Il Servitor Padrone Comedia nuova, e ridicola Da rappresentarsi con Marionetti Nel Carnovale dell’anno 1763

THIS RIOTOUS CARNIVAL MARIONETTE PLAY ABOUT TRADING IDENTITIES may have been staged in Verona at the private theater of conte Ravegnani. The characters’ traits, temperaments, dialects, accents and favorite foods parallel those of their Commedia dell’Arte counterparts.
            Arlichino, our Bergamasco protagonist and servant of the magician Atlante, heads to Venice with a magic ring, the gift of his master. By chance he joins the household of the wealthy merchant Pantalone and seizes the opportunity to present the ring to his new employer. The two instantly exchange appearances. Now in charge, Arlichino has Pantalone imprisoned, entertains the Bolognese physician Graziano (who speaks in macaronics and trite puns), abuses then evicts Pantalone’s son Fiorindo (a lazy law student) and sumptuously dines with his co-conspirator and fellow servant Brighella. The tables turn when Fiorindo has Arlichino/Pantalone declared insane, the real Pantalone freed from prison (after Brighella reveals the ring’s powers to him) and the trickster Arlichino condemned to the gallows. Atlante intervenes at the last minute, transforms the execution piazza into a forest and saves Arlichino, the “servant master” of the title.
            MARIONETTE PUPPETRY MANUSCRIPTS ARE EXTREMELY FUGITIVE — those with stage directions and contemporary corrections, as here, are even more so. In good condition (one tear, a few scattered spots, minor lacunae with loss of a few letters).