Table of Contents

List of Figures Series Preface Acknowledgements Introduction Part 1: Form, Dramaturgy and Content of Early Commedia dell’Arte 1. The First Professionals 2. Elements of Form: Characters and Dramatic Actions 3. Elements of Form: The Scenario, Lazzi, Improvisation 4. Commedia dell'Arte and Ottonelli's Theology Part 2: Innovations in the 18th Century 5. From Scenario to Script: Riccoboni and Goldoni 6. Riccoboni's Commedia of Civic Responsibility 7. The Commedia dell'Arte in Goldoni's Reform 8. Gozzi's Fable Form: A New Horizon of Expectations Part 3: Adaptations and Revivals 9. Commedia dell'Arte and Grotesque Dance: Gregorio Lambranzi 10. Pulcinellate and Harlequinades 11. Commedia dell'Arte in the Opera Libretto 12. Continuity and Transformation in the 20th Century References Index

Promotional Information

This volume provides an authoritative overview of the dramatic, ideological and aesthetic form of commedia dell’arte from the Renaissance to the present. In tracing its evolution, the material conditions of performance and its relation to the role of theatre in society, the book equips readers with an an in-depth understanding of the form.

About the Author

Domenico Pietropaolo is Professor of Italian and Drama at the University of Toronto, Canada. His publications include Pragmatics and Semiotics of Stage Improvisation (Methuen Drama, 2016), The Baroque Libretto (co-authored with M.A. Parker, 2011), and, as editor, The Science of Buffoonery: Theory and History of the Commedia dell'Arte (1989).

Reviews

In this fascinating study, Domenico Pietropaolo enriches and deepens our knowledge of the commedia dell’arte throughout its early history and golden age in Italy (1560 to 1630s). His highly readable text engages the reader with its masterful weaving of theory and practice as he carefully lays out the dramaturgical and aesthetic features which defined the commedia dell’arte during its historical evolution in both north and south Italy, and beyond. Building on this comprehensive foundation, Pietropaolo offers brilliant readings of 18th-century play texts and performances by such genius playwrights as Goldoni and Gozzi whose opposing reforms teased out the complex relationships between improvised and scripted forms. The final section pays tribute to the commedia dell’arte’s enduring legacy by referencing some of its adapted dramatic forms, such as Lambranzi’s grotesque dance, the Neapolitan Pulcinellata, the English Harlequinade, and the Opera. The inclusion of key 20th-century performers and companies dedicated to keeping arte traditions alive attest to its ongoing presence. Pietropaolo’s The Commedia dell’Arte is essential reading for theatre scholars and theatre lovers alike.
*Rosalind Kerr, University of Alberta, Canada*