Carlo Gozzi

Carlo, Count Gozzi (; 13 December 1720 – 4 April 1806) (Venetian) playwright and champion of Commedia dell'arte.

Early life Gozzi was born and died in Venice; he came from a family of minor Venetian aristocracy, Three years later, he had returned to Venice and joined the Granelleschi Society. This society was dedicated to preserving Tuscan literature from the influence of foreign culture; it was particularly interested in handing down traditional Italian comedic performance: the Commedia dell'arte.

Works Pietro Chiari and Carlo Goldoni, two Venetian writers, were moving away from the old style of Italian theatre, which threatened the work of the Granelleschi Society. He engaged the Sacchi company of players, a Commedia dell'arte troupe who had had dwindling engagements because of Chiari and Goldoni's efforts. Gozzi's efforts on behalf of the genre were anachronistic, since Gozzi wrote out all his scripts. whereas traditional Commedia dell'arte was always improvised. These fairy tales were much praised by Goethe, Schlegel brothers, Hoffmann, Madame de Staël, Sismondi and Ostrovsky. One of them, Turandot or La Turandotte, was translated by Friedrich Schiller and staged by Goethe in Weimar in 1802 with great success. Gozzi was acclaimed throughout most of Europe, but was less esteemed in his own homeland. When Pier Antonio Gratarol, a member of Venetian society whom Gozzi's Draghe d'Amore was partially based on, had an affair with her, Gozzi was instrument in Gratrol's exile.

L'amore delle tre melarance — "The Love of Three Oranges" (1761) Il corvo — "The Raven" (1761) — "The King Stag" (1762) Turandot (1762) La donna serpente — "The Serpent Woman" (1762) La Zobeide (1763) I Pitocchi Fortunati — "The Fortunate Beggars" (1764) Il Mostro Turchino — "The Blue Monster" (1764) L'Augellino Bel Verde — "The Green Bird" (1765) Zeim, Re de' Geni — "Zeim, King of the Genies" (1765)

Other plays Marfisa bizzarra (1766) The Elixir of Love (1775/1776) Il Cavaliere Amico; o sia, Il Trionfo dell'Amicizia — "The Knight; or, The Triumph of Friendship" (Tragicomedy in 5 Acts) Doride; o sia, La Rassegnata — "Doride; or, The Resigned" (Tragicomedy in 5 Acts) La Donna Vendicativa — "The Vengeful Woman" (Tragicomedy in 5 Acts) La Caduta di Donna Elvira, Regina di Navarra — "The Fall of Donna Elvira, Queen of Navarre" [Prologo Tragico]. La Punizione nel Precipizio — "Punishment in the Precipice" (Tragicomedy in 3 Acts) Il Pubblico Secreto — "The Public Secret" (Comedy in 3 Acts) Le Due Notti Affannose; o sia, gl'Inganni della Immaginazione — "Two Frantic Nights; or, Illusions of Imagination" (Tragicomedy in 5 Acts) La Principessa Filosofa; o sia, Il Controveleno — "The Princess Philosopher; or, The Antidote" (Drama in 3 Acts) I Due Fratelli Nimici — "The Two Enemy Brothers" (Tragicomedy in 3 Acts) Eco e Narciso — "Echo and Narcissus" (Seriocomic Pastoral with Music in 3 Acts) Il Moro di Corpo Bianco; o sia, Lo Schiavo del Proprio Onore — "The Moor with White Body; or, The Slave of his own Honor" (Tragicomedy in 5 Acts) La Donna Contraria al Consiglio — "The Woman Against the Council" (Scenic Composition in 5 Acts) Cimene Pardo — "Cimene Pardo" (Tragedy in 5 Acts) Innamorata da Vero — "True Love" (Comedy in 3 Acts) Bianca Contessa di Melfi; o sia, Il Maritaggio per Vendetta — "Bianca, Countess of Malfi; or, the Maritaggio for Vendetta" (Tragedy in 5 Acts) Il Montanaro Don Giovanni Pasquale — "The Montanaro Don Giovanni Pasquale" (Moral Stage Action in 5 Acts) La Figlia dell'Aria; o sia, L'Innalzamento di Semiramide — "Daughter of the Air; or, The Rise of Semiramis" (Allegorical Tale in 3 Acts) Il Metafisico; o sia, L'Amore, e L'Amicizia alla Prova — "The Metaphysical; or, Love and Friendship Put to the Test" (Drama 3 Acts) Annibale, Duca di Atene — "Hannibal, Duke of Athens" (Verse Representation in 5 Acts) La Malia della Voce — "The Woman's(?) Voice" (Drama 5 Acts) Amore Assottiglia il Cervello — "Love Thins the Brain" (Comedy in 5 Acts) La Vedova del Malabar — "The Widow of Malabar" (Tragedy in 5 Acts)

Other works Ragionamento ingenuo, e storia sincera dell'origine delle mie dieci Fiabe teatrali — "Ingenuous Disquisition and Sincere History of My Ten Tales for the Theatre" (1772) Memorie Inutili — "Useless Memoirs" (1777, published 1797)

Editions Carlo Gozzi, Memorie inutili (éd. Giuseppe Prezzolini). Laterza, Bari 1910. Carlo Gozzi, Opere del Co: Carlo Gozzi. Colombani, Venezia/Firenze 1772[-1774]. Carlo Gozzi, Opere edite ed inedite del Co. Carlo Gozzi. Zanardi, Venezia 1801[-1803]. Carlo Gozzi, Opere. Teatro e polemiche teatrali (éd. Giorgio Petronio). Rizzoli, Milano 1962. Scritti di Carlo Gozzi, éd. E. Bonora. Einaudi, Torino 1977. Carlo Gozzi, Le fiabe teatrali (= Biblioteca di Cultura. 261). Testo, introduzione e commento a cura di Paolo Bosisio. Bulzoni, Rom 1984. Carlo Gozzi, Theatralische Werke. Aus dem italiänischen übersezt. 5 voll. Typographische Gesellschaft, Bern 1777–1779.

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