History Main / CommediaDellArte

* '''[[OfficialCouple The Lovers]]''' (''innamorati'') Their romance tends to drive the plot whether or not they're the main characters. Frequently [[UpperClassTwit rather airheaded]] and reliant on their [[HypercompetentSidekick much smarter servants]]. Neither ''innamorati'' is masked; not especially well-developed as a character, since [[SatelliteLoveInterest their only functions are to be in love]].

* '''[[OfficialCouple The Lovers]]''' (''innamorati'') Their romance tends to drive the plot whether or not they're the main characters. Frequently [[UpperClassTwit rather airheaded]] and reliant on their [[HypercompetentSidekick much smarter servants]].
** '''The Guy''' (''innamorato''): Never masked; not especially well-developed as a character, since [[SatelliteLoveInterest his only function is to be in love]]. His name is usually Lelio, Leandro, or Claudio. Generally in love with himself, and [[InLoveWithLove with the idea of being in love]], and with the ''innamorata''; if anyone gets any CharacterDevelopment, it will be him learning to reverse that order.
** '''The Girl''' (''innamorata''): Never masked; not especially well-developed as a character, since [[SatelliteLoveInterest her only function is to be in love]]. Will have a PimpedOutDress. Has a good chance of being named Isabella. Generally in love with herself, and [[InLoveWithLove with the idea of being in love]], and with the ''innamorato''; if anyone gets any CharacterDevelopment, it will be her learning to reverse that order.

** '''Colombina''' (''Colombine'', ''Pierrette''): DistaffCounterpart of Arlecchino; servant of the ''innamorata''. Forms a BetaCouple with Arlecchino. [[OnlySaneEmployee Often the smartest/sanest person in the play.]] (What, [[OlderThanTheyThink you thought]] WomenAreWiser [[OlderThanTheyThink was a]] ''[[OlderThanTheyThink recent]]'' [[OlderThanTheyThink invention]]?) Usually plays a musical instrument, sings, dances, or does all three. Wears lots of bright colours. Also can be known as Arlecchina.

** '''Colombina''' (''Pierrette''): DistaffCounterpart of Arlecchino; servant of the ''innamorata''. Forms a BetaCouple with Arlecchino. [[OnlySaneEmployee Often the smartest/sanest person in the play.]] (What, [[OlderThanTheyThink you thought]] WomenAreWiser [[OlderThanTheyThink was a]] ''[[OlderThanTheyThink recent]]'' [[OlderThanTheyThink invention]]?) Usually plays a musical instrument, sings, dances, or does all three. Wears lots of bright colours. Also can be known as Arlecchina.

** '''Pulcinella''' (''[[Theatre/PunchAndJudy Punch]]''): A hunchback or otherwise disabled/disfigured character, based on the stooping walk of Renaissance Italian coal carriers. Can be an idiot, can be a GeniusCripple. Very violent, especially towards Arlecchino and Pierrot, and speaks in an unusually squeaky voice. His name means "little chicken".

* In ''Film/OnGuard'', after escaping the killers of the Duke of Nevers with the Duke's baby daughter Aurore, Lagardère meets a traveling Italian Commedia dell'Arte troupe, and he and Aurore (as she grows up) hide among the troupe for sixteen years, even becoming stage actors themselves. This an AdaptationDeviation from the original novel, ''Literature/LeBossu'', where Lagardère and Aurore hide in Spain instead, and it was likely inspired by ''Le Capitain Fracasse'' and its adaptations mentioned above.

* In ''Film/OnGuard'', after escaping the killers of the Duke of Nevers with his daughter Aurore, Lagardère meets a traveling Italian Commedia dell'Arte troupe, and he and Aurore (as she grows up) hide among the troupe for sixteen years, even becoming stage actors themselves. This an AdaptationDeviation from the original novel, ''Literature/LeBossu'', where Lagardère and Aurore hide in Spain instead, and it was likely inspired by ''Le Capitain Fracasse'' and its adaptations mentioned above.

