Caterina Biancolelli (1665–1716) was an Italian actress in the

commedia dell'arte Commedia dell'arte was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Theatre of Italy, Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is a ...

style of theater. She was one of the earliest actresses to play the role of

Colombina Columbine ( Italian: Colombina; French: Colombine; ) is a stock character in the commedia dell'arte. She is Harlequin's mistress, a comic servant playing the tricky slave type, and wife of Pierrot. Rudlin and Crick use the Italian spelling C ...

, and one of the most famous. Biancolelli was the daughter of actors Domenico Biancolelli (1636–1688), famous for playing

Harlequin Harlequin (, , ; , ) is the best-known of the comic servant characters (Zanni) from the Italian commedia dell'arte, associated with the city of Bergamo. The role is traditionally believed to have been introduced by the Italian actor-manager Zan ...

, and Orsola Cortesi (1637–1718), who played an '' innamorata'' named Eularia. Her grandmother was the actress Isabella Franchini Biancolelli, who had also played Colombina. Biancolelli and her family were members of the

Comédie-Italienne Comédie-Italienne () or Théâtre-Italien () are French names which have been used to refer to Italian-language theatre and opera when performed in France. The earliest recorded visits by Italian players were ''commedia dell'arte'' companies ...

troupe ''Ancienne Troupe de la Comedia Italienne'', which performed in France. Biancolelli began playing Colombina in her family's troupe in 1683. In that same year, she and the rest of the troupe received positive reviews from Donneau de Visé in the journal ''

Mercure galant The () was originally a French gazette and literary magazine first published in the 17th century, but after several incarnations has evolved as a publisher, and is now part of the Éditions Gallimard publishing group. The gazette was publish ...

''. In 1695, she played Arlecchina, a female version of Harlequin, in ''Le Retour de la foire de Bezons'' by Evaristo Gherardi. Along with acting, she was known for her singing, dancing, and musical talents. Her acting career ended when Italian theater in Paris was closed in 1697 and she refused to join the French theater.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bianconelli, Caterina 1665 births 1716 deaths Commedia dell'arte actors 17th-century Italian actresses Italian stage actresses 17th-century French actresses French stage actresses French people of Italian descent

See also

References