Rico y Alex - Revision history

Djando at 20:10, 15 March 2024

2024-03-15T20:10:24Z

Djando: /* Rico & Alex */

2022-03-11T01:41:50Z

‎Rico & Alex

Djando: /* Clowns */

2022-03-11T01:32:33Z

‎Clowns

Djando: /* Image Gallery */

2021-11-18T19:35:17Z

‎Image Gallery

Djando: /* Image Gallery */

2021-11-18T19:33:47Z

‎Image Gallery

Djando: /* Epilogue */

2021-11-18T19:21:04Z

‎Epilogue

Djando: /* Epilogue */

2021-11-18T19:18:54Z

‎Epilogue

Djando: /* Epilogue */

2021-11-18T19:18:29Z

‎Epilogue

Djando: /* Rico & Alex */

2021-11-18T19:14:01Z

‎Rico & Alex

Djando at 19:12, 18 November 2021

2021-11-18T19:12:33Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:10, 15 March 2024
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−	[[File:Rico_and_Alex.jpg\|right\|~~300px~~]]	+	[[File:Rico_and_Alex.jpg\|right\|350px]]
	==Clowns==		==Clowns==

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 [[File:Alex_Briatore.png|thumb|right|300px|Alex (1928)]]At the outset of the war in the summer of 1914, after a short visit to the family patriarch, Giuseppe Briatore, in Italy, Rico & Alex returned to Spain. The country had remained neutral in the European conflict, and they toured all its major circuses and variety theaters (of which Spain had plenty) for the duration of WWI. They ended this period of their career in 1918 at the ''Circo Ecuestre al Teatre Comic'', opened in 1912 by Luis Casaesca in Barcelona, where they shared the bill with [[Antonet & Béby]] and the [[Hermanos Albano]], in a show that featured thus three of the best and most celebrated clown teams of the period&mdash;a rare treat for the connoisseurs, and for the public at large!
-Rico & Alex resumed their European tours, although they still worked regularly in Spain, doing regular seasons at Madrid's [[Circo Price (Madrid)|Circo Price]] and at the [[Coliseu dos Recreios]] in Lisbon, Portugal. In Madrid, they were great favorites of King Alfonso XIII, who saw them several times and even invited them to play at the Palacio Real (Royal Palace); they also performed for King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy. In the 1920s, they began to offer two acts: Theirs, and the D'Angolys, the juggling act of Alex's sons, Emilio, and Alessandro, who also participated in some entrées.
+Rico & Alex resumed their European tours, although they still worked often in Spain, doing regular seasons at Madrid's [[Circo Price (Madrid)|Circo Price]] and at the [[Coliseu dos Recreios]] in Lisbon, Portugal. In Madrid, they were great favorites of King Alfonso XIII, who saw them several times and even invited them to play at the Palacio Real (Royal Palace); they also performed for King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy. In the 1920s, they began to offer two acts: Theirs, and the D'Angolys, the juggling act of Alex's sons, Emilio, and Alessandro, who also participated in some entrées.
 In 1927, they returned to Paris, the stage of their greatest triumphs, this time at the [[Cirque d'Hiver]]. They were supposed to begin in September, but Alex fell ill and their debut was postponed&mdash;although the D'Angolys showed in time! The press wondered if, after fifteen years, Rico & Alex could still deliver with the same freshness and talent. Their fears were dissipated in October when they finally arrived: They had not changed, but although Parisian audiences still liked them, their success had been somehow tarnished by the long presence before them, in that very circus, of the [[Les Fratellini|Fratellinis]], whose style was at the opposite of Rico & Alex's subtle and poetic humor.