* In ''VideoGame/GenshinImpact'', the most powerful members of the [[NebulousEvilOrganisation Fatui]], known as the Fatui Harbingers, are named after character archetypes from the Commedia dell'Arte. The extent to which they represent their Commedia dell'Arte counterparts vary, however; some make sense (La Signora is a beautiful but calculating [[TheBaroness Baroness]]; Pantalone is a filthy rich businessman; Dottore is a MadScientist), while others are loose references (Sandrone is a well-dressed girl rather than a crude peasant, but she controls a mechanical golem and is known as "The Puppet" due to the Commedia dell'Arte Sandrone and his family being represented by puppets), and still others don't match at all (Tartaglia is a competent, well-spoken BloodKnight). And in any case, none of them share the interpersonal relationships of their ''dell'Arte'' counterparts.

Commedia dell'Arte stock characters usually included:

* ''Film/LeCapitaineFracasse'' (1961) and ''Film/CaptainFracassasJourney'' (1990), both based off the 1863 novel by Théophile Gautier, tell the story of an early 17th century French [[ImpoverishedPatrician impoverished nobleman]], the Baron de Sigognac, who joins a travelling ''Commedia dell'Arte'' theatre troupe and comes to replace the actor who played the Capitano after his death, nicknaming himself "Capitaine Fracasse". Sigognac usually falls in love with the young actress playing TheIngenue, and goes through {{swashbuckler}} perils to save her from another nobleman who desires her for himself (though not quite the case in the 1990 film).

** '''Pantalone''': Often the father of the other ''innamorato/a''. [[TheScrooge Rich and miserly.]] Keeps propositioning Colombina, the DirtyOldMan. Is also a BadBoss to Arlecchino. Sometimes an UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist. Based primarily on the stereotype of the rich Venetian merchant. Has a peculiar, shuffling walk, because he's always wearing Turkish sandals (Venice had a strong trade relationship with the Ottoman Empire). Note that unfortunately, this one is often an anti-semetic caricture in old works both because of the JewsAreCheapskates stereotype and because Venice was known for having a large Jewish population (see Theater/TheMerchantOfVenice).

** '''Pantalone''': Often the father of the other ''innamorato/a''. [[TheScrooge Rich and miserly.]] Keeps propositioning Colombina, the DirtyOldMan. Is also a BadBoss to Arlecchino. Sometimes an UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist. Based primarily on the stereotype of the rich Venetian merchant. Has a peculiar, shuffling walk, because he's always wearing Turkish sandals (Venice had a strong trade relationship with the Ottoman Empire).

** Gillie, his long-suffering mistreated employee and general ButtMonkey, is for most of the film a pretty clear Pierrot with a typically gloomy attitude. He is in love with his employer's wife Amaryllis, in a way that initially seems pretty hopeless. [[spoilers: Though unlike most versions he gets a happy ending with Amaryllis.]]

** Frank-N-Furter has elements of both The Captain (obviously "not from around here," interested in AnythingThatMoves) and Pantalone (abusive of Eddie, his Arlecchino, hints of a relationship with Columbia.)

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* ''[[http://www.commedia2x00.wordpress.com Commedia 2X00]]'' uses the Commedia dell'Arte characters and plot as a vehicle, except in the skewed sci-fi/video-game setting of the Twenty-Xth Century; Dottore is a deranged cyberneticist who loses his funding for crimes against nature and arranges for his daughter Isa to marry billionaire Mr. Pants in exchange for a massive dowry, despite the fact that Isa is in love with Mr. Pants' son Flave. Dottore's project is the creation of Super Fighting Cyborgs. So far the only one we've seen is Arlecchino, who in a shout-out to Mega Man, "having a strong sense of loyalty, volunteered to be converted to a Super Fighting Cyborg."

