Carlo Goldoni was born in 1707 into a middle-class family in
Venice. As a child, he was fascinated by theatre, playing with
puppets and writing his first play at the age of twelve. His father
attempted to distract him from a dishonourable career in the
theatre by sending him away to study at various schools, but each
time Goldoni either ran away or got expelled. During one of these
incidents, he joined a company of touring actors and travelled back
to Venice, the adventures he experienced on this journey solidified
his love of theatrical life. Eventually, in 1731, he graduated from
law school and started practising in Padua. The lure of the theatre
was too strong however, and the following year he was back in
Venice, writing. Goldini's path to stardom was not smooth; his
first play, a tragedy called Amalasunta [1733], was a flop. He
threw the manuscript in the fire, and wrote a tragicomedy,
Belisario [1734], the success of which launched his career.
Over the next ten years, Goldoni took up a succession of resident
dramatist roles at various large theatres and opera houses, writing
opera librettos and tragic works, before discovering comedy was his
ideal form. His first major comedy, L'uomo di mondo (The Man of the
World), premiered in 1738 and he followed it with a succession of
hits, including, in 1746, Il Servitore di Due Padroni (The Servant
of Two Masters). The play was written for a famous harlequin called
Antonio Sacchi, (whose stage name, Truffaldino, is the servant's
name in the play) and was based on an existing plot. In 1748,
Goldoni joined Girolamo Medebac's company, who were resident at the
Sant'Angelo theatre in Venice.
Medebac was a famous theatrical manager who had assembled a cast of
eminent actors, and Goldoni wrote a series of plays, experimenting
with form and honing his skills. It was whilst he was installed
with this company that Goldoni achieved his now infamous challenge
of writing sixteen comedies in two seasons; a play a week.
Goldoni's relationship with Medebac deteriorated over rows about
royalties, and in 1753 he defected to the Vendramin family at the
rival Teatro San Luca, where he stayed until 1762.
These years were dogged by a rivalry with fellow playwright, Carlo
Gozzi [1720-1806], which played out publicly in the press and
divided Venetian theatre audiences. Gozzi felt Goldoni was
destroying the traditions of Commedia dell'arte and making the form
banal; Goldoni, in turn, believed Gozzi's work to be too
fantastical and therefore artificial. By 1762, Goldoni was tired of
the dispute and accepted an invitation to direct Italian plays at
the French court of Louis XV [1710-1774]. After his contract ended,
he stayed at court to teach Italian to the royal family, and was
subsequently granted a pension for life. Unfortunately, the French
Revolution [1789-1799], interrupted these payments and Goldoni
lived out the rest of his life in poverty. He died in 1793, having
never returned to Venice.
Goldoni lived a colourful life, he was often involved in disputes
over money and women, and many of his experiences ended up in his
plays. His memoirs, published in 1787, are full of amusing
anecdotes, although many have questioned the accuracy of some of
these adventures, suspecting he preferred a good story over the
truth. He wrote 200 plays, including 150 comedies, redefining
Italian theatre.
Commedia dell'arte is shortened from 'commedia dell'arte
all'improviso', meaning 'comedy through the art/craft of
improvisation', but also translates as 'comedy of the guild';
Europe's first professional theatre. Previously, theatre had been
provided by amateur academics, writing and performing their own
plays (known as 'commedia erudite'; 'learned comedy'). Commedia
originated in Italy in the mid-16th century with companies
consisting of ten or so touring players, often playing improvised
outdoor venues. The more prestigious companies had patrons amongst
the nobility and the rest relied on carnival organisers hiring
their services, or audiences tipping them. The actors specialised
in playing particular stock characters and wore masks depicting
these personalities. Unlike British theatre, where Shakespeare's
heroines were being played by young male actors, commedia used
actresses; attempts by the church to ban actresses for their
corruptive influences never succeeded.
There were no written scripts in commedia; companies improvised
their shows along predetermined plot scenarios, knowing the rough
structure of the narrative. Each actor knew where their character's
story began and concluded, and therefore the various plot-points
they needed to hit in order to complete their character's journey.
They memorised speeches, songs, poems and sections of dialogue so
they could recall them on stage as necessary. Commedia also had
roots in the art of touring jongleurs, wandering entertainers, who
performed a mix of acrobatics, songs and audience interaction (not
dissimilar from the likes of contemporary street performers in
Covent Garden). From jongleurs, commedia inherited lazzi, comic
verbal or physical set pieces, which they studied and honed,
incorporating them into the action when applicable.
Goldoni's earliest writings for the theatre consisted of sections
of dialogue for the players to improvise with, but he soon
recognised that in order to become a playwright like the European
writers he admired such as Molière [1622-1673], then he needed
total control over the whole play. He began writing full scripts
and banned masks which he felt were an unnecessary barrier between
performer and audience, his changes met with resistance from the
actors who resented handing control of their art over to a new
party. Commedia as a form was 200 years old however, and becoming
stale; Goldoni determined to explore real Italian life onstage, and
the audiences responded.
His plays often had a satirical edge, commenting on contemporary
issues and relationships, and he fairly portrayed people from
different classes, condemning the immoral whether they were poor or
rich.
This history was created for the National Theatre education
department.
One Man, Two Guvnors, Sydney Theatre, 30 March - 11 May, 2013.