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The Servant of Two Masters

January 01, 1970

For the television episode, see Servant of Two Masters (The Professionals).

The Servant of Two Masters (Italian: Il servitore di due padroni) is a comedy by the Italian playwright Carlo Goldoni written in 1746. Goldoni originally wrote the play at the request of actor Antonio Sacco, one of the great Harlequins in history. His earliest drafts had large sections that were reserved for improvisation, but he revised it in 1789 in the version that exists today.[1] The play draws on the tradition of the earlier Italian commedia dell'arte.

The Servant of Two Masters
"I'd like to see how I'll manage to serve two masters." Illustration from The Complete Comedies of Carlo Goldoni (1830)
Written byCarlo Goldoni
Date premiered1746
Original languageItalian, Venetian
GenreCommedia dell'arte

Plot edit

The play opens with the introduction of Beatrice, a woman who has traveled to Venice disguised as her dead brother in search of the man who killed him, Florindo, who is also her lover. Her brother forbade her to marry Florindo, and died defending his sister's honor. Beatrice disguises herself as Federigo (her dead brother) so that he can collect dowry money from Pantaloon (also spelled Pantalone), the father of Clarice, her brother's betrothed. She wants to use this money to help her lover escape, and to allow them to finally wed. But thinking that Beatrice's brother was dead, Clarice has fallen in love with another man, Silvio, and the two have become engaged. Interested in keeping up appearances, Pantalone tries to conceal the presence of Federigo and Silvio from one another.

Beatrice's servant, the exceptionally quirky and comical Harlequin (known in English also as Truffaldino, which can be translated into English as Fraudolent), is the central figure of this play. He is always complaining of an empty stomach, and always trying to satisfy his hunger by eating everything and anything in sight. When the opportunity presents itself to be servant to another master (Florindo, as it happens) he sees the opportunity for an extra dinner.

As Harlequin runs around Venice trying to fill the orders of two masters, he is almost uncovered several times, especially because other characters repeatedly hand him letters, money, etc. and say simply "this is for your master" without specifying which one. To make matters worse, the stress causes him to develop a temporary stutter, which only arouses more problems and suspicion among his masters. To further complicate matters, Beatrice and Florindo are staying in the same hotel, and are searching for each other.

In the end, with the help of Clarice and Smeraldina (Pantalone's feisty servant, who is smitten with Truffaldino), Beatrice and Florindo finally find each other, and with Beatrice exposed as a woman, Clarice is allowed to marry Silvio. The last matter up for discussion is whether Harlequin and Smeraldina can get married, which at last exposes Harlequin's having played both sides all along. However, as everyone has just decided to get married, Harlequin is forgiven. Harlequin asks Smeraldina to marry him.

The most famous set-piece of the play is the scene in which the starving Harlequin tries to serve a banquet to the entourages of both his masters without either group becoming aware of the other, while desperately trying to satisfy his own hunger at the same time.

Characterization edit

The characters of the play are taken from the Italian Renaissance theatre style commedia dell'arte. In classic commedia tradition, an actor learns a stock character (usually accentuated by a mask) and plays it to perfection throughout his career. The actors had a list of possible scenarios, each with a very basic plot, called a canovaccio, and throughout would perform physical-comedy acts known as lazzi (from Italian lazzo, a joke or witticism) and the dialogue was improvised.[2]

Characters edit

The characters from The Servant of Two Masters are derived from stock characters used in commedia dell'arte. True commedia dell'arte is more or less improvised without a script, so The Servant of Two Masters is not true commedia. The stock characters were used as guides for the actors improvising.

  • Truffaldino Battochio  – Servant first to Beatrice, and afterward to Florindo. He is the love interest of Smeraldina (based on Arlecchino).
  • Beatrice Rasponi  – Master to Truffaldino, a lady of Turin and disguised as her brother Federigo Rasponi. She is the love interest of Florindo.
  • Florindo Aretusi  – Master to Truffaldino, of Turin and the love interest of Beatrice (an innamorati character who truly loves Beatrice)
  • Pantalone Dei Bisognosi  – A Venetian merchant (based on Pantalone)
  • Smeraldina  – Maidservant to Clarice and the love interest of Truffaldino (based on Columbina)
  • Clarice  – Pantalone's Daughter and the love interest of Silvio (based on Isabella)
  • Silvio  – Son of Dr. Lombardi and the love interest of Clarice (based on Flavio)
  • Dr. Lombardi  – Silvio's father (based on Il Dottore)
  • Brighella  – An Innkeeper
  • First Waiter
  • Second Waiter
  • First Porter
  • Second Porter

