Carlo Goldoni

Carlo Goldoni (1707-1793) was born in Venice on February 25, 1707. He studied law at Udine and later at Modena, and began working as a lawyer, secretary and councilor. He soon gave up his practice and wrote several unsuccessful tragedies, including Amalasunta (1733) and Belisario (1734). In 1738, he wrote his first comedy, L’Uomo di Mondo. He was appointed as dramatic poet to the theaters of S. Angelo and San Luca in Venice, where he wrote a series of successful comedies, including Momolo Cortesan, La Donna di Garbo, Il Servitore di Due Padroni, Buona Moglie, Il Bugiardo, Un Curioso Accidente and Pamela. His comedies, inspired by the plays of Molière, succeeded in replacing the commedia dell’arte, or improvised comedy, in Italian theatre with realistic representations of Italian manners. In 1761, Goldoni moved to Paris and accepted the position of poet to the Théâtre Italien, where he produced a number of plays in French, including Le Bourru Bienfaisant and L’Avare Fastueux. He remained in Paris until his death in 1793.