The play begins at the Court of Pella, with a choir of grooms seeing Ipomene, King Atrace’s sister, waiting for the return of her lover Cloridoro. When Cloridoro comes back, the couple sings their mutual love. In the woods, Atamira, daughter of the Corinthian King, is miserable as she waits for the return of her husband Acrimante. Witnessing the sinking of a ship, she saves two unlucky men, who turn out to be Acrimante and his servant Bibi. After recognising her, Acrimante rejects Atamira’s love and instead chooses to follow young shepherdesses. Atamira grieves, then falls asleep: Atrace and Cloridoro, gone hunting, find her in this state. Atrace immediately falls in love with Atamira and promises to help her. Acrimante arrives at Court and falls in love with Ipomene, while Bibi wooes the nurse Delfa. When he comes back from hunting, Atrace learns about Acrimante’s arrival and tasks Cloridoro with looking after their host, to whom he is a loyal friend. While Cloridoro reunites with Ipomene, Acrimante asks Bibi to find a cure to his love for the Infanta. During a farcical duo involving two lovers, Bibi learns from Delfa that Ipomene loves Cloridoro. Bibi asks the nurse to take the young woman to Acrimante’s bedroom, where she is told that she will meet with her lover. During another meeting between Acrimante and Atamira, Acrimante mistreats his wife, who becomes miserable again. The act concludes with a dance of Squires or Moors around the King, who is deeply in love with Atamira.
When he tries to kiss Delfa from his balcony, Bibi falls. Atrace, who sees him flee on his mule dressed in his master’s clothes, believes that Acrimante has betrayed him; he imagines that he is the lover of his sister or of the woman he loves. He decides to avenge himself and has him called. Summoned by the King when he was with Ipomene, Acrimante must leave her. Atrace and Cloridoro are jealous of him—one about Atamira, and the other about Ipomene. The King puts Acrimante in prison, which is a source of distress for Atamira: her husband rejects her love once again. Cloridoro believes that Ipomene has betrayed him and reproaches her for things she does not understand. Atrace decides to sentence Acrimante to death, and Atamira offers to carry out his order. She gives him a vial of fake poison, and he falls apart after asking his wife for forgiveness. Atamira has the body carried to her room. Cloridoro is upset over Ipomene’s betrayal, and Delfa tells him the truth: the two lovers reconcile and agree to meet at night, in the garden. Atrace, who rejoices over Acrimante’s death, proposes to Atamira; she refuses, without saying that she is already married. After dark, Bibi falls asleep while he is guarding his master’s body. Delfa, who came to meet him, caresses him and pretends to be Acrimante’s spirit. Bibi is frightened for a moment. Then, embarrassed to talk about love next to the body, he takes Delfa outside the room. The demon arrives and claims Acrimante’s soul, in a dreaming scene taking place in Proserpina’s kingdom. The monsters and spirits dance during an interlude, while the Queen of the Underworld declares her love to Acrimante. Atamira is waiting for her husband to wake up. When he arises from his lethargic state (greatly scaring Bibi), she declares her love to him. Accusing his wife of attempting to kill him, Acrimante dismisses her again. Bibi informs him of the rendez-vous planned between Ipomene and Cloridoro: Acrimante shows up instead of his friend, in a night scene secretly witnessed by Atrace. When she realises her mistake, Ipomene screams for help; Tidemo, a counsel, rushes to her rescue. Acrimante kills him and flees. Atrace is set on finding the culprit and sentencing him to death. A Corinthian ambassador informs the King that they will be at war, unless he marries Atamira: the King formally proposes to the young Princess, but she refuses to marry him; when he tells her that he will marry her whether she wants it or not, so as to avoid the war, she decides to kill herself. On the run, Acrimante arrives at the garden in Tidemo’s palace, where he finds a statue of his owner. He begins to speak with the statue, which he eventually invites to dinner. The statue tilts its head forward, then goes have dinner with its host. One table and six statues appointed by Pluto appear: Tidemo sits down at the table, as the statues dance and praise Pluto in a song. The earth opens, Acrimante sinks towards the abyss while Tidemo flies off in the sky. Once in the abyss of the Cocytus, Acrimante asks for forgiveness; Caronte (Charon) takes him to the Underworld. At court, Bibi tells Atamira about her husband’s death. She can now agree to marry Atrace. The play ends with three marriages.

