Carlo Goldoni
Encyclopedia
Carlo Osvaldo Goldoni was an Italian playwright and librettist
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...

 from the Republic of Venice
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...

. His works include some of Italy's most famous and best-loved plays. Audiences have admired the plays of Goldoni for their ingenious mix of wit and honesty. His plays offered his contemporaries images of themselves, often dramatizing the lives, values, and conflicts of the emerging middle class
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....

es. Though he wrote in French and Italian, his plays make rich use of the Venetian language
Venetian language
Venetian or Venetan is a Romance language spoken as a native language by over two million people, mostly in the Veneto region of Italy, where of five million inhabitants almost all can understand it. It is sometimes spoken and often well understood outside Veneto, in Trentino, Friuli, Venezia...

, regional vernacular, and colloquialisms. Goldoni also wrote under the pen name
Pen name
A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...

 and title "Polisseno Fegeio, Pastor Arcade," which he claimed in his memoirs the "Arcadians
Arcadia (utopia)
Arcadia refers to a vision of pastoralism and harmony with nature. The term is derived from the Greek province of the same name which dates to antiquity; the province's mountainous topography and sparse population of pastoralists later caused the word Arcadia to develop into a poetic byword for an...

 of Rome" bestowed on him.

Memoirs

There is an abundance of autobiographical information on Goldoni, most of which comes from the introductions to his plays and from his Memoirs. However, these memoirs are known to contain many errors of fact, especially about his earlier years.

In these memoirs, he paints himself as a born comedian, careless, light-hearted and with a happy temperament, proof against all strokes of fate, yet thoroughly respectable and honorable.

Early life and studies

Goldoni was born in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

 in 1707, the son of Margherita and Giulio Goldoni. In his memoirs, Goldoni describes his father as a physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...

, and claims that he was introduced to theatre by his grandfather Carlo Alessandro Goldoni. In reality, it seems that Giulio was an apothecary
Apothecary
Apothecary is a historical name for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses materia medica to physicians, surgeons and patients — a role now served by a pharmacist and some caregivers....

; as for the grandfather, he had died four years before Carlo's birth. In any case, Goldoni was deeply interested in theatre from his earliest years, and all attempts to direct his activity into other channels were of no avail; his toys were puppets, and his books, plays.

His father placed him under the care of the philosopher Caldini at Rimini
Rimini
Rimini is a medium-sized city of 142,579 inhabitants in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It is located on the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia and Ausa...

 but the youth soon ran away with a company of strolling players and returned to Venice. In 1723 his father matriculated him into the stern Collegio Ghislieri in Pavia
Pavia
Pavia , the ancient Ticinum, is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 35 km south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It is the capital of the province of Pavia. It has a population of c. 71,000...

, which imposed the tonsure
Tonsure
Tonsure is the traditional practice of Christian churches of cutting or shaving the hair from the scalp of clerics, monastics, and, in the Eastern Orthodox Church, all baptized members...

 and monastic habits
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...

 on its students. However, he relates in his Memoirs that a considerable part of his time was spent in reading Greek and Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 comedies. He had already begun writing at this time and, in his third year, he composed a libellous poem (Il colosso) in which he ridiculed the daughters of certain Pavian families. As a result of that incident (and/or of a visit paid with some schoolmates to a local brothel) he was expelled from the school and had to leave the city (1725). He studied law at Udine
Udine
Udine is a city and comune in northeastern Italy, in the middle of Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic sea and the Alps , less than 40 km from the Slovenian border. Its population was 99,439 in 2009, and that of its urban area was 175,000.- History :Udine is the historical...

, and eventually took his degree at Modena
Modena
Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy....

. He was employed as a law clerk at Chioggia
Chioggia
Chioggia is a coastal town and comune of the province of Venice in the Veneto region of northern Italy.-Geography:...

 and Feltre
Feltre
Feltre is a town and comune of the province of Belluno in Veneto, northern Italy. A hill town in the southern reaches of the province, it is located on the Stizzon River, about 4 km from its junction with the Piave, and 20 km southwest from Belluno...

, after which he returned to his native city and began practicing.

Educated as a lawyer, and holding lucrative positions as secretary and counsellor, he seemed, indeed, at one time to have settled down to the practice of law, but following an unexpected summons to Venice, after an absence of several years, he changed his career, and thenceforth he devoted himself to writing plays and managing theatres. His father died in 1731. In 1732, to avoid an unwanted marriage, he left the town for Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

 and then for Verona
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...

 where the theatre manager Giuseppe Imer helped him on his way to becoming a comical poet as well as introducing him to his future wife, Nicoletta Conio. Goldoni returned with her to Venice, where he stayed until 1743.

