Customer Reviews

Lazzi: The Comic Routines of the Commedia dell'Arte (PAJ Books)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Of all the books out there concerning commedia dell'arte, I found this one to be one of the most informative and useful (and definitely the FUNNIEST!--and isn't that the point?). Mel Gordon clearly and concisely defines what lazzi are, and presents a series of them according to type; quite appropriate, considering commedia performers often kept notebooks full of such routines. One discovers that comedy has not really changed over the centuries. Perusal of these routines brings the tradition of commedia dell'arte to life in a way that hours of poring over Flaminio Scala's work can not. A must for any student of the Italian comedy!

I teach theatre history. One of their major assignments is to create and perform a commedia piece. This was an excellent resource for my students.

This is a great book if you are interested in Commedia dell'Arte, particularly if you really want to know what the performances were like. It's an easy quick read and very enjoyable. Great for theater majors.

Expecting a book on technique, I was hugely dissapointed! Turns out the book is merely a collection of brief, general descriptions of lazzi. The Commedia character overviews also included in the book were, for my purposes, useless. The book contributes nothing new to the world of Commedia Dell'Arte. What I do find of value are the two Commedia scripts included in the book. Save your money, there are other books worth their weight in gold on the subject of Commedia Dell'Arte

This book is nothing more than a list of woodcut lazzi illustrations with obvious explanations. Completely useless in a practical approach to performance and light on historic details as well. Nothing in here anyone can find on their own. Very disappointing. This book seems more like a class hand out for a one day discussion. In fact, after having to order this book pre-Amazon, I was quite angry about it. If you are searching for a practical book with knowledge on HOW to perform Commedia, this is most certainly not that book. In fact, I can't recommend this book for any use other collecting illustrations of Woodcuts.