Brighella
Brighella (derived from the Italian word briga for "trouble, strife") is a figure from the Italian Commedia dell'arte and, along with Arlecchino, belongs to the Zanni , the servant figures. Together with this he drives the intrigue , with Brighella being portrayed as the more skilled of the servants.
At first appearing in peasant costume, but already showing “ peasant cunning”, he transformed himself into a servant figure in livreé, often with a guitar. He is devious, intent on his own advantage, also materially. Therefore, like Pantalone, he often carries a purse on his belt, but also a knife or a dagger. In contrast to Arlecchino, he is capable of acrobatic feats and is usually also intellectually superior to him when it comes to wiping out his respective masters, Pantalone or the Dottore . Therefore he is the first of the Zanni. Other names include Scapino (see the Scapin in Molière's Scapins Pranks ), Mezzetino , Flautino, Paquariello, Coviello, and Fagottino.
According to Karl Riha, this mask has been documented since 1571, but it did not survive the end of the Commedia dell'arte - in contrast to that of Arlecchino, which developed into a clown , and that of Pagliaccio , the predecessor of Pierrot .
See also
literature
- Karl Riha : Commedia dell'arte - With the figurines Maurice Sands. Frankfurt am Main 1980 a. a., ISBN 978-3-458-19007-3 .
Web links
- Zap A Lot Theater (on the mask of Brighella and a few others)