwardly anarchic spirit, commedia dell'arte was a highly disciplined art requiring both virtuosity and a strong sense of ensemble playing.
The unique talent of commedia actors was to improvise comedy around a pre-established scenario. Throughout the act, they responded to each other, or to the audience's reaction, and made use of lazzi special rehearsed routines that could be inserted into the plays at convenient points to heighten the comedy , musical numbers, and impromptu dialogue to vary the happenings on stage. Masks forced actors to project their characters' emotions through the body.
Leaps, tumbles, stock gags burle and lazzi , obscene gestures, and slapstick antics were incorporated into their acts. The actors of the commedia represented fixed social types. These types included tipi fissi , for example, foolish old men, devious servants, or military officers full of false bravado. Characters such as Pantalone the miserly Venetian merchant , Dottore Gratiano the pedant from Bologna , or Arlecchino the mischievous servant from Bergamo , began as satires on Italian "types" and became the archetypes of many of the favorite characters of 17th- and 18th-century European theatre.
The audience was able to pick up on the type of person actors were representing through each character's dress. For elaboration, loose-fitting garments alternated with very tight, and jarring color contrasts opposed monochrome outfits. Except for the inamorato , males would identify themselves with character-specific costumes and half-masks.
The zanni precursor to clown , such Arlecchino , for example, would be immediately recognizable because of his black mask and patchwork costume. While the inamorato and the female characters wore neither masks nor costumes unique to that personage, certain information could still be derived from their clothing. A comically large codpiece alludes to his womanizing tendencies.
Il Dottore wears black academic robes and a black mask that covers only the forehead and nose. He is usually depicted as obese and red-cheeked from drinking too much wine. Playing either a vecchio or a zanni , the bullying braggart Il Capitano appears in a military uniform and carries a sword, proclaiming his war victories. Il Capitano lends many of his traits to a later character, the waggish Scaramuccia Scaramouche.
The zanni servants were in many ways the most important—and certainly the most subversive—characters of the commedia, as their antics and intrigues decided the fate of frustrated lovers, disagreeable vecchi , and each other.
Perhaps best known of these is Arlecchino, or Harlequin Arlecchino is characterized as a poor man, often from Bergamo, whose diamond-patterned costume suggests that he is wearing patchwork, a sign of his poverty. His mask is either speckled with warts or shaped like the face of a monkey, cat, or pig, and he often carries a batacchio , or slapstick. Though usually a brilliant acrobat, Arlecchino is gluttonous, illiterate, and gullible.
His paramour is Columbina or Arlecchina, a clever and coquettish maidservant usually in the service of the innamorata. Bustelli portrayed the patchwork-clad couple in figurines that capture their flamboyance in suspended animation. The versatile character Brighella is sometimes vindictive, deceitful, and violent, at other times easily duped and the brunt of jokes. The character gave rise to many regional and international variants, including Figaro, Scapino, and Mezzetino Mezzetin.
He is often portrayed as a musician , most sympathetically in a canvas by Watteau Another character of varying temperament is the Neapolitan Pulcinella. He is portrayed in loose white garments, with conical hat and a black mask with beaklike nose, and is often hunchbacked. The English character Punch derives from this type and is usually crafty and cantankerous, beating people with his batacchio at every opportunity.
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