Carlo Goldoni

"Carlo Goldoni was Italy's greatest playwright of the eighteenth century and wrote at least one hundred and fifty plays, although only a handful; of these have been performed since his time. Working for theatres in both Venice and Paris, he took much of his inspiration from 'commedia dell'arte'. This collection focuses on Goldoni's more serious side and includes the plays Don Juan, Friends and Lovers and The Battlefield. The first published English-language edition of Goldoni's worldly vision of the Don Juan legend, in verse, alongside translations of the naturalistic Friends and Lovers and The Battlefield, all of which were first seen at the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow. "

"In the year of the bicentenary of the death of Carlo Goldoni, one of Italy's most brilliant dramatists, two of his greatest comedies are brought to life in Ranjit Bolt's vibrant translations. The Venetian Twins is a classic tale of mistaken identity and the ensuing confusion. The play was given its premiere at the Royal Shakespeare Company in a production directed by Michael Bogdanov. Mirandolina is one of Goldoni's best known works and was produced at the Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh. "

This Goldoni comedy recounts the matrimonial scheming, gossip, and games enlivening the daily activity of a bustling but poor Venetian piazza where gaming, dancing and pandemonium reign. The haughty Gasparina catches the attention and interest of an attractive visiting Count. Zaretta and Gnese are two years too young to marry as their mothers desperately desire. Lucietta is not trusted by her jealous and handsome fianc , Anzoletto, and the toothless mothers of all are busily plotting for husbands of their own. Squabbles run throughout this madcap story of the square, are silenced by a wedding feast, and erupt again as the festivities draw to a close. "The coarse Latin flavor of the characters'] scraps is nicely captured by Richard Nelson's new adaptation, in suitably vulgar modern English." James Lardner, Washington Post

The story concerns the terrible complications wrought by the servant Traffaldino when he gets himself jobs with two different people at the same time. Not all the complications are of his making; one of his 'masters' is in fact a lady in disguise, and the other master is her lover, but Truffaldino doesn't know this. This is only one of the comic elements in a plot that sparkles with invention.-6 women, 9 men

First published in 1952, this is the second edition of a volume which was originally published in 1928. The text contains an English translation of The Servant of Two Masters, one of Goldoni's most celebrated comedies. An introduction and notes on production are also provided. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in the works of Goldoni, eighteenth-century drama and Italian literature.