Compagnia dei Comici Gelosi
The Compagnia dei Comici Gelosi , also I Gelosi or Gelosi (from the Italian gelosi for "jealous") was an Italian drama company that, playing at a higher level than most of their contemporaries, not only the classical pieces, but also the Italian commedia dell ' arte first spread in France and then throughout Europe.
The company was founded by Flaminio Scala in Milan in 1568. Important players such as Vittoria Pissimi soon joined the troupe. In contrast to most of the other troops, this one managed to reach the higher audiences right from the start. They played for princes and dukes, and in 1574 and 1577 there were performances before the French king. In 1578 Francesco Andreini (* around 1548, † around 1624) and his then 16-year-old wife Isabella Andreini joined the troupe. The Andreinis developed into the stars of the troupe. Francesco developed the type of Capitano Spavento and took over the management of the troop himself. Under the motto “Virtu, fama ed honor ne fer gelosi”, her tours took her across Europe, from Italy to France, Spain, England, Germany and Poland. However, when Isabella Andreini died on June 10, 1604 in Lyon in the childbirth of her seventh child, the desperate husband Francesco dissolved the company and withdrew from the stage into private life.
The members of the troupe included Flaminio Scala, Vittoria Pissimi, Nicolò Barbieri (1576–1641), Adriano Valerini, Silvia Roncagli, Giovanni Pellesini, who embodied Pedrolino, Giulio Pasquati da Padova as Pantalone and Lodovico de Bianchi as Dottore Graziano .