** Papkin - ''il capitano'', MilesGloriosus extraordinaire

** Wacław - ''inamorato''
** Klara - ''inamorata/colombina''
** Papkin - ''il capitano''
** Rejent - ''il dottore/pantalone'' (more of ''il dottore'')
** Cześnik - ''il dottore/pantalone''
** Podstolina - ''la segnora''

** '''Pantalone''': Often the father of the other ''innamorato/a''. [[TheScrooge Rich and miserly.]] Keeps propositioning Colombina, the DirtyOldMan. Is also a BadBoss to Arlechino. Sometimes an UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist. Based primarily on the stereotype of the rich Venetian merchant. Has a peculiar, shuffling walk, because he's always wearing Turkish sandals (Venice had a strong trade relationship with the Ottoman Empire).

[[caption-width-right:273:Columbina, possibly the sanest character in the play, considers.]]

* In ''VideoGame/GenshinImpact'', the most powerful members of the [[NebulousEvilOrganisation Fatui]], known as the Fatui Harbingers, are named after character archetypes from the Commedia dell'Arte. The extent to which they represent their Commedia dell'Arte counterparts vary, however; some make sense (La Signora is a beautiful but calculating [[TheBaroness Baroness]]; Pantalone is a filthy rich businessman; Dottore is a MadScientist), while others are loose references (Sandrone is not a peasant, instead controlling a mechanical golem due to the Commedia dell'Arte Sandrone and his family being represented by puppets), and still others don't match at all (Tartaglia is a competent, well-spoken BloodKnight). And in any case, none of them share the interpersonal relationships of their ''dell'Arte'' counterparts.

* In ''VideoGame/GenshinImpact'', the most powerful members of the [[NebulousEvilOrganisation Fatui]], known as the Fatui Harbingers, are named after character archetypes from the Commedia dell'Arte. The extent to which they represent their Commedia dell'Arte counterparts vary, however; some make sense (La Signora is a beautiful but calculating [[TheBaroness Baroness]]; Pantalone is a filthy rich businessman; Dottore is a MadScientist), while others are loose references (Sandrone is not a peasant, instead controlling a mechanical golem due to the Commedia dell'Arte Sandrone and his family being represented by puppets), and still others don't match at all (Tartaglia is a competent, well-spoken BloodKnight).

* In ''VideoGame/GenshinImpact'', the most powerful members of the [[NebulousEvilOrganisation Fatui]], known as the Fatui Harbingers, are named after character archetypes from the Commedia dell'Arte. The extent to which they represent their Commedia dell'Arte counterparts vary, however; some make sense (La Signora is a beautiful but calculating [[TheBaroness]]; Pantalone is a filthy rich businessman; Dottore is a MadScientist), while others are loose references (Sandrone is not a peasant, instead controlling a mechanical golem due to the Commedia dell'Arte Sandrone and his family being represented by puppets), and still others don't match at all (Tartaglia is a competent, well-spoken BloodKnight).

* In ''VideoGame/GenshinImpact'', the most powerful members of the [[NebulousEvilOrganisation Fatui]], known as the Fatui Harbingers, are named after character archetypes from the Commedia dell'Arte. A few examples include La Signora, Scaramouche, and Tartaglia.

** ''Theatre/TheMerchantOfVenice'' has Poria and Bassanio the innamorati, as well as Shylock as the Pantalone (although Pantalone is typically a merchant of Venice, this play's title character, Antonio, does not actually qualify as a Pantalone). And of course, Touchstone, Bottom, Gratiano, and many others are perfect arlecchini.

* ''Theatre/{{Pagliacci}}'' is a classic opera, by Ruggero Leoncavello, about a Commedia troupe. The title literally means 'clowns'. The ShowWithinAShow is that Colombina is cheating on Pierrot with Il Capitano, and it's played for laughs, but backstage, Canio (the actor playing Pierrot) finds out that his wife (Colombina) is actually cheating on him with a young man from the village where they are performing. He sings the classic aria ''Vestia la giubba'' ('put on the costume') and then goes mad with grief.

* Creator/JeanRenoir's ''Film/TheGoldenCoach'' is a 1952 film {{Homage}} to Commedia'dell Arte, bringing the style to cinema with legendary actress Anna Magnani playing Colombina