The Love of Thee Oranges

Speaker of the Prologue

Silvio, King of Hearts, monarch of an imaginary kingdom; he is costumed like the figure on the playing cards

Prince Tartaglia, son of Silvio, heir to the throne

Pantalone, male servant and adviser to the King

Prince Clarice, niece to the King, second in line of succession to the throne

Truffaldino, a famous jester, later servant to Prince Tartaglia

Leonardo, First Minister of the realm; he is costumed like the Jack of Hearts on the playing cards

Brighella, a male servant to Leonardo

Celio, a good wizard

Fata Morgana, an evil witch

Farfarello, a devil

The Wind God, a mime role

Smeraldina, a female servant to Fata Morgana

A girl dressed in white (formerly an orange)

Another girl dressed in white (formerly an orange)

Princess Ninetta, another girl dressed in white (also formerly an orange)

Creonta, an evil witch

The time is the imaginary present.

SPEAKER OF THE PROLOGUE: Welcome, ladies and gentlemen! But your humble servants, the actors of the old commedia dell’arte, are confused and embarrassed. They are standing there, behind the scenes, with their hands over their ears and with sad faces. And that isn’t enough, because they can still hear people say: “They are dried out.” “They always give the audience the same old comedies that stink of mold.” “They’re an affront, a farce, a joke, and a cheat.”

I swear to you that to get back your esteem the actors back there would be willing to lose their teeth, and eyes even, and they sent me ahead to tell you that most sincerely. So please sit still and remain patient, dear audience, for a few moments until I explain some things to you, and then you can do what you will to me.

We players of the commedia dell’arte don’t know how to please you anymore. A play that was such a hit many years ago is now no longer any good. The wheel of public taste moves with the wind it seems, and we can’t predict where we eat regularly, and then our stomachs are full.

Today to be successful a comedy must have a complicated plot, many conflicts and surprising situations, some shady characters, and a sudden turn of events So we stand here with fearful hearts, looking at each other confused and afraid. Because it’s necessary to eat, we’ll turn once again to our old comedies and try again to entertain you.

Yet I don’t know why it is that we can no longer interest you – we who were formerly threated so well by you. It seems incredible. Is our lack of slang, perhaps, the cause of this? Well, then, in this world everything is corruptible, even language, and we have the patience to endure anything, but your hatred and neglect are really too much for us to bear.