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Carlo Goldoni was born on February 25th, 1707 in Venice, Italy to Father Giulio Goldoni and mother Margherita Salvioni. -
Giulio, his father, was a physician and an intellectual. Before he was enrolled in school, Carlo would often spend his time in his father's home library reading about theatre and plays.
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Using the knowledge that he gained from reading in his father's library, Carlo, at the young age of 9, wrote his first theatrical essay. -
In 1719, Goldoni follows his father to Perugia, a city in Italy. There he attends the Jesuit College and takes courses in rhetoric and grammar. -
After failed attempts to study law in Rimini and Chioggia, Goldoni moves to Pavia. There he attends the Papal College and continues to read and study theatre.
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Goldoni officially attends university at the College Ghislieri in Pavia. There he studies law, and is eventually expelled for publishing an inappropriate satirical play about several women in the city. -
Carlo Goldoni spends two years practicing law in Venice.
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In 1732, Goldoni graduates and obtains his Doctorate in Law in Padova. -
Griselda (1735) he adapted the play from the compositions done by Antonio Vivaldi The Servant of Two Masters (1745) The Comical Theatre (1750-1751) Women’s Gossip (1750-1751) The Fake Innocent (1769) Four Comedies: I due gemelli Veneziani (1750), La vedova scaltra (1748), La locandiera (1753), and La casa nova (1761) - Translated by Frederick Davies
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In 1736, Carlo sets off to Genoa, Italy, and falls in love with Nicoletta Conio. They returned to Venice together. -
In 1738, Goldoni publishes his first comedy, “L’Umo di mondo” (The Man of the World). -
Goldoni moves to Pisa, Italy, where he practices and held diplomatic appointments during these four years. He was not writing plays during this time.
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In 1750, Goldoni coins the term “La commedia dell’arte” in his play II teatro comico “Comic Theatre”. This coining of the phrase granted him authority to change modern day Italian theatre, which became much more refined and polished. -
By this time, Goldoni has a devout following. In the beginning of 1751, he promises his supporters 16 new plays by the end of that year. That overly ambitious goal led him into a deep depression and creative slump.
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Carlo Gozzi was a Venetian playwright at the same time as Goldoni. The two had a tense rivalry that was intensified when Gozzi had completely assailed Goldoni during a satirical poem. The feud was one of the main motivators of Goldoni's move to Paris.
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He decides to move out of Italy following his depressive creative slump. He lands in Paris, and is appointed in charge of the Italian Royal Court. Here he is granted a stable career and a pension. -
He officially settles in Paris on August 26, 1762. There he stayed at the Palace of Versailles and continued to write plays and memoirs in French.
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The start of the French Revolution left many without fortune, especially Goldoni. The war caused him to lose his pension, launching him into extreme poverty.
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Unfortunately, due to the war, Goldoni and his wife Nicoletta were left with no money to get them through their last years of life. In 1789, Goldoni became blind, which led to other sickness as he did not have the means to be treated. His wife and nephew, Antonio cared for him for his last years, despite their impoverished conditions.
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On February 2nd, 1793, Carlo Goldoni died in Paris, France. Details of his death are unknown, though it is certain that his wife and nephew were with him as he passed.
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In 1883, sculptor A. Dal Zotto built a statue of Carlo Goldoni. It was widely agreed that Goldoni was beloved and regarded as perhaps the most influential playwright of his time, and the city wished to commemorate him. The monument is located in front of Ponte alla Carraia, in Florence, Italy.
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In 1966, his popular comedic play, "Servant of Two Masters", was adapted into an opera buffa by composer Vittorio Giannini.
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In 2011, Richard Bean adapted the play for the National Theatre of Great Britain. He renamed the play as "One Man, Two Guvnors". This was notably and hilariously played by James Corden on Broadway in 2012.
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“Carlo Goldoni.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/biography/Carlo-Goldoni.
“Carlo Goldoni.” Carlo Goldoni the Playwright, https://www.innvenice.com/en.Carlo-Goldoni.htm.
Carlo Goldoni (1707-1793), http://www.imagi-nation.com/moonstruck/clsc93.html.
Carlo Goldoni, http://www.carlogoldoni.net/.
Lee-Rekers, Written by Alexander, et al. “Best Plays by Carlo Goldoni.” StageMilk, 14 Oct. 2021, https://www.stagemilk.com/best-plays-by-carlo-goldoni/.