Carlo Goldoni is an illustrious Venetian librettist and playwright of the 18th century. One of the recognized world classics. In this article we will talk about the biography and work of the famous Italian writer.
Carlo Goldoni: Biography
Goldoni was born on February 25, 1707 in Venicefamily doctor. His parents dreamed of a legal career for his son, so they forcibly sent the boy to study law. However, Carlo from childhood was captivated by the theater. And when he was sent to study philosophy at the age of 14, he ran away from teachers and joined a wandering theater troupe. Goldoni stayed among the artists for a short time and after 4 years he ended up at a school in Pavia. But even here he did not stay long; Carlo was expelled because he wrote a satirical play, where he ridiculed his teachers.
In the end, thanks to the efforts of the family, Carloin 1732, he managed to get a doctorate and go to lawyers. However, the future playwright didn’t work at the bar for long and spent more time writing. In 1738, the play Momolo cortesan was published, which was the beginning of his dramatic activity. However, the early works of the writer were not particularly successful.
Dramatic success
In 1748, Carlo Goldoni, whose work tothis time was highly valued, becoming one of the playwrights of the famous Italian troupe Medebak. Soon the writer, together with the troupe, settles in Venice, which receives the Goldoni with enthusiasm. Here he lives until 1762, continuing to improve his writing gift. This period is considered the most fruitful for Carlo. Only in 1750 he managed to create 16 comedies, among which were such famous ones as “Family of Antiquary”, “Coffee House”, “Liar”, “Woman's Gossip”.
In 1756, Carlo Goldoni enters anotherthe troupe and until 1762 wrote for her another 60 comedies, among which are “The Innkeeper”, La Villegiatura, Baruffe Chiozzote. Most of the plays of this period are devoted to depicting Venetian life. The dramatist managed to do this masterfully, and it is these plays that can still be seen on the stage.
Life in paris
By 1762, Goldoni understood that his ownThe Venetian public began to prefer the fantastic plays of Gozzi. Not wanting to see his fame fade away, Carlo Goldoni moved to Paris. Before leaving, he wrote one of his most beautiful comedies - Una della ultime sere del Carnevale. This play has become a kind of farewell to his native Venice.
In Paris, the playwright lived the next 30 years.In France, the writer continued his favorite craft. Here was written one of the best comedies of the playwright Le bourru bienfaisant. At Versailles on February 6, 1793, at the age of 85, Goldoni died.
Already in old age he wrote his memoirs, whichbecame the brightest example of the literary and theatrical world. The last years of his life the great playwright lived in need. He had to give lessons in Italian in order to somehow hold on. Despite the fact that the convention counted him a pension, the writer died before he began to receive it.
Innovation by Carlo Goldoni
Photos of paintings depicting a playwright andA monument dedicated to the creator can be seen in this article. Goldonny is a famous dramatic innovator and reformer. For a long time, the Italian theater was represented only by a comedy of masks, based on improvisation. By the mid-18th century, it was completely obsolete, but the attempts that were made to diversify it were clearly not enough.
Только Гольдони удалось изменить положение дел.The dramatist walked towards his goal gradually. His first play, Momolo cortesan, was partly a script. And by 1750, Goldoni was finally retired from the old scenario technique. However, the playwright did not dare to completely forget about the comedy of improvisations, so he left the masks most popular and most loved by the Italian audience: Doctor, Pantalone, Brigella, Harlequin, Kolombina, etc. However, all these images were carefully reworked by the writer, and their characters changed.
Change characters masks
Satire Carlo Goldoni was not as harsh asin the classic comedy masks that influenced the characters. The doctor, previously described as a drunkard and talker, became a good family man. Brigella, in the past, a crook and a knave, at Goldoni, is seen as the owner of a tavern or major domo.
Especially clearly manifested moralisticcharacter of the writer's plays in the mask Pantalone. Formerly, the hero was portrayed as a mean, ridiculous, and lustful old man. Now Pantalone was transformed and became an elderly, respectable merchant, the bearer of the best qualities of the Venetian bourgeoisie. He becomes the mouthpiece of democratic ideas, teaches aristocrats. Says that all people have the same rights.
The bourgeoisie in Italy, advocating in those yearsamong the people their ideals, found in the works of Goldoni as a gentle teaching, and encouraging praise. The playwright actively promoted the idea that the bourgeoisie is higher than the fallen nobility in moral and spiritual terms. Such an ideological orientation made the writer's work even more popular among the population.
Afterword
Therefore, is the creator of the classicthe Italian bourgeois drama Carlo Goldoni. The brief biography of the writer presented above demonstrates the writer's incredible loyalty to his craft. Despite the protests of the family, he became a playwright and became famous as an innovator. Goldoni’s worldwide European fame owes his desire for realism and a true image of everyday life, which was rare in his times. It is not by chance that Voltaire called the playwright a "painter of nature." Goldoni is very loved at home. In Italy, including Venice, the playwright erected several monuments.
