The bachelor Gripandouille courted Polichinelle's wife, Colombine, who rejected him. Two jealous neighbours, Mrs Cassandra and Mrs Cababuche, slandered Columbine. To warn her of this, Gripandouile wrote her a letter in which he made an appointment with her. But this letter fell into the hands of the neighbours. Gripandouille found out about it and, wanting to take revenge, told Cassandra that his wife had an appointment with a lover. In the meantime, Mrs Cababuche told Polichinelle that Colombine had an appointment with her lover. Polichinelle went to the appointment but, mistaking Mr and Mrs Cassandra for Colombine and her lover, he beat them up. Then, realising his mistake, he hit Mrs Cababuche because she had lied to him. The two shrews then urged their husbands to kill Polichinelle, but he persuaded the two men to go and consult a sorcerer instead to find out the truth about their wives. The sorcerer revealed the wickedness of the two women. The Gendarme and the Commissioner, called in to administer justice, hanged the two women to the great satisfaction of the husbands.

Glove-puppet

All audiences

France

Paris

Duranty Louis Émile Edmond

Printed

Gossip

Vilification

Malice

Jealousy

Neighbour (Woman)

Unfaithfulness

Revenge of the husbands

Trap

Bad marriage

Shakespeare

Comical

Farcical

Satirical

French

Polichinelle

Magician

Police Superintendant

Colombine

Letter

Spectacular turn of events

Misunderstanding

Hanging scene

Blow-with-a-stick

Les Voisines

The neighbours

Donna Anna turns Don Juan away – she prefers her more virtuous brother. Don Juan asks his father for three hundred ducats to win her over. When Don Pedro refuses and threatens to throw him behind bars, he loses his temper and murders him. Don Juan flees the town with his servant Kasperl, whom he pretends is the new sergeant, to fool the guards, and they hide in the woods. There, they meet a hermit and Don Juan wants to borrow his clothes to disguise himself. But Kasperl tells the hermit what crimes his master Don Juan has committed, and Don Juan eliminates this troublesome witness. In the meantime, the devil appears to Kasperl, who promptly gets rid of him. As they arrive to an inn, Don Pedro’s ghost appears to them and Don Juan invites him to dinner. The ghost agrees to the invitation and is poorly received by Kasperl, who go as far as throwing a chair on him. Don Juan refuses to repent. The ghost invites him back, then holds out his hand to him to seal their deal. At this moment, devils come and carry him into the air. Kasperl takes all of his master’s money and celebrates.

String marionette

Not specified

Schmidt Leopold

Austria

Vienna

Father

Lover

Brother

Parricide

Money

Murder

Assassination

Tavern

Ghost

Phantom

Sausage

Devil

Woman

Love

Excessive drinking

Nature

Vanity

Spirits

Dramatic

Tragic

Lyrical

German

Das nächtliche Gericht, oder Der steinerne Gast, oder Junker Hans von Stein

Don Juan

Don Pietro

Anna

Guard

Hermit

Kasperl

Waitress

Song

Monologue

Dance

Versified passages

Appearance

Final intervention of the devil

Role reversal

Inn scene

Word for another

Apparition of the Devil

Murder on stage

Comic Equivocation

Running away

Dialect as a social marker

xDon Juan der Wilde

Don Juan the Wild Man

The old Ablamore, father of seven daughters, of whom only one, Astolaine, is still alive, wants to make the young Greek slave Alladine his mistress. Alladine and Palomides, Astolaine's fiancé, fall in love with each other. While Astolaine resigns herself to giving Palomides her freedom, Ablamore sinks into jealousy. Alladine and Palomides, shackled and blindfolded, are locked in an underground cave. They manage to free themselves from their bonds and are delighted by the beauty of the cave and an underground lake. Astolaine and the six sisters of Palomides, who have come to rescue them, let in the light of day which reveals the true aspect of the cave. The two lovers become frightened and fall into the lake. After being pulled out of the water, they are placed in two separate chambers and, while talking without seeing each other, they both die.

Maeterlinck Maurice

Belgium

Ghent

Lyon

Fiancé

Madness

Enclosure

Cave

Underground lake

Vision

Death

Light

Depreciation

Illness

Sister

Physician

Off-stage voices

Alladine et Palomides

Alladine and Palomides

Simple Simon pays a visit to his friend, Simple Susan, whom he thinks is a bit lazy. Simple Susan states that she hates men and that women can do anything better than them. She catcalls four boys, who bark as an answer, and asks them to help her build a house. First, she goes to choose work clothes. Simple Simon calls for her, but she is too busy and refuses his help. When she comes back in work clothes, the four boys bring the house that they have already built - a doll house. She asks them to send a picture of the house to the Daily Mail and to look for a buyer. While she complains about Simple Simon’s selfishness, he reappears, accompanied by a neighbour who thanks him for everything he is willing to do for her: build a carriage, a house, and go for a walk with her. Furious, Simple Susan asks the neighbour what she is going to do to repay Simple Simon. Her answer, “I can look pretty” makes Simple Susan break into pieces.