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:32, 11 March 2022
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−	During the first half of the twentieth century, the Spanish clowns Rico y Alex (Enrico Briatore, 1881-1965, and Alessandro Briatore, 1870-1960), who came from an Italian circus family, were among Europe's most celebrated clowns. In Paris, they dethroned the legendary [[Foottit and Chocolat]] from their place of preëminence when they starred in the "Temple of Clowns", the famous [[Cirque Medrano (Paris)\|Cirque Medrano]], ~~from~~ four consecutive years, from 1910 to 1914. They were acrobats, musicians, and singers, and they spoke seven languages (Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, English, Russian, and even a little Catalan), which allowed them to build a very successful international career. Although they spoke in their act, they didn't rely much on verbal comedy, which was trendy then: Rico and Alex were very physical, but their visual humor had a surprising elegance and a very human, charming touch that appealed greatly to their audiences.	+	During the first half of the twentieth century, the Spanish clowns Rico y Alex (Enrico Briatore, 1881-1965, and Alessandro Briatore, 1870-1960), who came from an Italian circus family, were among Europe's most celebrated clowns. In Paris, they dethroned the legendary [[Foottit and Chocolat]] from their place of preëminence when they starred in the "Temple of Clowns", the famous [[Cirque Medrano (Paris)\|Cirque Medrano]], for four consecutive years, from 1910 to 1914. They were acrobats, musicians, and singers, and they spoke seven languages (Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, English, Russian, and even a little Catalan), which allowed them to build a very successful international career. Although they spoke in their act, they didn't rely much on verbal comedy, which was trendy then: Rico and Alex were very physical, but their visual humor had a surprising elegance and a very human, charming touch that appealed greatly to their audiences.

	===The Briatores===		===The Briatores===

@@ Line 59: / Line 59: @@
 File:Alex_Briatore.png|Alex (1928)
 File:Rico_Alex_Magazine.jpg|Magazine Cover featuring Rico & Alex (c.1930)
-File:Rico_and_Alex_in_Town.jpg|Alex and Rico (c.1942)
+File:Rico_and_Alex_in_Town.jpg|Alex and Rico Briatore (c.1942)
 </Gallery>
 [[Category:Artists and Acts|Rico y Alex]][[Category:Clowns|Rico y Alex]]

@@ Line 52: / Line 52: @@
 <Gallery>
-File:Rico_y_Alex.jpeg|Rico y Alex (c.1910)
+File:Rico_y_Alex.jpeg|Rico & Alex (c.1910)
-File:Rico_and_Alex.jpg|Rico y Alex (c.1920)
+File:Rico_and_Alex.jpg|Rico & Alex (c.1920)
 File:Rico_Alex_and_Dangolys.png|Rico & Alex with Alex's sons, Emilio and Alessandro (c.1925)
 File:Rico_Briatore.jpg|Rico (1928)
 File:Alex_Briatore.png|Alex (1928)

@@ Line 43: / Line 43: @@
 Rico continued to travel for some time with the D'Angolys (whose act included his daughter, Micaela) and finally retired in 1949 to the house he had bought in Valencia, on Spain's eastern coast; his daughter moved with him. Always elegant and impeccably dressed, Rico continued to travel and visit fellow performers in Spain and maintained a busy social life until the end. He passed away at his home in Valencia on February 8, 1965, at age eighty-four, just five years after he uncle and partner, Alex.
-Rico and Alex had been among the finest clowns of the first half of the twentieth century. Said Tristan Rémy: "[Rico] had the serious face of a tragic mime, but his voice was soft, persuasive, and made us forget the rigidity of his mask. His laugh was good natured, jovial, and intelligent. (…) Alex's comedy didn't exclude pathos. He was funny but always touching. There was a child's heart under the buffoon's outfit. With him, the slightest joke had a special charm. Everything, with Rico & Alex, tended to have a sentimental value. (…) There was between these two clowns, always, a phenomenal echo that maintained their acting on the same key. Such was their cohesion that they seemed to be only one, that more than a complement, they were the extension of one another."
+Rico and Alex had been among the finest clowns of the first half of the twentieth century. Said Tristan Rémy: "[Rico] had the serious face of a tragic mime, but his voice was soft, persuasive, and made us forget the rigidity of his mask. His laugh was good natured, jovial, and intelligent. (…) Alex's comedy didn't exclude pathos. He was funny but always touching. There was a child's heart under the buffoon's outfit. With him, the slightest joke had a special charm. Everything, with Rico & Alex, tended to have a sentimental value. (…) There was between these two clowns, always, a phenomenal echo that maintained their acting on the same key. Such was their cohesion that they seemed to be only one, that, more than a complement, they were the extension of one another."
 ==Suggested Reading==

