Brighella Cavicchio is the Commedia's first zanni. He is the tricky servant or shopkeeper who undermines the plans of the masters, Pantalone and Dottore. Brighella can be ruthless and conniving, but he has a deadly charm about him as well. Brighella is the schemer of the cast. He recruits other zanni to help him spoil the masters' plans. Often, he is the servant of one of the lovers, and helps his master achieve happiness (while gaining a little personal reward as well.) Perhaps the most disturbing of all the Commedia characters, later Brighella's actually carried daggers on them to accentuate their dangerousness.
Performers portraying Harlequin gradually made him a smarter character until he eventually usurped Brighella's position. In English Pantomime, a style of theater based on the Commedia del Arte, John Rich completed the evolution of Harlequin elevating it to starring position. New characters evolved to assume the position of Harlequin's stupid victims. One of these was the whiteface clown.
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