The past couple of days, I’ve talked about the bad guys and the good guys of the opera dei pupi–so who exactly are these characters? Our heroes, the knights, and their enemies recall the age of chivalry, originating from medieval French epic poems, especially featuring King Charlemagne, pictured seated on the throne, and his court.

Despite the fact that this form of theater was most popular in the 19th into the 20th century, the stories enacted are from centuries before, yet always incorporate local and topical humor built in to the action by the puppeteers (Hence the ever-present jester!). Performances of the opera were offered every night, and often, they were presented in a “soap opera” style–in other words, you’d follow your heroes for months through a continuous plot.