@@ Line 39: / Line 39: @@
 ===Epilogue===
-Rico & Alex resumed their regular seasons at Circo Price and the Coliseu dos Recreios and toured the country as they had done during WWI. Alex performed for the last time in Fuencarral (today a Madrid's neighborhood), in 1945. He was seventy-five&mdash;seventy years of which he had spent in the ring or on stage. He retired to his home at the Ronda de Sant Pau in Barcelona to tend to his wife Emilia, who was in poor health and sadly passed away soon after. Alex Briatore died in Barcelona on February 28, 1960, in his ninetieth year.
+Rico & Alex resumed their regular seasons at Circo Price and the Coliseu dos Recreios and toured the country as they had done during WWI. Alex performed for the last time in Fuencarral (today a Madrid's neighborhood), in 1945. He was seventy-five&mdash;seventy years of which he had spent in the ring or on stage. He retired to his home at the Ronda de Sant Pau in Barcelona to tend to his wife, Emilia, who was in poor health and sadly passed away soon after. Alex Briatore died in Barcelona on February 28, 1960, in his ninetieth year.
 Rico continued to travel for some time with the D'Angolys (whose act included his daughter, Micaela) and finally retired in 1949 to the house he had bought in Valencia, on Spain's eastern coast; his daughter moved with him. Always elegant and impeccably dressed, Rico continued to travel and visit fellow performers in Spain and maintained a busy social life until the end. He passed away at his home in Valencia on February 8, 1965, at age eighty-four, just five years after he uncle and partner, Alex.

@@ Line 27: / Line 27: @@
 A clown himself, [[Geronimo Medrano]], who was of Spanish origin and, therefore, kept abreast of the circus scene in his native country, was aware of their success. In 1910, Rico & Alex arrived at the fabled [[Cirque Medrano (Paris)|Cirque Medrano]] in Paris, where they quickly became the French capital's favorite clowns, taking the place held until then by the legendary Foottit & Chocolat, whose career was on the wane. Rico & Alex remained Medrano's star clowns for four years until the advent of the First World War in 1914, delighting the clown-savvy Medrano audiences with their vast repertoire of short, energetic entrées, and their remarkable acrobatic and musical talents. (In his seminal book ''Les Clowns'', published in 1945, the great clown historian Tristan Rémy, who had seen Rico & Alex and appreciated them greatly, describes at length their unique personalities and gives an interesting aperçu of their style and repertoire.)
-[[File:Alex_Briatore.png|thumb|right|300px|Alex (1928)]]At the outset of the war in the summer of 1914, after a short visit to the family patriarch, Giuseppe Briatore, in Italy, Rico & Alex returned to Spain. The country had remained neutral in the European conflict, and they toured all its major circuses and variety theaters (of which Spain had plenty) for the duration of WWI. They ended this period of their career in 1918 at the ''Circo Ecuestre al Teatre Comic'', open in 1912 by Luis Casaesca in Barcelona, where they shared the bill with [[Antonet & Béby]] and the [[Hermanos Albano]], in a show that featured thus three of the best and most celebrated clown teams of the period&mdash;a rare treat for the connoisseurs, and for the public at large!
+[[File:Alex_Briatore.png|thumb|right|300px|Alex (1928)]]At the outset of the war in the summer of 1914, after a short visit to the family patriarch, Giuseppe Briatore, in Italy, Rico & Alex returned to Spain. The country had remained neutral in the European conflict, and they toured all its major circuses and variety theaters (of which Spain had plenty) for the duration of WWI. They ended this period of their career in 1918 at the ''Circo Ecuestre al Teatre Comic'', opened in 1912 by Luis Casaesca in Barcelona, where they shared the bill with [[Antonet & Béby]] and the [[Hermanos Albano]], in a show that featured thus three of the best and most celebrated clown teams of the period&mdash;a rare treat for the connoisseurs, and for the public at large!
 Rico & Alex resumed their European tours, although they still worked regularly in Spain, doing regular seasons at Madrid's [[Circo Price (Madrid)|Circo Price]] and at the [[Coliseu dos Recreios]] in Lisbon, Portugal. In Madrid, they were great favorites of King Alfonso XIII, who saw them several times and even invited them to play at the Palacio Real (Royal Palace); they also performed for King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy. In the 1920s, they began to offer two acts: Theirs, and the D'Angolys, the juggling act of Alex's sons, Emilio, and Alessandro, who also participated in some entrées.