Theatrical career

He entered the Italian theatre scene with a tragedy
Tragedy
Tragedy is a form of art based on human suffering that offers its audience pleasure. While most cultures have developed forms that provoke this paradoxical response, tragedy refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of...

, Amalasunta, produced in Milan. The play was a critical and financial failure.

Submitting it to Count Prata, director of the opera, he was told that his piece "was composed with due regard for the rules of Aristotle
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...

 and Horace
Horace
Quintus Horatius Flaccus , known in the English-speaking world as Horace, was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus.-Life:...

, but not according to those laid down for the Italian drama." "In France", continued the count, "you can try to please the public, but here in Italy it is the actors and actresses whom you must consult, as well as the composer of the music and the stage decorators. Everything must be done according to a certain form which I will explain to you."

Goldoni thanked his critic, went back to his inn and ordered a fire, into which he threw the manuscript of his Amalasunta.

His next play, Belisario, written in 1734, was more successful, though of its success he afterward professed himself ashamed.

During this period he also wrote librettos for opera seria
Opera seria
Opera seria is an Italian musical term which refers to the noble and "serious" style of Italian opera that predominated in Europe from the 1710s to c. 1770...

 and served for a time as literary director of the San Giovanni Grisostomo
Teatro San Giovanni Grisostomo
The Teatro San Giovanni Grisostomo, now known as the Teatro Malibran, is an opera house in Venice. Founded in 1678 by the Grimani family, it was founded primarily to provide entertainment for the aristocracy and to advance the social position of the Grimani family, and was not expected to be a...

, Venice's most distinguished opera house
Opera house
An opera house is a theatre building used for opera performances that consists of a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and set building...

.

He wrote other tragedies for a time, but he was not long in discovering that his bent was for comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...

. He had come to realize that the Italian stage needed reforming; adopting Molière
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...

 as his model, he went to work in earnest and in 1738 produced his first real comedy, L'uomo di mondo ("The Man of the World"). During his many wanderings and adventures in Italy, he was constantly at work and when, at Livorno
Livorno
Livorno , traditionally Leghorn , is a port city on the Tyrrhenian Sea on the western edge of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of approximately 160,000 residents in 2009.- History :...

, he became acquainted with the manager Medebac, he determined to pursue the profession of playwriting in order to make a living. He was employed by Medebac to write plays for his theater in Venice. He worked for other managers and produced during his stay in that city some of his most characteristic works. He also wrote Momolo Cortesan in 1738. By 1743, he had perfected his hybrid style of playwriting (combining the model of Molière
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...

 with the strengths of Commedia dell'arte
Commedia dell'arte
Commedia dell'arte is a form of theatre characterized by masked "types" which began in Italy in the 16th century, and was responsible for the advent of the actress and improvised performances based on sketches or scenarios. The closest translation of the name is "comedy of craft"; it is shortened...

 and his own wit and sincerity). This style was typified in La Donna di garbo, the first Italian comedy of its kind.

After 1748, Goldoni collaborated with the composer Baldassare Galuppi, making significant contributions to the new form of 'opera buffa
Opera buffa
Opera buffa is a genre of opera. It was first used as an informal description of Italian comic operas variously classified by their authors as ‘commedia in musica’, ‘commedia per musica’, ‘dramma bernesco’, ‘dramma comico’, ‘divertimento giocoso' etc...

'. Galuppi composed the score for more than twenty of Goldoni's librettos. As with his comedies, Goldoni's opera buffa integrate elements of the Commedia dell'arte with recognisable local and middle-class realities. His operatic works include two of the most successful musical comedies of the eighteenth century, Il filosofo di campagna (The Country Philosopher), set by Galuppi (1752) and La buona figliuola
La buona figliuola
La Cecchina, ossia La buona figliuola is an opera buffa in three Acts by Niccolò Piccinni. The libretto, by Carlo Goldoni, is based on Samuel Richardson's novel Pamela. This was Piccinni's most successful Italian opera. There was a sequel entitled La buona figliuola maritata by the same composer...

 (The Good Girl), set by Niccolò Piccinni
Niccolò Piccinni
Niccolò Piccinni was an Italian composer of symphonies, sacred music, chamber music, and opera. Although he is somewhat obscure, even to music lovers today, Piccinni was one of the most popular composers of opera—particularly the Neapolitan opera buffa—of his day...

