Kom, king of the city of Polimicra, announces to his people that a giant is treading on their land. He promises his daughter to whoever defeats him: Occe, who is in love with Nec, therefore comes forward and offers himself as a champion. Although she pretends not to have feelings, Nec is secretly in love with the giant Ercole (Hercules). Vam, the Pygmies’ general, is in love with Has, Kom’s second daughter. But Has is in love with Occe. The envoy Brin announces the arrival of the giant; he describes him in horrifying terms: the giant Ercole demands the king’s two daughters, or he will destroy the city. In the gardens of the palace, Nec and Has see the sky darken when the giant arrives. Has is desperate, but Nec rejoices: either her kingdom defeats him, or she will become Ercole’s wife. In the panic, a propitiatory sacrifice is made to Mammon, while the battle is being prepared. Brin is trying to accept that he will be devoured; the general Vam suggests that they put the giant to sleep to defeat him. Has declares his love to Occe, to try and stop him from the certain death awaiting him; but Occe’s decision does not change in the slightest. During the sacrifice, Has prays for the people, while Nec refuses to pray for the defeat of the one she loves: her father sends her to the dungeon. Brin arrives, distressed: Ercole’s nose is showing - it was taken for a mobile rock – and Ercole is asking for the king’s daughters. The giant makes fun of Occe, who is trying to fight him. Vam fills the place with smoke. Ercole sneezes: everyone falls to the ground and believes that they are being punished by the gods. They try to flee, but are stopped by Ercole’s hand. Only Nec stands before Ercole to declare her love. Out of pity and admiration for her bravery, Ercole commands Nec and Occe to marry, as well as Vam and Has, and he decides to spare everyone.

String marionette

Not specified

Italy

Rome

Printed

Giant

Pygmies

Threat

Sneezing

Wedding

Humorous

Burlesque

Parodistic

Pier Jacopo Martello, Lo starnuto d'Ercole. Teatro italiano, Parte ultima. Bologna: Lelie Dalla Volpe, 1723.

Italian

Hercules

King

Princess

Prince

General

Messenger

Playing with scale

Music

Chorus

Public announcement

Monologue

Invisible character

Confinement

Fight between an actor and a puppet

Ridiculous fight

Earthquake

Character thrown in the air

Final wedding

Lo starnuto d'Ercole

Hercules's sneeze

Don Quixote takes up his role as a wandering knight and asks Sancho Pança (Sancho Panza) to help prepare before they leave, while his niece and the childminder beg him to stay. Sancho Pança gives instructions for his will and bids farewell to his wife and daughter. Don Quixote declares his love to a woman peasant whom he believes is Dulcineia under a spell. He mistakes comedians for giants, but the fight is avoided thanks to Sancho Pança’s donkey. In a forest, they meet Sansão Carrasco (Sansón Carrasco), who pretends to be a wandering knight. Don Quixote challenges him to a duel and unhorses him. Then, he attacks a caged lion, kills it and declares that he will now have to be called the Knight of the Lions. When he learns that a wandering knight is imprisoned in the cave of Montesinos, Don Quixote descends into it and tries to remove a spell from Lord Montesinos and from Belerma, the lady of the knight Durorante. The earth shakes and he is carried into the air with Sancho Pança. Back in the forest, Don Quixote believes that Dulcineia has been changed into Sancho Pança and declares his love to him; Sancho threatens to kick him until Don Quixote’s illusion is broken. The muse Calíope (Calliope) comes down from a cloud and asks Don Quixote to fight the bad poets. Don Quixote chases them off. Apolo (Apollo) offers Pancho’s son, who is a poet, to join the Parnassus. After embarking on a boat, Don Quixote and Sancho are shipwrecked. They are taken in a palace. Sancho asks for the island promised by his master. A devil on a donkey announces that the evil spell put on Dulcineia has come to an end. After being flogged, Sancho is appointed governor of the island. He passes several burlesque judgements, dictates a fanciful letter for his wife and then goes out to have lunch. He is forced to consult a doctor and quarrels with a judge about whether eating is good or not. Touring his island, Sancho wants to stop a serenade, but he flees after a sword fight. The scene ends with a fake attack on his island: Sancho avoids being killed.
The Countess Trifaldi asks Don Quixote to remove her spell. Mounting a horse that came down from the sky, he leaves and starts his quest as a wandering knight again, while Sancho announces that he plans on going back home. Carrasco tries one last time to bring Don Quixote back to reality, fights him in a duel, unhorses him and forces him to go back home. Sancho complains that he has won nothing in this adventure.

António José Da Silva (António José da Silva, aka O Judeu)

Portugal

Lisbon

Madness

Illusion

Knighthood

Deception

Adventure

Trap

Mock-heroic

Fantasy

Comical

António José da Silva, Vida do grande D. Quixote de la Mancha e do gordo Sancho Pança, stage direction by Émilie Valantin, Comédie-Française, 2008.