Giovanni Gabrielli (died between 1603 and 1611) was an Italian actor of the ''
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 ...
'', who performed under the name Sivello.
[Senelick, Laurence, p. 407 ("Gabrielli family") in Banham 1995.]
Biography
Gabrielli was particularly famous for portraying several characters talking together in different languages.
[ The 18th-century historian ]Francesco Saverio Quadrio
Francesco Saverio Quadrio (1 December 1695 – 21 November 1756)Waller & Eadie 1863vol. 3, p. 619 was an Italian scholar, historian, and writer. His most famous work is ''Della storia e della ragione di ogni poesia'', a voluminous history of poetr ...
relates that Gabrielli was able to impersonate women with his voice only, without the benefit of a costume change. His portrait was engraved by Agostino Carracci
Agostino Carracci (or Caracci) (16 August 1557 – 22 March 1602) was an Italian painter, printmaker, tapestry designer, and art teacher. He was, together with his brother, Annibale Carracci, and cousin, Ludovico Carracci, one of the founders of ...
.
His son Francesco Gabrielli
Francesco Gabrielli (1588–1636) was an Italian actor of the ''commedia dell'arte''. He was particularly famous as a virtuoso musician, who was an accomplished player of a dozen musical instruments.Senelick 1995. He is sometimes credited with ...
was also a well known actor.[
]
Publications
Two works of Gabrielli were published in Bologna in the early 17th century:
* ''Villanelle Nuove Composte per Giovanni Gabrielli detto il Sivello'' (Bologna, 1601)
* ''Il Studio, Comedia Nova, Composta per Giovanni Gabrielli da Modona, detto il Sivello'' (Bologna, 1602)
Notes
Bibliography
* Askew, Pamela (1978). "Fetti's 'Portrait of an Actor' Reconsidered", ''The Burlington Magazine'', vol. 120, no. 899 (February 1978), pp. 59–65.
* Banham, Martin, editor (1995). ''The Cambridge Guide to the Theatre'' (new edition). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. .
* Mahon, Denis (1947; reprint 1971). ''Studies in Seicento Art and Theory''. London: Warburg Institute, University of London (1947). . Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood (1971). .
* Quadrio, Francesco Saverio (1744). ''Della storia e della ragione di ogni poesia'', vol. 3, part 2. Milan: Francesco Agnelli
Copy
at the Internet Archive.
* Rasi, Luigi (1897–1905). ''I Comici Italiani: Biografia, bibliografia, iconografia'', 3 volumes. Florence: Fratelli Boca
Catalog record
at HathiTrust
HathiTrust Digital Library is a large-scale collaborative repository of digital content from research libraries including content digitized via Google Books and the Internet Archive digitization initiatives, as well as content digitized locally ...
.
*
External links
Commedia dell'arte
Year of birth uncertain
Year of death uncertain
17th-century deaths
17th-century Italian male actors
{{Italy-stage-actor-stub