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Born in the
stagnant areas of lower Bergamo, quite the opposite of his compatriot
Brighella,he shows little intellect, he is stupid, greedy and credulous.
Harlequin is always dressed as a humble servant or a porter as in Carlo
Goldoni’s "Servant to two Masters". The Harlequin costume
consists of a jacket and trousers made of irregularly-shaped colored
material, a white felt cap occasionally with a wooden spatula hanging from
it. He wears a black half-mask with demonic features (legend is that the
name Harlequin derives from a demon called Alichino cited by Dante
Alighieri in Inferno, part of the "Divine Comedy").He sometimes
has a bristly moustache and eyebrows and a large nose. A typical part of
the Harlequin costume is the red lump on the head. It is an acrobatic mask
with complex expressiveness.
His Bergamo accent is similar to Brighella but enriched with slang sayings
and other dialectical expressions. |
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Brighella
Cavicchio da Val Brembana is the long name for Brighella.
It’s the mask of an astute ingenious slave who knows how to help, but
also how to dupe his master .
He is unscrupulous and can adapt to do any jobs.
He can be a host ,a soldier, a servant or an out-and-out thief.
He is the crafty servant in the commedia dell’arte. This mask has its
origins in upper Bergamo and it is distinguished from its stupid and
roguish counterpart from lower Bergamo.
The costume consists of a coat and large cloth trausers with a jacket with
green stripes along the chest and stomach looking vaguely like plumage.
Sometimes there is a short cloak over the shirt and a curious hat.
His speech is Bergamo dialect but with a particular accentuation making it
sounds witty. He is an expert musician and singer and often carries a
guitar. |

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Colombina
is a malicious but charming servant-girl, a comical character, not always
a mirror of virtue like her eternal suitor Harlequin. She is known not
only as Colombine but also as Arlecchina, Corallina, Ricciolina, Camilla
and Lisetta and later becoming the elegant Marionette in Carlo Goldoni’s
"Crafty Widow". The costume is simple, similar to Harlequin’s
with numerous multicolored patches. She wears a white cap, the same color
of her apron. Sometimes, she looks like a servant girl from the 18th
century and she is rarely seen wearing a mask. Colombine speaks Tuscan
dialect but she doesn’t disdain other dialects. |
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This
is the best-known of the Venetian masks. From it’s first appearance
among the theatrical commedia dell’arte companies, Pantaloon "the
Magnificent" spoke in unadulterated Venetian dialect. Pantaloon is an
old merchant, often very rich and highly esteemed by the nobility, but
sometimes a merchant in ruin (Pantalon dè Bisognosi). In either case he
is still a very special old man because despite his age he is still
capable of making amorous advances which never conclude in a positive
way.He is a hard-nosed businessman, to the point of sacrificing the
happiness of his sons and family harmony just so he can arrange some
advantageous marriage.
The costume consists of a Greek woolen cap, a red jacket, scort belted
breeches with a sword, or a hanky or a bag hanging from the belt. He wears
a black cloak over his shoulders lined with red on the inside, black
slippers or Turkish babouches with the ends pointing upwards. The mask
reveals a large hooked nose, accentuated eyebrows and a curious goaty
beard, which he usually strokes with his fingers. The Pantaloon costume is
the most popular one during the carnival period. Pantaloon represents a
commercial mind and a business acumen. |

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