• Overview
• Staging information
• Translations
• Sample translations
• Production history

Scene

The play is a three-act comedia. The first act divides into scenes with several entrances and exits, while the second act takes place in one continuous scene.  The violent action of the third act is concealed in an offstage-murder, the results of which are revealed at the conclusion.

Staging

The play begins in the street at night, so a difference between outdoor and indoor locations is needed as well as a way of differentiating night from day (such as the men wearing cloaks and hats at night-time, the Golden Age practice). As Cintia appears at a balcony, the use of levels would be advantageous. Federico appears in travelling clothes on the road to Ferrara, and Casandra is found down by the river (offstage) so she would also be dressed for the road. The third scene takes place in a new location, the interior of the Ducal palace. Stage directions indicate that characters sit under a canopy, so gardens or a patio attached to the palace would be a plus. Act 2 begins in the palace and the entirety of that act is essentially in the same location (or the gardens/patio location could be used for parts of it). A letter from the Pope arrives. Act 3 is mostly in that same palatial location. The Duke arrives in a soldier’s uniform and carries letters, and Federico needs a sword to draw when he heads offstage to kill the cloaked and unconscious ‘enemy’, which turns out to be Casandra. The final scene uses a ‘discovery space’, a curtain which is pulled aside to reveal the murdered bodies of Casandra and Federico, which the Marquis invites the audience to behold.

Cast number

Minimum	Maximum
6 males	10 males
3 females	4 females
9 (total)	14 (total)

Cast information

Different translators have made different choices in cutting and conflating the characters to reduce the cast size. For example, Ricardo, Febo and Rutilio could all be played by one actor, (if you conflated Ricardo and Febo), and Lucrecia and Cintia could be doubled.

Characters

• THE DUKE OF FERRARA
• FEBO, The Duke’s servant
• RICARDO, The Duke’s servant
• CASANDRA, The Duchess of Ferrara
• LUCRECIA, The Duchess’s maidservant
• THE COUNT FEDERICO, The Duke’s illegitimate son
• BATÍN, Federico’s lackey (and the gracioso)
• THE MARQUIS OF GONZAGA, From Mantua
• RUTILIO, The Marquis’s servant
• AURORA, The Duke’s niece
• ALBANO, Servant
• FLORO, Servant
• LUCINDO, Servant
• CINTIA, Prostitute

Entry written by Kathleen Jeffs. Last updated on 10 March 2011.

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