commedia dell'arte - Hutchinson encyclopedia article about commedia dell'arte Printer Friendly
Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary
1,528,324,098 visitors served.
forum mailing list For webmasters
?
New: Language forums
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

commedia dell'arte

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Medical, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia 0.12 sec.

commedia dell'arte

Popular form of Italian improvised comic drama in the 16th and 17th centuries, performed by trained troupes of actors and involving stock characters and situations. It exerted considerable influence on writers such as Carlo Goldoni, and Molière, and on the genres of pantomime, harlequinade, and the Punch and Judy show. It laid the foundation for a tradition of mime, strong in France, that continued with the modern mime of Jean-Louis Barrault and Marcel Marceau. Overtly subversive in plot, commedia deals with servants tricking and swindling their foolish masters.

The Italian left-wing writer and performer Dario Fo has described his own debt to the commedia and its satirical content.



How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content.
?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
 Email
Feedback
?Sign in SSL protected
Email:
Password:
Register

? Mentioned in ? References in periodicals archive
 
Staged with commedia dell'arte masks and white-face makeup, but with modern references spiking the action in the cheekiest of ways, this ``Tartuffe'' quickly shifts into zany overdrive and never stops.
'TARTUFFE' TAKES FUN TO EXTREMES by Daily News (Los Angeles, CA)
The new Romantic Interludes upheld this verve but at the service of boy-bumps-against-girl vignettes, with the costuming and foolery of commedia dell'arte.
Maximum Dance Company by Perez, Guillermo / Dance Magazine
This is so even though (as in Fo's own Commedia dell'Arte tradition) some of the Noh masks deliberately leave bare part of the performer's face and call attention to their own artifice.
Masken: Gesichter aus anderen Welten by Strother, Z.S. / African Arts
More results
 
Hutchinson browser? ? Full browser
 
 
Hutchinson Encyclopedia
?

Disclaimer | Privacy policy | Feedback | Copyright © 2009 Farlex, Inc.
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. Terms of Use.