 (1760).

In 1753, following his return from Bologna he defected to the Teatro San Luca of the Vendramin
Vendramin
The Vendramin were a rich merchant family of Venice, Italy, who were among the case nuove or "new houses" who joined the patrician class when the Libro d'Oro was opened after the battle of Chioggia...

 family where he performed most of his plays to 1762.

Move to France and death

In 1757, he engaged in a bitter dispute with playwright Carlo Gozzi
Carlo Gozzi
Carlo, Count Gozzi was an Italian playwright.Born in Venice, he came from an old Venetian family from the Republic of Ragusa...

, which left him utterly disgusted with the tastes of his countrymen; so much so that in 1761 he moved to Paris, where he received a position at court and was put in charge of the Theatre Italien
Comédie-Italienne
Over time, there have been several buildings and several theatrical companies named the "Théâtre-Italien" or the "Comédie-Italienne" in Paris. Following the times, the theatre has shown both plays and operas...

. He spent the rest of his life in France, composing most of his plays in French and writing his memoirs in that language.

Among the plays which he wrote in French, the most successful was Le bourru bienfaisant, produced on the occasion of the marriage of Louis XVI
Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....

 and Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette ; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I....

 in 1771. He enjoyed considerable popularity in France; when he retired to Versailles
Versailles
Versailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...

, the King gave him a pension. He lost this pension after the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...

. The Convention eventually voted to restore his pension the day after his death. It was restored to his widow, at the pleading of the poet André Chénier
André Chénier
André Marie Chénier was a French poet, associated with the events of the French Revolution of which he was a victim. His sensual, emotive poetry marks him as one of the precursors of the Romantic movement...

; "She is old", he urged, "she is seventy-six, and her husband has left her no heritage save his illustrious name, his virtues and his poverty."

Goldoni's impact on Italian theatre

Goldoni relates in considerable length in his Memoirs the state of Italian comedy when he began writing. At that time, Italian comedy revolved around the conventionality of the Commedia dell'arte
Commedia dell'arte
Commedia dell'arte is a form of theatre characterized by masked "types" which began in Italy in the 16th century, and was responsible for the advent of the actress and improvised performances based on sketches or scenarios. The closest translation of the name is "comedy of craft"; it is shortened...

, or improvised comedy. Goldoni took to himself the task of superseding the comedy of masks and the comedy of intrigue by representations of actual life and manners. He rightly maintained that Italian life and manners were susceptible of artistic treatment such as had not been given them before.

His works are a lasting monument to the changes that he initiated: a dramatic revolution that had been attempted but not achieved before. Goldoni's importance lay in providing good examples rather than precepts. Goldoni says that he took for his models the plays of Molière
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...

 and that whenever a piece of his own succeeded he whispered to himself: "Good, but not yet Molière." Goldoni's plays are gentler and more optimistic in tone than Molière's.

It was this very success that was the object of harsh critiques by Carlo Gozzi
Carlo Gozzi
Carlo, Count Gozzi was an Italian playwright.Born in Venice, he came from an old Venetian family from the Republic of Ragusa...

, who accused Goldoni of having deprived the Italian theatre of the charms of poetry and imagination. The great success of Gozzi's fairy dramas so irritated Goldoni that it led to his self-exile to France.

Goldoni gave to his country a classical form, which, though it has since been cultivated, has yet to be cultivated by a master.

Themes

Goldoni's plays that were written while he was still in Italy ignore religious
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...

 and ecclesiastical subjects. This may be surprising, considering his staunch Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

 upbringing. No thoughts are expressed about death or repentance in his memoirs or in his comedies. After his move to France, his position became clearer, as his plays took on a clear anti-clerical
Anti-clericalism
Anti-clericalism is a historical movement that opposes religious institutional power and influence, real or alleged, in all aspects of public and political life, and the involvement of religion in the everyday life of the citizen...

 tone and often satirized the hypocrisy of monks and of the Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

.

Goldoni was inspired by his love of humanity and the admiration he had for his fellow men. He wrote, and was obsessed with, the relationships that humans establish with one another, their cities and homes, the Humanist
Humanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....

 movement, and the study of philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

. The moral and civil values that Goldoni promotes in his plays are those of rationality, civility, humanism, the importance of the rising middle-class, a progressive stance to state affairs, honor and honesty. Goldoni had a dislike for arrogance, intolerance and the abuse of power.