"On foot and by rod" puppet

Marionette with counterweight

Not specified

Acciaiuoli Filippo (aka Gran Burattinajo)

Apolloni Giovanni Filippo

Italy

Ronciglione

Rome

Printed

Jealousy

Seduction

Shipwreck

Statue coming to life

Unfaithfulness

Forced marriage

Lyrical

Melodramatic

Dramatic

Burlesque

Fantasy

L'Empio punito (libretto, title page)

Italian

King

Sister

Cousin

Prince

Princess

Counselor

Servant

Nurse

Ambassador

Sheperherdess

Devil

Proserpina

Captain

Charon

Sailor

Groom

Music

Interlude

Chorus

Avista

Speechless character

Love rivalry

Love story

Thwarted love

Shipwreck scene

Scene of recognition

Hunting scene

Character leaning against the window

Fall of a character

Comical fall of a character

Seduction scene

Monologue

Confinement

Fake death

Dreamt scene

Dream

Nightmare

Apparition of a god

Apparition of a monster

Apparition of demons

Demons dance

Night scene

Scene in the dark

Sword thrust

Sword fight

Duel scene

Gunshot

Messenger

Ascent to heaven

Flying machine

Final wedding

L'Empio punito

The Non-believer punished

The play begins with Colombo (Colombus) sailing the sea with his wife Anarda and their son Fernando. They meet a choir of mermaids, then of tritons, all of which are taken away by Fortuna. The ship berths at Motenzuma, the capital of Peru. Tendilla, daughter of Ginacra, the king of Peru, advocates against welcoming the foreigners. Her lover Guascarre speaks against his wife’s empty fears. Ginacra sends him to the ships to meet the strangers, who have brought presents. When the Court and the strangers meet, Colombo fears that his wife Anarda will be tempted; she assures him that she is faithful. Their son falls in love with Tendilla. The servant Giumbè is leading two camels carrying many gifts. This is followed by a dance of monkeys trying to imitate human dances. Ginacra wooes Anarda. As she rejects him, he tries to force Colombo to give his wife to him. The two husbands ask for Guascarre’s help, although he himself is jealous of Fernando. Taken to the temple to be sacrificed, Anarda accepts her coming death—to prove her love for Colombo. Trying to make her change her mind, Ginacra turns her into a goddess: faced with a renewed rejection, he takes her to prison. Colombo is set on dying for his wife. Fernando asks Tendilla to intercede with the tyrant on behalf of his mother. The interlude stages the European nations dressed in colourful costumes. At night, Anarda is waiting in her cell for her husband to save her: Colombo arrives, carrying a torch, and with Giumbè’s help manages to see Anarda. Ginacra also arrives at the prison. Anarda pretends to like him and suggests that he kills Colombo in a duel, to win her love. Colombo hears the end of the conversation, displays jealousy and tries to kill himself at his wife’s feet. She prevents him from doing so and explains her plan to fight, disguised as him. Tendilla declares her love to Fernando: as a true gentleman, Guascarre promises his rival mutual love. Colombo cross-dresses and offers to fight the duel in Ginacra’s stead: the fight now opposes Anarda cross-dressed as Colombo, and Colombo cross-dressed as the king’s champion. Hurt by Anarda, Colombo falls to the ground; When she discovers her opponent’s true identity, she faints. Learning about Anarda’s feats, Ginacra decides to leave her alone. Tendilla hesitates between her two suitors: her father decides that she will marry Guascarre, the oldest of the two.

Automaton

Peru

Geographic discoveries

Explorer

Rivalry in love

Sacrifice

Edifying

Heroic

Pietro Ottoboni, Il Colombo ovvero L'India scoperta, 1690.

overo L'India scoperta

Christopher Columbus

Wife

Slave

Interpreter

Young woman

Lady-in-waiting

Mermaid

Chorality

Boat mounted on wheels

Clouds

Board meeting

Sleeping character

Spying scene

Release of a prisoner

Disguised character (false identity)

Character mistaken as a member of the other sex

Il Colombo

Teodosio (Theodosius, Emperor of Constantinople) welcomes Marciano’s army. Marciano is returning victorious from the Persian Empire, and he is bringing back Ariene, the fiancée of Varane (king of Persia). Teodosio asks that Ariene be released, and he offers her peace; but the Queen is too proud. Atenaide, a young Greek woman devoted to philosophy, hesitates between coming back to Athens and staying with the Emperor: although she loves him, she fears that their respective statuses are too different. Varane arrives at court in disguise. He befriends Atenaide and expresses jealousy at Teodosio being generous with his wife. Pulcheria welcomes Marciano, whom she loves. Teodosio is jealous of Atenaide and Varane. When Teodosio accepts Ariene’s gift—she gave him fruit to thank him for his generosity—Varane, who is watching them, believes that they are having an affair. Atenaide believes so too. To reassure Atenaide, Teodosio gives her the fruit, which she gives Varane in turn, since the stranger insisted on it. Atenaide’s companion, Acrisia, reveals to Eridione, Ariene’s servant, a miraculous fountain that changes into a dragon. She gives him a dance lesson, which introduces the interlude. Marciano is watching out for Varane on the shore. He witnesses Varane and Ariene reuniting. Since Marciano wishes to catch his enemy, whom he has recognised, the Queen steps in to protect her husband. But Varane orders her to leave. After refusing Marciano’s peace proposal, Varane is defeated. Teodosio offers peace again; Varane rejects it another time. As the Emperor is reading Costantino’s story in the library, Ariene arrives. Atenaide watches them with jealousy. Ariene and Teodosio believe that their lovers have betrayed them. Finally convinced that Teodosio loves her, Atenaide is also suspected of unfaithfulness, since she cannot give back the fruit which her husband gifted her. Atenaide manages to convince Ariene of Varane’s faithfulness; and Acrisia promises to fix the situation. She makes four pages appear in the library, then she gives Eridione an astrology lesson; Eridione is taken into the air on a cloud. The tables of the library change into nymphs; they begin to dance. Pulcheria reproaches her brother for his unchristian jealousy, and commands him to stop seeing Atenaide. Ariene and Varane reconcile and knock down Teodosio’s statue. The Emperor dismisses Atenaide. He hesitates over putting his enemy to death, but eventually decides to be consistent: he spares Varane’s life and offers him a throne. Faced with such generosity, Varane is vanquished. Teodosio’ marriage is being prepared. Teodosio despairs at the thought of never seeing Atenaide again. Pulcheria summons the new bride, who turns out to be Atenaide calling herself Eudocia. The Emperor and the young Greek woman celebrate their wedding at the same time as Pulcheria and Marciano.

