Antonio Collalto (1713 – 5 July 1778) was an Italian actor and writer, mainly of comedies in

Commedia dell'arte (; ; ) was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is also known as , , and . Charact ...

style. Collalto was born in Florence. As a young man, he was a soldier, but he afterwards became an actor, often playing the masked role of Pantalone. He also wrote many plays for his theater including ''il Pantalone avaro'' (The Jealous Pantalone); ''il Pantalone ringiovanito'' (The Rejuvenated Pantalone); ''la Famiglia in Discordia'' (The Family in Discord); ''il Pantalone padre severo'' (Pantalone the Strict Father); ''il Ritorno il'Argentina'' (The Return from Argentina); and finally ''Tre gemelli veneziani'' (Three Venetian Twins); in four acts from 1775. This latter comedy was very popular and was translated into French. Collalto would play the parts of all three twins. In English, the story was made into '' The Three and the Deuce'' (1795) by Prince Hoare. Collalto was applauded as a comedic actor for Italian plays in Paris.

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Collalto, Antonio 18th-century Italian male actors Italian male stage actors 1713 births 1778 deaths Commedia dell'arte Writers from Florence Italian dramatists and playwrights Male actors from Florence Writers from the Grand Duchy of Tuscany