Lazzi

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lazzi (from Italian. Lazzo , Witzelei ) were clownish , mostly mimic interludes in the game of the Italian Commedia dell'arte . Some of them had the character of slapstick inserts, with frequently recurring motifs such as cake battles or fights with an invisible fly. Also cabaret allusions to the government were common.

Experienced actors had a whole series of rehearsed lazzi in their repertoire, which they could use and vary in the course of the improvised play depending on the situation. Many lazzi were passed down from generation to generation in the acting groups of the Commedia dell'arte among the actors.

Lazzi is a plural . In German and English, the word is often mistakenly used as a singular and the wrong plural Lazzis is derived from it.

literature

  • Nicoletta Capozza: Tutti i lazzi della commedia dell 'arte. Un catalogo ragionato del patrimonio dei comici. Audino, Rome 2006, ISBN 88-7527-012-0 .
  • Mel Gordon: Lazzi. The comic routines of the Commedia dell'Arte. Performing Arts Journal Publications, New York NY 1983, ISBN 0-933826-69-9 ( Performing Arts Journal Playscripts ).