A costume design for The Doctor.

Il Dottore or the Doctor (usually called Dottore Balanzone, Dottore Baloardo, or Dottore Graziano) is a commedia dell'arte stock character, he is a local aristocrat or doctor of medicine or doctor of law (lawyer), or doctor of anything he claims to know everything about which is most things. He went all the way to Bologna to read for his degree. He is usually extremely rich, with "old" money. He adores food and good wines, thus he is a little round. He is extremely pompous, and loves the sound of his own voice, spouting ersatz Latin and Greek. His interaction in the play is usually mostly with Pantalone, either as a friend, mentor or competitor. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1962x2448, 252 KB) Costume design for The Doctor by Talia Felix (Talia. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1962x2448, 252 KB) Costume design for The Doctor by Talia Felix (Talia. ... Karel Dujardins set his closely-observed scene of a travelling troupes makeshift stage against idealized ruins in the Roman Campagna: dated 1657 (Louvre Museum) Commedia dellarte (Italian: comedy of professional artists also interpreted as comedy of humors), also known as Extemporal Comedy, was a popular form of improvisational... A stock character is a fictional character that relies heavily on cultural types or stereotypes for its personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Pantalone is a stock character that is classified as one of the vecchio or old men in Commedia dellarte. ...

He is typically depicted as an elderly man who only knows nonsense. He makes many cruel jokes about the opposite sex and believes that he knows everything about everything. He is an obese man that enjoys the bottle and eating to excess. His mask is unique in that it is the only mask in Commedia dell'arte to cover only the forehead and nose. It is sometimes black in color or else flesh-toned with a red nose.

His costume is usually all or mostly black, sometimes with a white collar. He frequently wears a hat, and long, trailing robes. If the actor playing him is not naturally fat then he is padded out to make him seem so.

The saying you are full of Baloney is in reference to this characters having been to the academy of Bologna. ^{[citation needed]}

Il Dottore speaks in non sequitur (sentences that do not follow on from each other) for example: "I am starved, is there any cheese left in the fridge, the feathers on that pigeon are beautiful..."

Some Lazzi of the Doctor

• The Doctor mispronounces Pantalone's name in stupid and embarrassing ways and then asks for sexual favors from his wife or daughter.

• Seizing upon some trivial and well-known fact, The Doctor pretends that he has made the discovery, which is of the utmost importance.

• (in English productions) The Doctor attempts to conjugate English words as if they are Latin (i.e. complaining he’s been attacked by “hoodla” instead of “hoodlums” or speaking of going “inside and exside.”)

Lazzi (from the Italian lazzo, a joke or witticism) is a bit of well-rehearsed comic action used in the Commedia dellarte. ... Pantalone is a stock character that is classified as one of the vecchio or old men in Commedia dellarte. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ...

Famous Plays

• Gratiano from plays written by Shakespeare
• The doctors from Le Malade imaginaire one of Molière's plays
• Dr. Bartholo from The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro.

William Shakespeare—born April 1564; baptised April 26, 1564; died April 23, 1616 (O.S.), May 3, 1616 (N.S.)—has a reputation as the greatest of all writers in English. ... Le Malade imaginaire (roughly The Hypochondriac) is a play and the last work by Molière. ... Molière, engraved frontispiece to his Works. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Le nozze di Figaro ossia la folle giornata (Trans: ), K. 492, is an opera buffa (comic opera) composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, Le mariage de Figaro (1784). ...

References