Craig Edward Gordon

Italy

Marina di Pisa

Feminism

Labour

Women's condition

House

Obedience

Seduction

English

Simple Simon

Address to the public

Animalised character

Splitting of the body

Simple Susan

Simple Susanne

Laura, born from Friedrich’s mind, appears piece by piece. Once complete, she arouses Elena’s jealousy and is dismembered again by her. Lime, Emil’s shadow, appears to Elena, who falls in love with him. Friedrich recognises Lime, shoots him and runs away. Emil comes on and charms Elena, who tells him in which direction Lime went. Lime comes back as he chases Elena, then he declares his love to the two women. Friedrich’s loving gaze makes Laura disappear, one bit at a time, until nothing but her foot remains. Friedrich is jealous of Lime, the infidelity of which Laura forgave, and pounces on him with a knife. Emil arrives to reclaim his shadow. Elena, Emil and Lime embrace one another, while Friedrich leaves with Laura’s foot.

Shadow theatre

Schwitters Kurt

Germany

Hanover

Czechia

Prague

Double

Dismembering

Autonomous parts of the body

Love argument

Dadaism

Vanguard

Fantastic

Duplication

Schattenspiel

Shadow Play

In Carlo Magno’s (Charlemagne) royal palace, paladins are getting ready to fight Agramante, who has besieged Paris, and his army. In a wood, while she is waiting for her lover Ruggero, Bradamante kills a snake; then she saves a soldier who was in danger because of another snake. The solider tells him that Ruggero is going to marry Marfisa and he promises Bradamante that he will lead her to Agramante’s camp, so she can challenge Ruggero in a duel. In the enemy camp, the knights are preparing to fight Carlo Magno’s army. Marfisa tends to Ruggero, who was wounded by Mandricardo. When Bradamante arrives, Marfisa goes to fight her in Ruggero’s stead. The two warriors fight in a duel. Ruggero arrives to split them up. When he learns that the knight fighting Marfisa is his beloved Bradamante, he explains that he could not meet with her at the appointed time because he was wounded. Marfisa eavesdrops on the conversation, without being seen, and discovers that Ruggero is in love with Bradamante. Ruggero and Marfisa are about to fight when the ghost of the magician Atlante appears and reveals that they are the twin children of the Chrisitan king Ruggero di Risa. Ruggero and Marfisa reconcile, decide to be christened and to go with Bradamante to Carlo Magno’s court.

Rod marionette

Armed rod marionette

Rod and string marionette

Palermo

Typewriting

Duel

Twins

Encounter

Epic

Italian

Furiosa e terribile battaglia tra Bradamante e Marfisa per amore di Angelica

Charlemagne (King)

Soldier

Bradamante

Paladin (female)

King

Saracen

Moorish

Agramante

Warrior

Marfisia

Warrior (female)

Empress

Roger

Knight

Skeleton

Atlante

Appearance of a ghost

Fight with an animal

Sword fight

Duel scene

Hidden character

Reunion

Battaglia tra Bradamante e Marfisa

Battle between Bradamante and Marfisa

Upon his return from his military service, Turiddu discovers that Lola, the woman he loved, married Alfio. He gets engaged to Santuzza in order to make Lola jealous, and then becomes Lola’s lover. Santuzza, who is desperate, reveals to Alfio that Lola and Turiddu are having an affair. She immediately wishes she had not told him, but she cannot prevent atragedy from happening. Alfio challenges Turiddu to a duel, and after having thrown dirt into his eyes, Alfio stabs Turiddu to death.

Typed or electronic text with handwritten annotations

Impossible love

Honour

Sicilian

Per opera dei pupi e opera lirica

Lover (man)

Wife

Lover (woman)

Gossiper

Garbage man

Lamplighter

Fiancée

Mother

Husband

Speech-narrative

Spying scene

Character leaning against the window

Knife fight

Stabbing

Seduction scene

Change of size on sight

Aria

Cavalleria Rusticana

Rustic chivalry for opera dei pupi and lyrical opera

In King Agramante’s camp, where the Moorish knights have gathered to fight Carlo Magno, Rodomonte and Mandricardo decide to challenge each other in a duel for Doralice’s love. But Ruggero does not want Mandricardo to fight under Hercules’ insignias, which he claims for himself. At the end of the duel, Mandricardo dies and Ruggero is seriously injured. In a wood, while she waits for her lover Ruggero, Bradamante kills a rhinoceros. Then she kills a snake and, by doing so, saves a soldier’s life. The soldier tells her that Ruggero is going to marry Marfisa. Bradamante then goes to Agramante’s camp. She challenges Marfisa in a duel. After separating the two duellists, Ruggero chases Bradamante to explain that he has missed their rendezvous because of his injury. Marfisa hides and eavesdrop on their conversation, and so discovers that Ruggero is in love with Bradamante. Ruggero and Marfisa are about to battle when the ghost of the magician Atlante appears and reveals that they are the twin children of the Christian king Ruggero di Risa. Ruggero and Marfisa reconcile, decide to be christened and go with Bradamante to Carlo Magno’s court.

Riconoscimento

Battaglia tra Bradamante e Ruggero e Marfisa

Battle between Bradamante, Ruggero and Marfisa. Recognition