This dissertation is a study of the comic intermezzo’s literary origins and musical practice in the years before Pergolesi’s La serva padrona (1733). It begins with a chronological examination of Italian comic plays and operas written between 1660 and 1723. During these years comic playwrights adopted a style of writing speech from the improvised theatre which makes use of what Richard Andrews (1993) refers to as “elastic gags.” This style of comedy flourished under Medici patronage in Florence in the last decades of the seventeenth century and then spread to Venice, Rome and Naples during the first years of the intermezzo’s development. It is a style of comedy shared with the plays of Molière, and other contemporaneous French authors. This dissertation examines several scenes based on French works which have previously not been identified as having earlier sources. The decision to adapt these earlier sources for the intermezzo did not occur in a vacuum. The practice of comedy in the intermezzo was conditioned by the artistic, social and political climate of Italy. This study investigates the relationship between intermezzos and the milieus which produced them. The success of some intermezzos, like Il marito giocatore (1719), resulted from a combination of their artistic merit and their broad social appeal, while others, like Albino e Plautilla (1723), were musically adept but remained obscure because their humour was specific to the world they satirized. Both intermezzos are indebted to earlier French sources. Many others which are metatheatrical in nature draw on contemporary debates about opera. A final section examines selected arias from the intermezzo repertory using incongruity theory. Comic theory makes clear that the intermezzo’s musical language was not a new development. Just as librettists drew on earlier written traditions to form the literary text of the intermezzo, composers drew on existing musical practices to create humour. The intermezzo was therefore not naively comic—a portrait of the genre which is all too common—but rather a repertory which was thoroughly enmeshed within contemporary artistic practice and a wider social and cultural world.

This master’s thesis discusses the term physical theatre from a discourse point of view. It also focuses on aspects of power from a field theory perspective. The main theory used is Pierre Bourdieu’s field theory, and I try to apply this onto critical discourse analysis, mainly taken from Michel Foucault. The forms of physical theatre I focus on are mainly commedia dell’arte, theatre forms inspiredby Grotowski and Artaud, as well as mime, performance and contemporary circus. These are all theatre forms that focus especially on the body. My aim is to explore the status and discourse of physical theatre in Sweden today. The thesis is divided into two main parts. First, I present research concerning empirical data, where I search for the term physical theatre, as well as other forms of describing these theatre forms, in magazines, theatre playlists, texts about theatre troups etc. The term physical theatre is not very common in these texts, it is often described as dance-theatre for example. It is also prominent that the view on what physical theatre is has changed, theatre forms which focus on the body and its expression have been incorporated into the major theatre field, and are no longer considered odd or different. Physical comedy, however, still stands out. Although it seems that it has become increasingly popular, it has somewhat moved away from the serious forms of physical theatre. The second part of the thesis approaches the subject from a more theorising point of view, where the discussion itself is the main focus. I start off by discussing the term physical theatre and its aesthetics – how its meaning has changed from being something avant-garde to something that is considered “normal”. Thereafter I discuss the status of the physical theatre forms, and apply them onto Bourdieu’s field theory. Physical comedy has not yet acquired the status of ”high culture”, whereas the serious, more “arty” forms of physical theatre are on different positions in the theatre field, and even on the physical theatre field. I also discuss how this can be transferred to theories about popular culture, and the interesting things that happens when the once very popular, low-status theatre form commedia dell’arte is situated in a high culture theatre house, Kungliga Dramatiska Teatern, in Sweden. I continue to discuss marginalised forms of theatre from a sub-culturalperspective, fighting both against and inside the dominant culture to gain status in the theatre field. After this, I discuss how the physical theatre’s new discourse has changed because of the newly found interest in contemporary circus, research projects in universities as well as higher education in physical art forms. The conclusion is that the term physical theatre still can be useful to describe different forms of theatre, although it is quite vague and has changed significally.

Esta dissertação tem como objeto de estudo a elaboração do conceito, \"movimento-imagem-ideia\", desenvolvido no percurso de uma prática de improvisação. Iniciada no teatro, por meio dos aprendizados do jogo teatral, do jogo das máscaras, como a commedia dell\'arte e o palhaço, encontra a dança e as abordagens somáticas, ampliando-se e oferecendo estrutura à autonomia do intérprete improvisacional. As pesquisas cênicas que constituíram caminho e estabelecimento dessa conceituação, analisadas neste trabalho, têm por foco a improvisação e a máscara de A Troupe de Atmosfera Nômade; as improvisações em tempo real, diante do público, da Cia. Nova Dança 4; e a estrutura pré-fixada na dança, em Ladies, da inocência à crueldade, com possibilidades de rupturas improvisacionais. / This dissertation investigates the elaboration of a concept, \"movementimage- idea\", developed during an improvisation practice. When this improvisation - which started in the theatre with the use of theatre games, mask games, such as commedia dell\'arte and clowns - meets dance and somatic approaches, it is amplified, now offering structure to the autonomy of the improvisational actor. Previous research on performing arts that have paved a path to the establishment of the concept analyzed here focus on A Troupe de Atmosfera Nômade\'s use of improvisation and masks; Cia Nova Dança 4\'s real time improvisation in front of an audience; and the structure prefixed on dancing, in Ladies, from innocence to cruelty, with possible improvisational ruptures.

