Characters | Goldoni

A Gallery of Rogues

The commedia dell’arte troupes that roamed the street theatres of northern Italy or those that played the courts of European nobility relied on a set of masked stock characters that evolved over generations into social archetypes.

Though Goldoni uses four “masks” in The Servant of Two Masters, all of the play’s characters are drawn from the form’s rich history. Their influence is still felt, not only in the works of Shakespeare and Molière, but in all forms of comic entertainment today.

THE ZANNI (SERVANTS)

TRUFFALDINO or ARLECCHINO

Birthplace: Bergamo, a northern Italian town .

Costume: Motley patches of colour on a valet’s

breeches and laced jacket.

Mask: Black half-mask with almond-shaped eyes, a wrinkled

forehead and a wide snub nose.

Character: “His character is a mixture of ignorance, naiveté, wit, stupidity and grace. He is both a rake and an overgrown boy with occasional gleams of intelligence, and his mistakes and clumsiness often have a wayward charm. His acting is agile grace of a young cat.

He plays the role of a faithful valet, always patient, credulous and greedy.

He is eternally amorous, and is constantly in difficulties either on his own or on his master’s account. He is hurt and comforted in turn as easily as a child, and his grief is almost as comic as his joy.”

BRIGHELLA

An Innkeeper

Birthplace: Bergamo, like Harlequin.

Costume: All-white servants’ garb with green trimmings and a trusty dagger tucked in his belt.

Mask: Olive-tinted half-mask, with a a greedy expression.

Character: Witty and intelligent, Brighella is the archetype of the scheming servant. He often played small business owners, such as an innkeeper in The Servant of Two Masters.

His relatives include Molière’s Scapin and Beaumarchais’ Figaro.

THE LOVERS

CLARICE - BEATRICE

Costume: Dressed magnificently, in the finest and most expensive fashions possible.

Mask: The LOVERS wore no mask; as lovers, their beauty (and makeup) were considered mask enough.

Character: Most commedia scenarios call for two pairs of lovers.

Traditionally, they spoke conventional love poetry, in contrast to the antics of the zanni and the vecchi.

SILVIO - FLORINDO

Birthplace: The lover - innamorato - was traditionally played by men of distinction, often the actor-managers of the commedia troupe.

Costume: Dapper and gallant to the point of affectation.

Mask: Like their female counterparts, the male lovers wore no masks.

Character: The lover is a state of mind more than a character.

He is defined by no other trait than being in love and could be a poet, a swordsman, a dandy or a wandering aristocrat.

Goldoni’s LOVERS have the same eagerness for duels and naive aestheticism of Renaissance lovers, but they are bly bourgeois, bound by a strict sense of honor.

THE OLD MEN (VECCHI)

PANTALONE

Birthplace: Venice, the city of merchants.

Costume: Turkish slippers, brimless Greek cap, long red tights or trousers or “pants” and a loose black cape.

Mask: Brown and wrinkled, in the shape of an ancient old man, with a prominent hooked nose and a white beard stretching from ear to ear that shakes ludicrously when he talks.

Character: Always old, always greedily counting his pennies and always keeping the young lovers apart, Pantalone is one of the most important principal characters found in commedia dell'arte.

With his exceptional greed and status at the top of the social order, Pantalone is "money" in the commedia world.

His full name, including family name, is Pantalon de' Bisognosi.

THE DOCTOR

Birthplace: Bologna, famous for its universities.

Costume: Clothed entirely in black, with an academic gown extending all the way to his heels.

Mask: A half-mask, covering the forehead and the nose; cheeks smeared with red, a tradition remarked on by Goldoni, apparently recalling a birthmark on a famous legislator’s face.

Character: THE DOCTOR is a man of great erudition and little insight. He knows everything and understands nothing. Best friends with fellow greybeard Pantalone, he is an expert garbler of Latin phrases, a world-class pedant and a genius at putting onstage audiences to sleep.