Constantinople

Captives

Constancy

Regency

Laudatory

Religious

Pietro Ottoboni, Teodisio il Giovane, 1711 (central engraving)

Theodosius

Emperor

Pulcheria

General

Virgin

Procession

Magic spell

Metamorphosis

Flying character

Plot scene

Change of social status

Teodosio il Giovane

Theodosius the Young

In the prologue, Laius asks the oracle about his son’s fate and, when he learns that his son will kill him and marry his mother Jocasta, he orders Creon to kill his son. Creon, however, abandons the child in a forest instead, where he is found by a shepherd named Faggiolino, who brings the infant to the king of Corinth, Polybus. The action of the play starts twenty years later. Oedipus consults the oracle about his fortune and he learns what was already predicted and told to Laius: he will kill his father and marry his mother. Oedipus goes in search of his true parents and, on the way there, he fights Laius and kills him. Upon his arrival in Thebes, Oedipus solves the riddle of the Sfinge (Sphinx) who then kills herself. In return for his victory, Oedipus is made king of Thebes and the widowed Jocasta, his mother, becomes his wife. The gods, irritated by this incestuous union, start an epidemic in Thebes, which lasts until the prophet Esone explains its cause. Upon learning the truth, Oedipus, horrified, gouges out his own eyes and kills himself.

Glove-puppet

Bologna

Handwritten summary

Greek mythology

Parricide

Incest

Oracle

Destiny

Tragic

Laius

Queen

Jocasta

Creon

Oedipus

Minister

Priest

Fagiolino

Shepherd

Augur

Prologue

Unveiling

Self-mutilation

Suicide on stage

Edipo Re di Tebe con Faggiolino pastore

Oedipus king of Thebes with Faggiolino the shepherd

Arlecchino, on horseback, and Facanapa, on a donkey, are strolling, when they meet a man wearing a hairshirt. Arlecchino thinks that he is a wizard and his enemy, and challenges him. The man tells him that, if he wins, Arlecchino will have to follow him everywhere. Arlecchino answers that if he is the one to win, the man will have to assist the noble Colombina, his beloved. Arlecchino loses the duel, and is forced to follow the man to a castle where he is locked up with Facanapa. The owner explains that he is not a wizard but the marquis Francesco Del Ponte, back from a pilgrimage. He assures that Arlecchino is not a knight but the servant Arlecchino Battocchio, and that Facanapa is a peasant, and he tells them to stop their madness. Arlecchino is sad, angry and hungry, but the marquis says that he will not give them food until they stop fooling around. Later, Arlecchino meets the castle elderly maid who recognises him. She had met him when he was a child, but he does not believe that. After fighting over a piece of bread, Arlecchino and Facanapa manage to escape and reach the woods. There, they fight against imaginary enemies made up by Arlecchino’s hallucinations. Arlecchino fiercely fights a herd of pigs, wounding and killing them. Guards arrive and throw themselves at him. Arlecchino, who thinks he has been turned into a donkey, starts braying. Facanapa concludes, and says that a servant can become both a knight and a donkey.

String marionette

All audiences

Wandering

Knight

Madness

Comical

Arlecchino cavaliere errante e Facanapa suo scudiere (circa 1900)

Arlecchino

Facanapa

Horseman

Sancho Panza

Marquis

Maid

Guardian

Misunderstanding

Hallucination

Blow-with-a-stick

Fight with an animal

Scene of madness

Arlecchino cavaliere errante e Facanapa suo scudiere

Harlequin the wandering knight and Facanapa his horseman

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.

L'Empio punito

Il Colombo

overo L'India scoperta

Teodosio il Giovane

Edipo Re di Tebe con Faggiolino pastore

Arlecchino cavaliere errante e Facanapa suo scudiere

Battaglia tra Bradamante e Marfisa

I tre moschettieri

Battaglia tra Bradamante e Ruggero e Marfisa

Riconoscimento