Colombina
Colombina (Italian given name, diminution of colomba for "dove") is a character from the Commedia dell'arte and is attributed to the Zanni . She is a lower social class person. Mostly she plays the role of the maid or cook. She lacks every artificial element of the upper class and she is a fun-loving and self-assured figure who does not mince his words. Due to her dominant and seductive nature, she often attracts admirers (for example Brighella ), against whom she knows how to defend herself. She is often the lover of the Arlecchino , whom she sometimes marries at the end of a play. The figure of Colombina wears no mask and mostly simple women's clothes.
The first person to wear this figure is the Italian actress Theresa Biancolelli from a dynasty of well-known Commedia dell'arte actors. From 1560 this role lasted for generations until it faded more and more from the 18th century onwards due to the increased appearance of theater groups in front of courtly or middle-class audiences.
The "lively" or "coquette" as a subject in the drama of the 18th and 19th centuries. Century emerged from it. In music theater it usually corresponds to the soubrette .
literature
- Karl Riha : Commedia dell'arte. With the figurines of Maurice Sands. Frankfurt am Main 1980 a. a., ISBN 978-3-458-19007-3