Goldoni's main characters are no abstract examples of human virtue, nor monstrous examples of human vice. They occupy the middle ground of human temperament. Goldoni maintains an acute sensibility for the differences in social classes between his characters as well as environmental and generational changes. Goldoni pokes fun at the arrogant nobility and the pauper who lacks dignity.

Venetian and Tuscan

As in other theatrical works of the time and place, the characters in Goldoni's Italian comedies spoke originally either the literary Tuscan variety (which became modern Italian) or the Venetian dialect
Venetian language
Venetian or Venetan is a Romance language spoken as a native language by over two million people, mostly in the Veneto region of Italy, where of five million inhabitants almost all can understand it. It is sometimes spoken and often well understood outside Veneto, in Trentino, Friuli, Venezia...

, depending on their station in life. However, in some printed editions of his plays he often turned the Venetian texts into Tuscan, too.

Tragedies

  • Amalasunta, burned by Goldoni after its premiere (1733)
  • Belisario (1734)
  • Rosmonda (1734)
  • Griselda (1734)
  • Enrico re di Sicilia (1736)
  • Gli amori di Alessandro Magno (1759)
  • Enea nel Lazio (1760)
  • Nerone (1760)
  • Artemisia (never performed)

Tragicomedies

  • Belisario (1734)
  • Rinaldo di Montalbano (1736)
  • Giustino (17??)
  • La sposa persiana, "The Persian Wife", in verse (1753)
  • Ircana in Julfa, "Ircana in Jaffa
    Jaffa
    Jaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa was incorporated with Tel Aviv creating the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel. Jaffa is famous for its association with the biblical story of the prophet Jonah.-Etymology:...

    " (17??)
  • Ircana in Ispaan, "Ircana in Isfahan
    Isfahan (city)
    Isfahan , historically also rendered in English as Ispahan, Sepahan or Hispahan, is the capital of Isfahan Province in Iran, located about 340 km south of Tehran. It has a population of 1,583,609, Iran's third largest city after Tehran and Mashhad...

    " (17??)
  • La peruviana, "The Peru
    Peru
    Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

    vian Woman" (17??)
  • La bella selvaggia, "The Savage Beauty" (17??)
  • La dalmatina, "The Dalmatia
    Dalmatia
    Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....

    n Woman" (17??)
  • Gli amori di Alessandro Magno, "The Loves of Alexander the Great" (17??)
  • Artemisia, "Artemisia
    Artemisia
    - Botany :* Artemisia , a genus of plants including the sagebrush and wormwood- Geography :* Artemisia Geyser in Yellowstone National Park* Artemissia, Messinia, a Greek village west of Taygetus mountain in the Peloponnese...

    " (17??)
  • Enea nel Lazio, "Aeneas
    Aeneas
    Aeneas , in Greco-Roman mythology, was a Trojan hero, the son of the prince Anchises and the goddess Aphrodite. His father was the second cousin of King Priam of Troy, making Aeneas Priam's second cousin, once removed. The journey of Aeneas from Troy , which led to the founding a hamlet south of...

     in Latium
    Latium
    Lazio is one of the 20 administrative regions of Italy, situated in the central peninsular section of the country. With about 5.7 million residents and a GDP of more than 170 billion euros, Lazio is the third most populated and the second richest region of Italy...

    " (17??)
  • Zoroastro, "Zoroaster
    Zoroaster
    Zoroaster , also known as Zarathustra , was a prophet and the founder of Zoroastrianism who was either born in North Western or Eastern Iran. He is credited with the authorship of the Yasna Haptanghaiti as well as the Gathas, hymns which are at the liturgical core of Zoroastrianism...

    " (17??)
  • La bella giorgiana, "The Georgian
    Georgia (country)
    Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...

     Beauty" (17??)

Comedies

  • Don Giovanni Tenorio o sia Il dissoluto, "The Dissolute" (17??)
  • Un curioso accidente, "A Curious Mishap" (1760)
  • L'uomo di mondo, "The Man of the World" (17??)
  • Il prodigo, "The Prodigal Man" (17??)
  • Il Momolo cortesan, partly written, partly improvised (1738), "Momolo the Court Man"
  • Il mercante fallito o sia La bancarotta, "The Bankrupted Merchant" or "The Bankruptcy" (1741)
  • La donna di garbo (1743), "The Fashionable Woman"
  • Il servitore di due padroni
    Servant of Two Masters
    Servant of Two Masters is a comedy by the Venetian playwright Carlo Goldoni written in 1743. Goldoni originally wrote the play at the request of actor Antonio Sacco, one of the great Truffaldinos in history...

