''Vecchio'' (; plural ''vecchi'', meaning "old one" or simply "old"), is a category of aged, male characters from the Italian ''

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 ...

''. The primary members of this group are

Pantalone Pantalone , spelled Pantaloon in English, is one of the most important principal characters found in . With his exceptional greed and status at the top of the social order, Pantalone is "money" in the commedia world. His full name, including fam ...

Il Dottore Il Dottore (, 'the Doctor'), commonly known in Italian as ''Dottor Balan'' or simply ''Balanzone'' (; Bolognese egl, Dutåur Balanzån) is a '' commedia dell'arte'' stock character, in one scenario being an obstacle to young lovers. Il Dottore ...

Robert Henke Robert B. Henke (born 1969) is a German computer music artist working in the fields of audiovisual installation, music and performance. He was born in Munich, Germany, and lives in Berlin. Coming from an engineering background, Henke is fascinat ...

''Performance and literature in the commedia dell'arte'', Improvvisation and characters, Individual roles, pp.19-24 and

Il Capitano Il Capitano (, Italian for "The Captain") is one of the four stock characters of ''Commedia dell'arte.'' He most likely was never a "Captain" but rather appropriated the name for himself. He is often a braggart and a swaggerer who can mainta ...

. Pantalone and Il Dottore are the

alter ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I", " doppelgänger") means an alternate self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other self, one with a differen ...

of each other, Pantalone being the decadent wealthy merchant, and Il Dottore being the decadent erudite. They are overwhelmingly the

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the chief foe of the protagonist. Etymology The English word antagonist comes from the Greek ἀνταγωνιστής – ''antagonistēs'', "opponent, competitor, villain, enemy, riv ...

s, opposing the love of the ''

innamorati ''Gli Innamorati'' (, meaning "The Lovers") were stock characters within the theatre style known as commedia dell'arte, who appeared in 16th century Italy. In the plays, everything revolved around the Lovers in some regard. These dramatic and pos ...

''; the comic ending is produced when the ''

zanni Zanni (), Zani or Zane is a character type of commedia dell'arte best known as an astute servant and a trickster. The Zanni comes from the countryside and is known to be a "dispossessed immigrant worker".Rudlin, John. ''Commedia dell'arte: An Act ...

'' manage to overcome them and unite the lovers. "Vecchio" is the Italian word for "old" (as used in

Ponte Vecchio The Ponte Vecchio ("Old Bridge", ) is a medieval stone closed-spandrel segmental arch bridge over the Arno River, in Florence, Italy. The only bridge in Florence spared from destruction during the Second World War, it is noted for the shops bui ...

, meaning "old bridge").

References

Vecchio {{theat-stub