Brighella

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Brighella. Figurine by Maurice Sand

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 .

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