    , (1745) "The Servant of Two Masters" (now often retitled Arlecchino servitore di due padroni "Harlequin Servant of two Masters")
  • Il frappatore (17??)"The deceiver"
  • I due gemelli veneziani, "The Two Venetian Twins" (1745) http://www.piccoloteatro.org/gemelli/mainspett.htm
  • L'uomo prudente, "The Prudent Man" (17??)
  • La vedova scaltra, "The Shrewd Widow" (1748)La vedova scaltra was used for operas by Marcello Bernardini
    Marcello Bernardini
    Marcello Bernardini was an Italian composer and librettist. Little is known of him, save that he wrote 37 operas in his career...

     (as La donna di spirito) in 1770, Vincenzo Righini
    Vincenzo Righini
    Vincenzo Maria Righini was an Italian composer, singer and kapellmeister.- Biography :Righini was born at Bologna and studied singing and composition with Padre Martini in his home town. Initially he performed as a singer in Florence and Rome , however, according to Fétis he made his debut as a...

     in 1774, Niccolò Piccinni
    Niccolò Piccinni
    Niccolò Piccinni was an Italian composer of symphonies, sacred music, chamber music, and opera. Although he is somewhat obscure, even to music lovers today, Piccinni was one of the most popular composers of opera—particularly the Neapolitan opera buffa—of his day...

     in 1773, Pasquale Anfossi
    Pasquale Anfossi
    Bonifacio Domenico Pasquale Anfossi was an Italian opera composer. Born in Taggia, Liguria, he studied with Niccolò Piccinni and Antonio Sacchini, and worked mainly in London, Venice and Rome....

     in 1780, and Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari
    Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari
    Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari was an Italian composer and teacher. He is best known for his comic operas such as Il segreto di Susanna...

     in 1931 (see La vedova scaltra
    La vedova scaltra
    La vedova scaltra is an opera in three acts by Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari to a text by Mario Ghisalberti, after Carlo Goldoni's original play first given in 1748.-Performance history:...

    ).
  • La putta onorata, "The Honorable Maid" (1749)
  • La buona moglie, "The Good Wife" (1749)
  • Il cavaliere e la dama, "The Gentleman and the Lady" (17??)
  • L'avvocato veneziano, "The Venetian Lawyer" (17??)
  • Il padre di famiglia, "The Father of the Family" (17??)
  • La famiglia dell'antiquario
    La famiglia dell'antiquario
    The Antiquarian's Family, or The Mother-in-law and the Daughter is a comedy by Italian author Carlo Goldoni, first published in 1749.-Introduction:...

    , "The Antiquarian's Family" (1750)
  • L'erede fortunata, "The Lucky Heiress" (1750)
  • Il teatro comico (1750–1751)"The Comical Theatre"
  • Le femmine puntigliose (1750–1751)" The Obstinate Women"
  • La bottega del caffè, "The Coffee Shop" (1750–1751)
  • Il bugiardo, "The Liar" (1750–1751)
  • L'adulatore, "The Flatterer" (17??)
  • Il poeta fanatico, "The Fanatical Poet" (1750)
  • La Pamela, "Pamela" (17??)
  • Il cavaliere di buon gusto, "The Gentleman with Good Taste" (17??)
  • Il giuocatore, "The Gambler" (17??)
  • Il vero amico, "The True Friend" (1750) translated by Anna Cuffaro
  • La finta ammalata, "The Fake Patient Woman" (1750–1751)
  • La dama prudente, "The Prudent Lady" (17??)
  • L'incognita, "The Unknown Woman" (17??)
  • L'avventuriere onorato, "The Honorable Scoundrel" (1750–1751)
  • I pettegolezzi delle donne, "Women's Gossip" (1750–1751)
  • La locandiera
    The Mistress of the Inn
    The Mistress of the Inn , also translated as The Innkeeper Woman or Mirandolina , is a 1753 three-act comedy by the Venetian playwright Carlo Goldoni about a coquette. The play has been regarded as his masterpiece...