Adaptations edit

There have been several adaptations of the play for the cinema and for the stage:

  • The Hotel; or, The Servant with Two Masters by Robert Jephson, Esq. English language adaptation published in 1783, the stock character names were not used and the setting was changed to Granada, Spain.
  • Слуга двух господ (Sluga dvukh gospod [Servant of Two Masters]) (1953)[3] – a 1953 Soviet adaptation
  • Slugă la doi stăpâni (1956)[4] – a Romanian National Radiophonic Theater production; translation: Polixenia Carambi; artistic director: Constantin Moruzan
  • The Servant o' Twa Maisters (1965)[5] Scots language adaptation by Victor Carin
  • Servant of Two Masters (1966) opera by Vittorio Giannini
  • Harlekijn, kies je meester (1973) (TV)[6] – Dutch adaptation
  • Truffaldino from Bergamo (1976) (TV) – Soviet TV movie adaptation
  • Servant of Two Masters (1978) Australian adaptation by Ron Blair and Nick Enright[7] Later produced for television and frequently revived in Australia
  • Sluha dvou pánů (Servant of Two Masters) (1994-2016),[8] Czech theatrical adaptation in National Theatre, Prague; main role played by Miroslav Donutil
  • Servant of Two Masters(1992) Directed by Irene Lewis; Baltimore Center Stage [9]
  • A Servant to Two Masters (1999) Adapted by Lee Hall
  • The Servant of Two Masters (2004) Translated and adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher and Paolo Emilio Landi, first performed by Milwaukee Repertory Theater
  • The Man With Two Gaffers (2006) Adapted by Blake Morrison, set in Victorian Skipton. First performed at York Theatre Royal 26 August 2006 by Northern Broadsides, directed by Barrie Rutter.
  • One Man, Two Guvnors (2011)[10] – set in 1960s Brighton, adapted by Richard Bean and first performed at The National Theatre, London
  • Servant of Two Masters (2012)[11] – adapted by Constance Congdon and first performed at The Lansburgh Theatre, Washington, D.C.
  • Servant of Two Masters Bengali adaptation by Ashim Das as 'Nawkar Shoytaan Malik Hoyraan' and stage production produced by FAME under the direction of Ashim Das in Bangladesh.
  • "The Servant of Two Masters“ adaptated and performed by Grupo de Teatro do Instituto Superior Técnico (GTIST) in Lisbon, Portugal, as "O Servidor de Dois Amos".[12]

Notes edit

  1. ^ Banham (1998, 433)
  2. ^ Anna Maria Testaverde (2007) Introduzione a I canovacci della Commedia dell'Arte 2011-07-22 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Sluga dvukh gospod at IMDb  
  4. ^ Carlo Goldoni - Sluga La Doi Stapani (1956)
  5. ^ John Corbett & Bill Findlay, eds. 2005. Serving Twa Maisters: Five Classic Plays in Scots Translation. Glasgow: Association for Scottish Literary Studies. ISBN 978-0-948877-64-3.
  6. ^ Harlekijn, kies je meester at IMDb  
  7. ^ Austlit. "Servant of Two Masters | AustLit: Discover Australian Stories". www.austlit.edu.au. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
  8. ^ Sluha dvou pánů (divadelní záznam) (2000) (in Czech), retrieved 2020-12-19
  9. ^ "Production History". Baltimore Center Stage. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
  10. ^ Productions – National Theatre 2011-03-01 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ Productions – Shakespeare Theatre 2012-05-05 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ . Archived from the original on 2023-05-26.

References edit

  • Banham, Martin, ed. 1998. The Cambridge Guide to Theatre. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-43437-8.
  • Goldoni, Carlo. 2011. Il servitore di due padroni, Marsilio Editori [it]. ISBN 978-88-317-0831-9.

