Harlequin

Harlequin (/ˈhɑːrləkwɪn/; Italian: Arlecchino [arlekˈkiːno], French: Arlequin [aʁləkɛ̃], Old French Harlequin) is the best-known of the zanni or comic servant characters from the Italian Commedia dell'arte. Traditionally believed to have been introduced by Zan Ganassa in the late 16th century, the role was definitively popularized by the Italian actor Tristano Martinelli in Paris in 1584–1585 and became a stock character after Martinelli's death in 1630.

The Harlequin is characterized by his chequered costume. His role is that of a light-hearted, nimble and astute servant, often acting to thwart the plans of his master, and pursuing his own love interest, Colombina, with wit and resourcefulness, often competing with the sterner and melancholic Pierrot. He later develops into a prototype of the romantic hero. Harlequin inherits his physical agility and his trickster qualities, as well as his name, from a mischievous "devil" character in medieval passion plays.

The Harlequin character came to England early in the 17th century and took center stage in the derived genre of the Harlequinade, developed in the early 18th century by John Rich. As the Harlequinade portion of English dramatic genre pantomime developed, Harlequin was routinely paired with the character Clown. As developed by Joseph Grimaldi around 1800, Clown became the mischievous and brutish foil for the more sophisticated Harlequin, who became more of a romantic character. The most influential such pair in Victorian England were the Payne Brothers, active during the 1860s and 1870s.

Arlecchino (opera)

Arlecchino, oder Die Fenster (Harlequin, or The Windows, BV 270) is a one-act opera with spoken dialog by Ferruccio Busoni, with a libretto in German, composed in 1913. He completed the music for the opera while living in Zurich in 1916. It is a number opera written in neo-classical style and includes ironic allusions to operatic conventions and situations typical of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It even includes a parody of a duel.

Performance history

The premiere performance was on 11 May 1917 at the Stadttheater, Zürich. Busoni's two-act opera Turandot was also performed on the program as part of a double-bill.

The first British staged performance of Arlecchino was in 1954 at Glyndebourne. However, Edward Clark had produced a concert version in London in 1939.

Background

The opera is in four movements with a corresponding representation of Arlecchino in each of them:

The roles in Arlecchino are derived from the Italian commedia dell'arte. It is unusual in that the title role of Arlecchino is primarily a speaking role. The composer has said that Arlecchino "has a tendency to ambiguity and hyperbole in order to place the listener momentarily in a position of slight doubt."Ronald Stevenson has described it as an "anti-opera," and an "anti-war satire."