From Piazze to Courts: Actresses’ Role in the Refashioning of Commedia dell’Arte

Abstract

My article provides a better understanding of commedia dell’arte’s transformation from an indecorous form of popular entertainment, performed in public spaces (piazze) and accused of teaching lust and corruption, into a legitimate and respected art form, performed in aristocratic and royal court theatres before refined and educated audiences. I show how relevant performances by such actresses as Barbara Flaminia, Lidia da Bagnacavallo, Isabella Andreini, Vincenza Armani, Vittoria Piissini, Orsola Posmoni, and Virginia Ramponi were in changing the image of the commedia dell’arte. Blending theater and culture, actresses ennobled themselves and their profession and constructed a new model of a talented and educated heroine, while contributing to a new appreciation for commedia dell’arte as a form of literary and artistic performance. In fact, because of their efforts, the commedia dell’arte diverged significantly from the performances of buffoni, mountebanks, acrobats, contortionists, story-tellers, and street singers, and survived defamatory propaganda and opposition from churchmen, finding support in secular patronage and gaining social and cultural dignity.