Goldoni: La Commedia dell'Arte

Portrait of Carlo Goldoni At the time, commedia dell'arte was at its peak on the theatre stage.

Each mask performed their own personal act, always the same, drawing freely from their repertoire of "lazzi" and well-known gags eagerly awaited by the audience.

During his travels, the lawyer Goldoni observed all kinds of Pantalones (always in need), Doctor Balanzones, Colombines and Harlequins.

Not just in the theatre... but in real life.

Very real and as varied as possible.

An infinite number of characters behind each mask that Goldoni wants to remove, to give them a voice and show them to the public as they really are, with their faces uncovered.

Theatre is in Life and Life is a Show

Goldoni, La Bottega del Caffè Little by little, Goldoni removed the masks of the commedia dell'arte by persuading the actors to learn the roles of individual characters by heart and abandon the improvised responses (lazzi) that expressed the temperament of Arlequin or Pantalon.

He wanted to replace somersaults and tricks with the truth of life by showing real characters with their complex and contradictory passions.

The stage was an excellent test with the public.

So much so that the canvas and masks were replaced by a script and well-defined but richer roles.

The old set design of the square was replaced by familiar scenes from everyday life: a café table where people played cards and shared secrets, a quay with workers at work, a courtroom, a shop... and things that no one even noticed became objects of entertainment!

1747: He Abandoned His Career as a Lawyer

Carlo Goldoni In 1747, Goldoni abandoned his career as a lawyer for good : he was hired as a resident writer at the “Théâtre Sant'Angelo” in Venice by the capocomico Gerolamo Medebac.

For an annual salary of 450 ducats, he was required to write eight plays and two other theatrical compositions.

1748-1762: The Venetian Years

At the age of 40, Goldoni was finally able to devote himself entirely to his passion for theatre.

Venice and its audience stimulated his creativity to such an extent that most (and the best) of his plays were written during this dozen years.

1750-51 - The Challenge: Write 16 Comedies in a Single Season

To satisfy the demands of the San'Angelo audience, he set himself the challenge of writing 16 new comedies in a single season.

He ended up offering 17! Among others: “Pamela, The Comic Theatre, The Café, The Liar, The Honourable Adventurer, The Venetian Lawyer, The Flatterer, The Gossips, Molière”.

1752: New Contract with the Grimani Family

Goldoni, Gli Uccellatori Goldoni signed a new contract with the Grimani family that year.

For 50 ducats a month, he was to provide eight plays a year to the San Luca Theatre (now the Teatro Goldoni).

The audience was more distinguished than at the San'Angelo.

1752: “The Jealous Women, The Servant in Love, The Feudal Lord”.
1753: “The Curious Women, The Locandiera”...
1754-1755:“The Housewives, The Holiday, Women at Home”.

1757: Count Gozzi, a passionate defender of the Commedia dell'Arte and the Italian language, attacked Goldoni with a parody: Le Morbinose (those who have morbin or the rage to laugh).

While criticising his loose style and overly popular theatre, he shows that the public is easily fooled by childishness.

Carlo Goldoni Criticised...

Carlo Goldoni

“He has deafened the ears and conquered the hearts of the common people, especially the gondoliers of Venice [...]

But his language is the most foolish mixture of words and phrases borrowed from various Italian dialects, ridiculously Tuscanised [...]

His sentiments are so trivial, so common, that what he puts in the mouth of a princess would be more appropriate coming from her maid.”
Baretti

...Carlo Goldoni appreciated!

His comedies could be found:

“in ladies' toilets, on the desks of lords, on shop benches, in the hands of passers-by, in public and private schools, in colleges, and even in monasteries.”
Carlo Gozzi - Useless Memories

Still according to Carlo Gozzi, an abbot Salerni declared from the pulpit “that in order to write and compose his sermons, he read Goldoni's comedies tirelessly”.

However, Goldoni gained more serious supporters: Gasparo Gozzi, Verri, Albergati, Maffei; many patricians of Venice: Widmann, Grimani, Vendramin, Barberigo, Mocenigo.

Voltaire called him “Son and Painter of Nature!”

Goldoni, Intermezzi, La Birba In Europe, Voltaire was the supreme authority at the time.

He called Goldoni the “Son and painter of nature”.

Voltaire wrote to him in Italian:

“Signor mio, pittore e figlio della natura... Ho veduto la vostra anima nelle vostre opere. (My lord, painter and son of nature... I have seen your soul in your works.)

Ho detto : “ecco un uomo onesto e buono che ha purificato la scena italiana...” (I have seen your soul in your works. I said: “here is an honest and good man who has purified the Italian stage”.

“Oh! What fertility, my lord! What purity! How natural, witty and amiable the style seems to me! You have redeemed your country from the hands of the harlequins.”
Voltaire - Correspondence VIII - Letter of 24 September 1760

Goldoni the Prolific!