    , "The Mistress of the Inn" (1751)
  • Il Moliére, "Molière" (17??)
  • La castalda (17??)"The Female Administrator"
  • L'amante militare, "The Military Lover" (17??)
  • Il tutore, "The Guardian" (17??)
  • La moglie saggia, "The Wise Wife" (1752)
  • Il feudatario (17??)"The Feudal Lord"
  • Le donne gelose, "The Jealous Women" (1752)
  • La serva amorosa, "The Loving Maid" (1752)
  • I puntigli domestici, "The Domestic Squabbles" (17??)
  • La figlia obbediente, "The Obedient Daughter" (17??)
  • I mercatanti, "The Merchants" (17??)
  • Le donne curiose, "The Curious Women" (1753)
  • Il contrattempo o sia Il chiacchierone imprudente, "The Unwelcome Event" or "The Careless Chatterbox" (17??)
  • La donna vendicativa, "The Vengeful Woman" (17??)
  • Opening sketch for the Teatro Comico di San Luca, 7 October 1753
  • Il geloso avaro, "The Jealous Miser" (17??)
  • La donna di testa debole, "The Feebleminded Woman" (17??)
  • La cameriera brillante, "The Brilliant Maidservant" (17??)
  • Il filosofo inglese, "The English Philosopher" (17??)
  • Il vecchio bizzarro, "The Bizarre Old Man" (17??)
  • Il festino, "The Banquet" (17??)
  • L'impostore, "The Impostor" (17??)
  • Opening sketch for the Teatro Comico di San Luca, fall season 1754
  • La madre amorosa, "The Loving Mother" (17??)
  • Terenzio, "Terentio" (17??)
  • Torquato Tasso, "Torquato Tasso
    Torquato Tasso
    Torquato Tasso was an Italian poet of the 16th century, best known for his poem La Gerusalemme liberata , in which he depicts a highly imaginative version of the combats between Christians and Muslims at the end of the First Crusade, during the siege of Jerusalem...

    " (17??)
  • Il cavaliere giocondo, "The Merry Gentleman" (17??)
  • Le massere (1755)"The Servant Girls"
  • I malcontenti, "The Unsatisfied Men" (17??)
  • Opening sketch for the Teatro Comico di San Luca, fall season, 1755
  • La buona famiglia, "The Good Family" (17??)
  • Le donne de casa soa", "The Women from His Own Home"(1755)
  • La villeggiatura, "The Vacation" (1761)
  • La donna stravagante, "The Extravagant Woman" (17??)
  • Il campiello (1756) "The Little Square"
  • L'avaro, "The Miser" (17??)
  • L'amante di se medesimo, "The Lover of Himself" (17??)
  • Il medico olandese, "The Dutch Doctor" (17??)
  • La donna sola, "The Lone Woman" (17??)
  • La pupilla, "The Female Ward" (17??)
  • Il cavaliere di spirito o sia La donna di testa debole, "The Witty Gentleman" or "The Feebleminded Woman" (17??)
  • La vedova spiritosa, "The Witty Widow" (17??)
  • Il padre per amore, "The Father for Love" (17??)
  • Lo spirito di contraddizione, "The Spirit of Contradiction" (17??)
  • Il ricco insidiato, "The Sought After Rich man" (17??)
  • Le morbinose
  • Le donne di buon umore, "The Good Humored Women" (17??)
  • L'apatista o sia L'indifferente, "The Apathic Man" or "The Indifferent Man" (17??)
  • La donna bizzarra, "The Bizarre Woman" (17??)
  • La sposa sagace, "The Clever Wife" (17??)
  • La donna di governo (17??)"The Government Woman"
  • La donna forte, "The Strong Woman" (17??)
  • I morbinosi (1759)?
  • La scuola di ballo, "The Dance School" (17??)
  • Gli innamorati, "The Lovers" (1759)
  • Pamela maritata, "Pamela Married" (17??)
  • L'impresario delle Smirne, "The Businessman from Smyrna
    Smyrna
    Smyrna was an ancient city located at a central and strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Thanks to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to prominence. The ancient city is located at two sites within modern İzmir, Turkey...

    " (1759)
  • La guerra, "The War" (17??)
  • I rusteghi, "The Boors" (1760)
  • Il curioso accidente, "The Curious Incident" (1760)
  • La donna di maneggio (17??)"The Woman in Charge"
  • La casa nova, "The New House" (1760)
  • La buona madre, "The Good Mother" (1761)
  • Le smanie per la villeggiatura, "Pining for Vacation" (1761)
  • Le avventure della villeggiatura, "Holiday Adventures" (1761)
  • Il ritorno dalla villeggiatura, "Back from Vacation" (1761)
  • Lo scozzese, "The Scotsman" (17??)
  • Il buon compatriotto, "The Good Compatriot" (17??)
  • Il sior Todero brontolon o sia Il vecchio fastidioso, "Grumpy Mr. Todero or the Annoying Old Man" (1762)
  • Le baruffe chiozzotte
    Le baruffe chiozzotte
    Le baruffe chiozzotte is a play by Venetian playwright Carlo Goldoni, first performed at the Teatro San Luca in Venice in January 1762. It deals with the comic struggles between two families of fishermen in the lagoon-mouth village of Chioggia brought on by the love affairs of the younger generation...

