Professional troupes were formed, with regard to the contemporary needs, under protection of northitalian courts in Modena, Mantov, Parma, where the ancestry of Geste, Gonzaga-Nevers, Farnese were traditionally suporting theater.And, above all, in the free atmospere of Venice. The new form of the theater gradually expelled other Italian comedy genres. Even editing a big quantity of bookish comedies did not changed this reality.The novelty of the comedy dell’arte consisted in a profesional organisation, in an accession of women – actresses and, above all, in the way of performing. Meeting of Lombardic troupes with fair performers in vivacious and noisy Neapol had a big influence on this.In the 17th century, the comedy dell’arte was a center not just a theater life, but also a social life.
Stable-base, fixed types (tipi fisis) are one of the specific components of the comedy dell’arte. In the expert terminology, they are called masks (maschere), even if a personage does not use a face mask. Grotesque types show, in caricatured exaggeration, a human attribute, psychical or physical or a combination of both. In the theater, there grew up a range of types observed in real life but also those created by an imagination and without a direct connection with life and era. While creating these types, a decisive factor is a class position of an author and a structure of an audience to which the play is dedicated.
Components of the commedia dell’arte
One of the perceptions from the process of acquainting with the comedy dell’arte is the idea that a performance of the comedy dell’arte was mostly a pantomimic or ballet piece. (This perception arose probably in the 19th century in England, France and Denmark when some comedians played a pantomimic performances with the figures of the comedy dell’arte and used their names without a direct connection.) In reality, performances were lively motional and rich in rapid speech, in plays on words and various phrases.The real comedy dell’arte has a few unseparable components that frame a conclusive complex.
Improvisation was a very important and attractive component. However, for it’s volatileness there are just a few co-temporary mentions of it.
Lazzi – the word itself provokes a joyful, comic reaction of an audience. The origin of the word lazzi (a singular in Italian is lazzo) is not clear. In the clear form it means a stage trick, a gag, a short joke, a mim’s scene, sometimes just and idea etc. There are two kinds of lazzi – a spoken one and a played one. Lazzi became an important element of comedy dell’arte, a flash point of a stage performance. Moreover, actors had a chance to make a show of their knowledge of literature. There are preserved compilations of various comic ideas, sentences, aphorisms, long equivoques, and also lyrical professions of love, disillusions or love jag. Actors were reading a lot and picking out quotations for their handbooks for the practices. The collection was accumulating and descended in actor’s families from generation to generation.
Speech was an integral ingredient of a play. From the early stage of the theater there are convincing confirmations of this fact.Venetian masks In the theater dell’arte, dialects are of a big importance. They guaranteed a popularity. Though other components of the comedy were liberating, dialects (in Italy) were remaining and became a continual connecting link with a plebeian environment. Many comic situations rose from using dialects that differ from each other – conversings understand each other badly or not at all.
The Redentore festival is close to the hearts of Venetians, and is celebrated on the third Sunday of July, with a grandiose fireworks show on Saturday night as the main attraction. The Venetians take in the spectacle of the fireworks right from their boats which are usually decorated with balloons, festoons and lights. Starting before sunset, the boats make their way to the Saint’s Mark basin and to the Giudecca Canal. The waters sparkle with the reflection of boats and lights. On the boats, among song, dance and typical food, people wait for the fireworks that begin at 11.30pm and go on for almost an hour. Along the banks thousand of people also wait for the fireworks at long tables set up for the occasion.