La commedia dell'arte is a recognized, vibrant theatrical form that emerged in Italy during the Renaissance. However, while great attention has been given to the particulars of the genre (performance techniques, important troupes, leading players), there lacks a study behind the reasoning for its vast international popularity. In this thesis, I explore why this particular genre was able to cross cultural and linguistic boundaries, finding a dedicated and enthusiastic following in most European countries for over 200 years. After analyzing commedia dell'arte's original development in the Italian peninsula, examining the predominating Carnival ideology and the ability of the troupes to establish both regional and national symbols through the creation of specific stock characters, I will concentrate on the international tours and performances. By looking at the adaptive qualities of the troupes, and specifically their ability to play off of Europe's lack of national identity and Northern European's fascination with their exotic southern neighbor, I will discuss the reaction of Northern Europe with the Italian theatre, with a detailed look into the success of the troupes abroad. The popularity of the troupes will also be explored through the unique adaptation, assimilation and adoption of commedia dell'arte techniques and characters into developing national theatres of the other countries. I will conclude with a look of how commedia dell'arte has been and can continue to be effectively used in today's theatre. The examination of what drew both native and foreign audiences to the commedia dell'arte performances opens up possibilities for modern practitioners who wish to capitalize on the ability of the troupes to successfully play to a wide spectrum of people.

La rencontre du théâtre et du carnaval est aussi ancienne que le carnaval lui-même. D’une part, les cérémonies et les comportements collectifs possèdent, en propre, une dimension spectaculaire ; d’autre part, les jeux dramatiques font partie intégrante du rituel. Dans la France d’Ancien Régime, les réjouissances du carnaval sont un temps fort du calendrier, qui occupe toute la société pendant plusieurs semaines, des Rois au Carême. Les comédies créées pendant cette période, au Théâtre-Italien, à la Comédie-Française, à la Foire Saint-Germain, se rattachent explicitement à la coutume et s’insèrent dans son cycle cérémoniel. Plus largement, tirant parti de cette proximité calendaire, les dramaturges recourent au langage symbolique du carnaval, à celui du charivari, pour inventer un système de représentation du réel qui en offre un mode d’intelligibilité spécifique. Une langue pleine d’équivoques scabreuses et de saillies ordurières, des lazzis outrés et obscènes, un univers fantaisiste et bouffon, des personnages extravagants et burlesques : les modèles comiques qui se développent, de 1680 à 1720, sont à rattacher à la culture carnavalesque et à son imaginaire mythico-rituel. Les croyances et les pratiques symboliques innervent la création dramatique et participent à la construction de son sens, en lien étroit avec le contexte historique dans lequel s’inscrivent les œuvres. Il convient de restituer à ce théâtre la dimension anthropologique qui est la sienne, si l’on veut accéder à sa raison esthétique. La comédie de mœurs offre alors un nouveau visage : représentant la société contemporaine comme un monde à l’envers sur lequel règnent des souverains parodiques, elle revêt des enjeux idéologiques et possède une portée politique. Parallèlement, c’est aussi le concept critique de « carnavalesque » qui apparaît sous un jour inédit. / The meeting of theatre and carnival is as old as carnival itself. On the one hand, ceremonies and collective behaviour have a spectacular dimension in themselves; on the other hand, dramatic performance is an integral part of the ritual. In the early modern France, celebrating carnival was a key moment of the year, and kept the whole society busy for several weeks from Epiphany (or Twelfth Night) to Lent. The comedies created during that period at the Théâtre-Italien, at the Comédie-Française or at the Saint-Germain Fair, are explicitly related to the custom and fit into its ceremonial cycle. More generally, playwrights took advantage of the calendar proximity and used the symbolic language of carnival, that of charivari, to invent a system of representation of reality that offers a specific mode of intelligibility. A language full of lewd ambiguities and bawdy sallies, offensive, obscene lazzi, a fanciful, farcical universe, extravagant and burlesque characters: the comic models that developed, from 1680 to 1720, are to be related to the carnivalesque culture and to its mythical and ritual imaginary world. Symbolic beliefs and practices pervade the dramatic creation of that time and partake in the construction of its meaning, in close connection with the historical context within which the works are framed. It is necessary to restore their anthropological dimension to these plays to grasp their aesthetic purpose. The comedy of morals after Molière then offers a new face: as the plays represent the contemporary society as a world that has been turned upside down and that is ruled by parodic monarchs, they tackle ideological issues and have a political significance. It is also the critical concept of "carnivalesque" that appears in a new light.

I manoscritti qui considerati vanno dal Seicento al primo Ottocento, e documentano una fase della letteratura italiana che continuava a interessare lettori e collezionisti. Un caso esemplare è il manoscritto Ob.37, raccolta calligrafica, che contiene soprattutto sonetti, canzoni e poesie musicali senza indicarne il nome dell’autore. La prima menzione di questo supporto è nel catalogo Scheureck del 1755, ma non sappiamo altro sulla sua acquisi-zione. Il lavoro erudito consiste nell’identificare gli autori delle poesie, e rintracciare i testi anche in codici simili della stessa epoca. Interessante pure un gruppo di manoscritti che portano le segnature Mscr.Dresd.Ob.48.b, Ob.48.c, Ob.48.d, Ob.48.e, Ob.48.f, Ob.48.g, Ob.48.ga e Ob.48.h, prevalentemente libretti di opere liriche, con l’eccezione del Falcone, commedia la cui esecuzione va collocata a Vienna intorno al 1740. Di qualche interesse ne è la lingua, aperta sia a modi proverbiali, letterari o popolari, sia a sezioni in dialetto veneto e lombardo, che si possono paragonare a quelle della commedia dell’arte fino ai primi successi di Carlo Goldoni.