     (1762)"The Chioggia Scuffles"
  • Una delle ultime sere di carnevale, "One of the Last Carnival Evenings" (1762)
  • L'osteria della posta, "The Tavern at the Mail Station" (17??)
  • L'amore paterno o sia La serva riconoscente, "Paternal Love" or "The Grateful Maidservant" (17??)
  • Il matrimonio per concorso, "Marriage by Contest" (17??)
  • Les amours d'Arlequin et de Camille, "The Love of Harlequin And Camilla" (1763)
  • La jalousie d'Arlequin, "Harlequin's Jealousy" (1763)
  • Les inquiétudes de Camille, "Camilla's Worries" (1763)
  • Gli amori di Zelinda e Lindoro, "The Love of Zelinda and Lindoro" (1764)
  • La gelosia di Lindoro, "Lindoro's Jealousy" (17??)
  • L'inquietudini di Zelinda, "Zelinda's Worries" (17??)
  • Gli amanti timidi o sia L'imbroglio de' due ritratti, "The Shy Lovers" or "The Affair of the Two Portraits" (17??)
  • Il ventaglio, "The Fan" (1765)
  • La burla retrocessa nel contraccambio (17??)"The returned joke"
  • Chi la fa l'aspetti o sia I chiassetti del carneval (17??)" Who does, waits for the return" or "The Carnival Lanes"
  • Il genio buono e il genio cattivo, "The Good Nature and the Bad Nature" (17??)
  • Le bourru bienfaisant (1771)"The Benevolent Curmudgeon" (17??)
  • L'avare fastueux (1776)"The Ostentatious Miser"


Opera seria libretti

  • Amalasunta (1732)
  • Gustavo (c. 1738)
  • Oronte, re de' Sciti (1740)
  • Statira (c. 1740)

Opera buffa libretti

  • La fondazione di Venezia (1734)
  • La contessina (The Young Countess) by Maccari
    Maccari
    Maccari is an Italian surname, and may refer to:*Murilo Maccari*Ruggero Maccari...

     (1743)
  • La favola dei tre gobbi (1748)
  • L'Arcadia in Brenta (The Arcadia
    Arcadia
    Arcadia is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Peloponnese. It is situated in the central and eastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. It takes its name from the mythological character Arcas. In Greek mythology, it was the home of the god Pan...

     in Brenta
    Brenta
    Brenta may refer to:* Brenta , Italy* Brenta Valley* Brenta Group* Brenta, Lombardy...

    ) by Galuppi (1749)
  • Il filosofo di campagna
    Il filosofo di campagna
    Il filosofo di campagna is a dramma giocoso per musica in 3 acts by composer Baldassare Galuppi. The opera uses an Italian language libretto by Carlo Goldoni. The work premiered at the Teatro San Samuele in Venice on 26 October 1754.-Roles:-External links:*...

     (The Country Philosopher) by Galuppi (1752)
  • Il mercato di Malmantile (The Malmantile Market) by Fischietti
    Domenico Fischietti
    Domenico Fischietti was an Italian composer.He was born in Naples and studied at the Conservatory of Sant'Onofrio Porta Capuana under the leadership of Leonardo Leo and Francesco Durante....

     (1757)
  • La buona figliuola
    La buona figliuola
    La Cecchina, ossia La buona figliuola is an opera buffa in three Acts by Niccolò Piccinni. The libretto, by Carlo Goldoni, is based on Samuel Richardson's novel Pamela. This was Piccinni's most successful Italian opera. There was a sequel entitled La buona figliuola maritata by the same composer...

     (The Good Girl) by Niccolò Piccinni
    Niccolò Piccinni
    Niccolò Piccinni was an Italian composer of symphonies, sacred music, chamber music, and opera. Although he is somewhat obscure, even to music lovers today, Piccinni was one of the most popular composers of opera—particularly the Neapolitan opera buffa—of his day...

     (1760)
  • La buona figliuola maitata by Piccinni (1761)
  • La bella verità by Piccinni (1762)
  • La notte critica by Piccinni (1767)
  • Vittorina by Piccinni (1777)
  • Lo speziale
    Lo speziale
    Lo speziale , Hob. 28/3, is a three act opera buffa by Joseph Haydn, with a libretto by Carlo Goldoni.A love triangle between the poor apprentice Mengone, the rich and assured dandy Volpino, and the local apothecary's ward, Grilletta, Lo speziale is a sidesplitting comedy of great warmth and...