External links edit

  • The Servant of Two Masters, translated with an introduction by Edward J. Dent, Cambridge University Press, 1928; via Project Gutenberg
  • Il servitore di due padroni, acts and scenes in subpages, with statistics and concordance; PDF (231 KB)
  • Study notes, enotes.com

January 01, 1970
servant, masters, television, episode, servant, masters, professionals, italian, servitore, padroni, comedy, italian, playwright, carlo, goldoni, written, 1746, goldoni, originally, wrote, play, request, actor, antonio, sacco, great, harlequins, history, earli. For the television episode see Servant of Two Masters The Professionals The Servant of Two Masters Italian Il servitore di due padroni is a comedy by the Italian playwright Carlo Goldoni written in 1746 Goldoni originally wrote the play at the request of actor Antonio Sacco one of the great Harlequins in history His earliest drafts had large sections that were reserved for improvisation but he revised it in 1789 in the version that exists today 1 The play draws on the tradition of the earlier Italian commedia dell arte The Servant of Two Masters I d like to see how I ll manage to serve two masters Illustration from The Complete Comedies of Carlo Goldoni 1830 Written byCarlo GoldoniDate premiered1746Original languageItalian VenetianGenreCommedia dell arte Contents 1 Plot 2 Characterization 3 Characters 4 Adaptations 5 Notes 6 References 7 External linksPlot editThe play opens with the introduction of Beatrice a woman who has traveled to Venice disguised as her dead brother in search of the man who killed him Florindo who is also her lover Her brother forbade her to marry Florindo and died defending his sister s honor Beatrice disguises herself as Federigo her dead brother so that he can collect dowry money from Pantaloon also spelled Pantalone the father of Clarice her brother s betrothed She wants to use this money to help her lover escape and to allow them to finally wed But thinking that Beatrice s brother was dead Clarice has fallen in love with another man Silvio and the two have become engaged Interested in keeping up appearances Pantalone tries to conceal the presence of Federigo and Silvio from one another Beatrice s servant the exceptionally quirky and comical Harlequin known in English also as Truffaldino which can be translated into English as Fraudolent is the central figure of this play He is always complaining of an empty stomach and always trying to satisfy his hunger by eating everything and anything in sight When the opportunity presents itself to be servant to another master Florindo as it happens he sees the opportunity for an extra dinner As Harlequin runs around Venice trying to fill the orders of two masters he is almost uncovered several times especially because other characters repeatedly hand him letters money etc and say simply this is for your master without specifying which one To make matters worse the stress causes him to develop a temporary stutter which only arouses more problems and suspicion among his masters To further complicate matters Beatrice and Florindo are staying in the same hotel and are searching for each other In the end with the help of Clarice and Smeraldina Pantalone s feisty servant who is smitten with Truffaldino Beatrice and Florindo finally find each other and with Beatrice exposed as a woman Clarice is allowed to marry Silvio The last matter up for discussion is whether Harlequin and Smeraldina can get married which at last exposes Harlequin s having played both sides all along However as everyone has just decided to get married Harlequin is forgiven Harlequin asks Smeraldina to marry him The most famous set piece of the play is the scene in which the starving Harlequin tries to serve a banquet to the entourages of both his masters without either group becoming aware of the other while desperately trying to satisfy his own hunger at the same time Characterization editThe characters of the play are taken from the Italian Renaissance theatre style commedia dell arte In classic commedia tradition an actor learns a stock character usually accentuated by a mask and plays it to perfection throughout his career The actors had a list of possible scenarios each with a very basic plot called a canovaccio and throughout would perform physical comedy acts known as lazzi from Italian lazzo a joke or witticism and the dialogue was improvised 2 Characters editThe characters from The Servant of Two Masters are derived from stock characters used in commedia dell arte True commedia dell arte is more or less improvised without a script so The Servant of