@@ Line 25: / Line 25: @@
 Rico & Alex met with enormous success at the Circo Ecuestre al Tívoli, and their career was truly launched there. Unfortunately, Gil Vicente Alegría committed suicide in October 1908, and his widow, Micaela, decided to close the Circo Ecuestre and leave the Tívoli at the end of the season, in December. Alegría's Circo Ecuestre had been Rico & Alex's home until that time, the place where they had developed their repertoire, and their success had been indeed noticed across the Spanish border.
-A clown himself, [[Geronimo Medrano]], who was of Spanish origin and, therefore, kept abreast of the circus scene in his native country, was aware of their success. In 1910, Rico & Alex arrived at the fabled [[Cirque Medrano (Paris)|Cirque Medrano]] in Paris, where they quickly became the French capital's favorite clowns, taking the place held until then by the legendary Foottit & Chocolat, whose career was on the wane. Rico & Alex remained Medrano's star clowns for four years until the advent of the First World War in 1914, delighting the clown-savvy Medrano audiences with their vast repertoire of short, energetic entrées, and their remarkable acrobatic and musical talents. (In his seminal book ''Les Clowns'' (1945), the great clown historian Tristan Rémy, who had seen Rico & Alex and appreciated them greatly, describes at length their unique personalities and gives an interesting aperçu of their style and repertoire.)
+A clown himself, [[Geronimo Medrano]], who was of Spanish origin and, therefore, kept abreast of the circus scene in his native country, was aware of their success. In 1910, Rico & Alex arrived at the fabled [[Cirque Medrano (Paris)|Cirque Medrano]] in Paris, where they quickly became the French capital's favorite clowns, taking the place held until then by the legendary Foottit & Chocolat, whose career was on the wane. Rico & Alex remained Medrano's star clowns for four years until the advent of the First World War in 1914, delighting the clown-savvy Medrano audiences with their vast repertoire of short, energetic entrées, and their remarkable acrobatic and musical talents. (In his seminal book ''Les Clowns'', published in 1945, the great clown historian Tristan Rémy, who had seen Rico & Alex and appreciated them greatly, describes at length their unique personalities and gives an interesting aperçu of their style and repertoire.)
 [[File:Alex_Briatore.png|thumb|right|300px|Alex (1928)]]At the outset of the war in the summer of 1914, after a short visit to the family patriarch, Giuseppe Briatore, in Italy, Rico & Alex returned to Spain. The country had remained neutral in the European conflict, and they toured all its major circuses and variety theaters (of which Spain had plenty) for the duration of WWI. They ended this period of their career in 1918 at the ''Circo Ecuestre al Teatre Comic'', open in 1912 by Luis Casaesca in Barcelona, where they shared the bill with [[Antonet & Béby]] and the [[Hermanos Albano]], in a show that featured thus three of the best and most celebrated clown teams of the period&mdash;a rare treat for the connoisseurs, and for the public at large!