     (The Apothecary) by Joseph Haydn
    Joseph Haydn
    Franz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...

     (1768)
  • Il festino
  • I viaggiatori ridicoli
  • Vittorina
  • Il re alla caccia
  • La bouillotte
  • I volponi
  • Gli uccellatori
  • Arcifanfano, Re de' matti
  • L'isola disabitata
  • La calamità de' cuori
  • Il negligente
  • I bagni d'Abano
  • Le virtuose ridicole
  • Il finto principe
  • L'astuzia felice
  • Bertoldo, Bertoldino e Cascasenno
  • I portentosi effetti della madre natura
  • Lucrezia romana
  • Il mondo alla rovescia
  • Buovo d'Antona
  • Il paese delle cuccagna
  • La mascherata
  • Le pescatrici
  • Il conte Caramella
  • La donna di governo
  • Le nozze di Figaro
  • La fiera di Sinigaglia

Intermezzo libretti

  • Il buon padre, "The Good Father" (1729)
  • La cantatrice, "The Singer" (1729)
  • Il gondoliere veneziano o sia Gli sdegni amorosi, The Venetian Gondoliere or the Lover's Scorn (1733)
  • La pupilla (1734)
  • La birba (1734)
  • Il quartiere fortunato (1734–44)
  • Amor fa l'uomo cieco (uncertain date)
  • Il disinganno (uncertain date)

Cantatas and serenades

  • La ninfa saggia, "The Wise Nymph" (17??)
  • Gli amanti felici, "The Happy Lovers" (17??)
  • Le quattro stagioni, "The Four Seasons" (17??)
  • Il coro delle muse, "The Choir of the Muses" (17??)
  • La pace consolata, "Peace Comforted" (17??)
  • L'amor della patria, "Love for the Country" (17??)
  • L'oracolo del Vaticano, "The Vatican's Oracle" (17??)

Religious plays

  • L'unione del reale profeta Davide, "The Marriage of Royal Prophet David
    David
    David was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary...

    " (17??)

Performances

  • La metempsicosi o sia La pitagorica trasmigrazione, "The Metempsychosis
    Reincarnation
    Reincarnation best describes the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant...

    " or "The Pythagorean
    Pythagoras
    Pythagoras of Samos was an Ionian Greek philosopher, mathematician, and founder of the religious movement called Pythagoreanism. Most of the information about Pythagoras was written down centuries after he lived, so very little reliable information is known about him...

     Transmigration" (17??)
  • Il disinganno in corte, "The Disappointment at the Court" (17??)

Poetry

  • Il colosso, a satire against Pavia girls which led to Goldoni being expelled from Collegio Ghislieri (1725)
  • Il quaresimale in epilogo (1725–1726)

Books

  • Nuovo teatro comico, "New Comic Theater", plays. Pitteri, Venice (1757)
  • Mémoires, "Memoirs". Paris (1787)
  • Goldoni's collected works. Zalta, Venice (1788–1795)

Translations

  • Il vero amico, "The True Friend" translated by Anna Cuffaro. Publisher: Sparkling Books.
  • La storia di Miss Jenny, "The Story of Miss Jenny" of Riccoboni, into French
  • Archifanfaro translated by W. H. Auden
    W. H. Auden
    Wystan Hugh Auden , who published as W. H. Auden, was an Anglo-American poet,The first definition of "Anglo-American" in the OED is: "Of, belonging to, or involving both England and America." See also the definition "English in origin or birth, American by settlement or citizenship" in See also...

     with an introduction by Michael Andre
    Michael Andre
    Michael Andre is a Canadian, disc jockey, poet, critic and editor living in New York City.Andre was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, to a civil engineer doing wartime work on a military hospital. His mother's father was a newspaperman, Eyton Warburton; he died when Andre was an infant. Andre was...

     in Unmuzzled OX
    Unmuzzled OX
    Unmuzzled OX, started by poet Michael Andre, edited in New York City and Kingston, Ontario, was a late-twentieth-century quarterly of poetry, art and politics. Aided by artist Erika Rothenberg, the best-known issue was The Poets' Encyclopedia, the world's basic knowledge transformed by 225 poets,...

    .

Movies on Goldoni

Carlo Goldoni - Venice Grand Theatre of the World - A film directed by Alessandro Bettero

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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