Pulcinella plays a serenade for Teresina, but a dog intimidates him. Pulcinella tries to coax him, but the dog bites him. He calls for help. The dog’s master arrives, makes fun of Pulcinella and helps him free himself from the jaw of the dog. The master asks Pulcinella to pay him and they both begin to fight by striking each other with sticks. Pulcinella kills the dog’s master. A monk asks Pulcinella what he is doing; Pulcinella replies that he is taking a dead man to the cemetery. The monk wants to help Pulcinella bury the corpse, but he hits himself against the booth and dies. Pulcinella carries the two dead bodies and screams “o sapunaaar!” like a ragman in the street.

Glove-puppet

Marotte

Not specified

Zampella Nunzio

Italy

Naples

Printed

Death

Ragman

Burial

Extortion

Comical

Neapolitan

Pulcinella e il cane

Pulcinella

Thug

Teresina

Sculptor monk

Fight with an animal

Blow-with-a-stick

Dance

Song

Lazzi

Misunderstanding

Echoing lines

Swazzle

National language as a social marker

Il cane

The dog

Before beginning the show, the puppeteer asks the audience to remain silent, “to listen, to understand, to whistle, to make pernacchi” (mocking sounds made with the mouth which Pulcinella will accept as though they were applauses). Pulcinella arrives on stage and dances with his fiancée Teresina. Then he goes under her balcony to sing a serenade. Teresina’s father arrives and asks Pulcinella for explanations. When he learns that Teresina is Pulcinella’s fiancée, the father goes fetch his daughter so that Pulcinella can speak to her. Pulcinella tells Teresina that he wants to marry her. She agrees on condition that he asks for her brother’s approval to marry her. Nicola – her brother – is very suspicious and jealous. Nicola refuses, as he does not wish for her sister to marry such an ugly, unpleasant and odd man. They both fight by striking each other with a stick and Pulcinella kills Nicola. He takes the dead man to the cemetery, into a coffin. Here, Death plays tricks on him. Then, He (Death) strikes Pulcinella with a stick and they both fight. But in the middle of the fight, a guappo (gangster) comes on, replaces Death and receives a stroke of Pulcinella’s cane. They begin to fight each other and Pulcinella kills him. He carries the dead on his shoulders and shouts like a ragman: “o sapunaar! Rat’m’ e vestit’ san’, v’ ronc’ e piatt’ scassat’!” (ragman! Give me all your nice clothes and I’ll give you broken dishes”). Pulcinella, now free, goes prepare the papers for his marriage and dances with Teresina.