After singing and dancing, Pulcinella goes under Teresina’s balcony and calls to her. The building’s watchman arrives and asks Pulcinella what he is doing. The watchman, who is Teresina’s father, demands that Pulcinella speak with her. Teresina arrives and Pulcinella tells her that he wants to marry her. She agrees, on condition that he gets permission from her brother Nicola, who is very suspicious and jealous. Nicola rejects Pulcinella’s request as he doesn’t want his sister to marry such an ugly, unpleasant and weird man. The pair fight with sticks and Pulcinella kills Nicola. The story continues like any classic guarattelle show with other scenes where Pulcinella faces Death or is arrested and sentenced to hang.

Glove-puppet

Marotte

All audiences

Zampella Nunzio

Italy

Naples

Printed summary

Wedding prevented

Jealous brother

Engagement

Comical

Nunzio Zampella's puppet booth with his Pulcinella and his Teresina

Neapolitan

Pulcinella

Guardian

Father

Teresina

Brother

Thug

Song

Dance

Swazzle

Blow-with-a-stick

Syntactic parallelism

National language as a social marker

Il fidanzamento di Pulcinella

Pulcinella's Engagement

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.