Two Masters is not true commedia The stock characters were used as guides for the actors improvising Truffaldino Battochio Servant first to Beatrice and afterward to Florindo He is the love interest of Smeraldina based on Arlecchino Beatrice Rasponi Master to Truffaldino a lady of Turin and disguised as her brother Federigo Rasponi She is the love interest of Florindo Florindo Aretusi Master to Truffaldino of Turin and the love interest of Beatrice an innamorati character who truly loves Beatrice Pantalone Dei Bisognosi A Venetian merchant based on Pantalone Smeraldina Maidservant to Clarice and the love interest of Truffaldino based on Columbina Clarice Pantalone s Daughter and the love interest of Silvio based on Isabella Silvio Son of Dr Lombardi and the love interest of Clarice based on Flavio Dr Lombardi Silvio s father based on Il Dottore Brighella An Innkeeper First Waiter Second Waiter First Porter Second PorterAdaptations editThere have been several adaptations of the play for the cinema and for the stage The Hotel or The Servant with Two Masters by Robert Jephson Esq English language adaptation published in 1783 the stock character names were not used and the setting was changed to Granada Spain Sluga dvuh gospod Sluga dvukh gospod Servant of Two Masters 1953 3 a 1953 Soviet adaptation Slugă la doi stăpani 1956 4 a Romanian National Radiophonic Theater production translation Polixenia Carambi artistic director Constantin Moruzan The Servant o Twa Maisters 1965 5 Scots language adaptation by Victor Carin Servant of Two Masters 1966 opera by Vittorio Giannini Harlekijn kies je meester 1973 TV 6 Dutch adaptation Truffaldino from Bergamo 1976 TV Soviet TV movie adaptation Servant of Two Masters 1978 Australian adaptation by Ron Blair and Nick Enright 7 Later produced for television and frequently revived in Australia Sluha dvou panu Servant of Two Masters 1994 2016 8 Czech theatrical adaptation in National Theatre Prague main role played by Miroslav Donutil Servant of Two Masters 1992 Directed by Irene Lewis Baltimore Center Stage 9 A Servant to Two Masters 1999 Adapted by Lee Hall The Servant of Two Masters 2004 Translated and adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher and Paolo Emilio Landi first performed by Milwaukee Repertory Theater The Man With Two Gaffers 2006 Adapted by Blake Morrison set in Victorian Skipton First performed at York Theatre Royal 26 August 2006 by Northern Broadsides directed by Barrie Rutter One Man Two Guvnors 2011 10 set in 1960s Brighton adapted by Richard Bean and first performed at The National Theatre London Servant of Two Masters 2012 11 adapted by Constance Congdon and first performed at The Lansburgh Theatre Washington D C Servant of Two Masters Bengali adaptation by Ashim Das as Nawkar Shoytaan Malik Hoyraan and stage production produced by FAME under the direction of Ashim Das in Bangladesh The Servant of Two Masters adaptated and performed by Grupo de Teatro do Instituto Superior Tecnico GTIST in Lisbon Portugal as O Servidor de Dois Amos 12 Notes edit Banham 1998 433 Anna Maria Testaverde 2007 Introduzione a I canovacci della Commedia dell Arte Archived 2011 07 22 at the Wayback Machine Sluga dvukh gospod at IMDb nbsp Carlo Goldoni Sluga La Doi Stapani 1956 John Corbett amp Bill Findlay eds 2005 Serving Twa Maisters Five Classic Plays in Scots Translation Glasgow Association for Scottish Literary Studies ISBN 978 0 948877 64 3 Harlekijn kies je meester at IMDb nbsp Austlit Servant of Two Masters AustLit Discover Australian Stories www austlit edu au Retrieved 2020 12 19 Sluha dvou panu divadelni zaznam 2000 in Czech retrieved 2020 12 19 Production History Baltimore Center Stage Retrieved 2020 12 19 Productions National Theatre Archived 2011 03 01 at the Wayback Machine Productions Shakespeare Theatre Archived 2012 05 05 at the Wayback Machine FATAL O Servidor de Dois Amos ULisboa Archived from the original on 2023 05 26 References editBanham Martin ed 1998 The Cambridge Guide to Theatre Cambridge Cambridge University Press ISBN 0 521 43437 8 Goldoni Carlo 2011 Il servitore di due padroni Marsilio Editori it ISBN 978 88 317 0831 9 External links editThe Servant of Two Masters translated with an introduction by Edward J Dent Cambridge University Press 1928 via Project Gutenberg Il servitore di due padroni acts and scenes in subpages with statistics and concordance PDF 231 KB Study notes enotes com Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Servant of Two Masters amp oldid 1194844590, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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