Commedia Dell'Arte | Mama Lisa's World Blog

A French Carnival Song with a Connection to the Commedia dell’Arte in Italy and the Carnival in Venice

Saturday, February 18th, 2006

Carnival in Venice, Italy is a time for dressing in costumes and masks, singing and dancing, and even going to masked balls. What’s interesting is that many of the masks used during the Carnival come from the Commedia dell’Arte.

The Commedia dell’Arte was a troup of actors who would travel around Italy and perform comedies outdoors. The characters they used were often the same, so that people became familiar with them. Most of the actors would perform with masks and different characters had their own distinguishable mask.

The characters included Harlequin (an acrobat), Pulcinella (a mean hunchback who goes after women, he was the model for Punch in Punch and Judy), Colombine (Harlequin’s lover), the Captain (a soldier who’s boastful, yet cowardly) and Pierrot (a dreamer and a clown).

Interestingly, some of these Commedia dell’Arte characters made their way into a French Carnival song called Monsieur Carnaval.

Monsieur Carnaval seems to be a French invention. He’s responsible for all the wrongdoing people do throughout the year. At Carnival time in France, Monsieur Carnaval is judged for his behavior throughout the preceding year. Usually he’s found guilty and an effigy of him is burned at the Carnival.

Here are the lyrics to Mr. Carnaval in French, with an English translation…

Monsieur Carnaval
(French)

Monsieur Carnaval d’un coup de cymbale
Donne le signal pour ouvrir le bal.
Un polichinelle qui ne danse pas
Attend que sa belle lui donne le bras

Refrain:
Zim et boum et tara ta ta
Zim et boum dansons la polka.
Zim et boum et tara ta ta
Zim et boum dansons la polka.

Pauvre Colombine a le coeur bien gros
Car chez la voisine s’est enfui Pierrot
Arlequin arrache son masque de soie
Arlequin se fâche cela va de soi.

Refrain

Marquis et marquises du temps d’autrefois
Dansent à leur guise la polka du roi.
Quand finit la danse l’on se remercie
D’une réverence et l’on applaudit

Refrain

Here is Monsieur Carnaval in English…

Mr. Carnival
(English)

Mr. Carnival, with a bang on the cymbal
Gives the signal to open the ball.
A Pulcinella that isn’t dancing
Waits for his pretty one to give him an arm.

Refrain:
Zim and boom and tara ta ta
Zim and boom, let’s dance the polka.
Zim and boom and tara ta ta
Zim and boom, let’s dance the polka.

Poor Colombine has a heavy heart
For Pierrot has escaped to the neighbor’s house
Harlequin tears off his silk mask.
Harlequin loses his temper, it’s obvious.

Refrain

The marquis and marquises from another time
Dance, in their costumes, the King’s polka.
When the dance finishes, they thank each other
With reverence, and they applaud.

Refrain

Many thanks to Monique Palomares of Mama Lisa’s World en français for help with the translation.

-Lisa

UPDATE: You can see a Carnival Mask Here. Also, click on the comments below for an Italian children’s song that mentions characters from the Comedia dell’arte.

Come visit the Mama Lisa’s World France page for more French children’s songs with their English translations and…

Mama Lisa’s World en français for children’s songs around the world with their French translations.

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