Il Capitano
Il Capitano , also Capitano Spavento etc., is a figure or mask from the Italian Commedia dell'arte .
His ancestors took the stage as Miles Gloriosus des Plautus and figures from other writers as early as ancient times . This is the type of the mouth hero and braggart, who usually appears as a (former) soldier or sailor. Occasionally he also uses other names such as Capitano Corazza, Capitano Cardone, Rinoceronte, Terremoto, Spezzaferro, Spaccamonti, Rodomonte, which often describe him in more detail. In general, he possesses the characteristics of boasting, cruelty, greed, wickedness and pride, coupled with an extraordinary cowardice.
In the Commedia dell'arte, Il Capitano appeared in the middle of the 16th century in the costume of Spanish or French soldiers, who at this time were almost regular but unloved guests in Italy. One can understand this caricature of the occupiers as a protest by the Italians against the unpopular occupiers. As the embodiment of our hero on stage was around 1600 Francesco Andreini , the leader of the most important impromptu theater troupe of the time, the Compagnia dei Comici Gelosi . He dedicated the book Le bravure del Capitano Spavento di Francesco Andreini da Pistoia Comico Geloso divise in molti ragionamenti in forma di dialogo , published in Venice in 1607, to his role .
The figure also served as a literary model in other European countries during these warlike times. Its features can easily be found in Shakespeare's Falstaff , Cervantes Don Quixote , Gryphius' Horribilicribrifax or Corneilles Matamore in L'Illusion comique .
literature
- Fausto de Michele: The 'Capitano' of the Commedia dell'arte and its reception and development in the German-speaking theater, Daphnis - Journal for Middle German Literature, Volume 31, Numbers 3–4, Amsterdam 2002
- Karl Riha : Commedia dell'arte. With the figurines Maurice Sands , Frankfurt am Main 1980 a. a., ISBN 978-3-458-19007-3
- Fausto de Michele: Quello che il "Don Chisciotte" deve alla maschera del Capitano della Commedia dell'Arte, Italian magazine for Italian language and literature, Number 61, May, Oldenburg 2009
