The 1568 Production
A Royalty-Free Play Script from La Commedia
A Royalty-Free Play Script from La Commedia
This scenario was adapted from a conversation recorded in a book from 1568, describing a then-recent commedia production that had been performed for some German noblemen.
The authors of the scenario appear to be two of the actors, Orlando di Lasso and Massimo Troiano.
Translated by ChatGPT with editing, corrections and oversight by Talia Felix
Characters:
A singer/prologue
The Magnificent Pantalone di Bisognosi
Zanni
Clumsy Peasant
Polidoro the inamorato
The Desperate Spaniard, a.k.a. Capitano
Camilla the inamorata
Ercole, her maid [who with such a name must be quite butch - in English, "Hercules"]*
Terzo*
A French servant
[musicians]
*Other translations take this to be an actor named Ercole Terzo, and maybe it is so; but the edition of the text given above definitely prints "la sua serva Ercole, Terzo, & un servo franzese" which can't really be read any way but that the servant girl is named Ercole and another character Terzo.