The Coffee Shop (Great Translations for Actors Series)
Anyone for Venice? Yes, lots of people actually: pilgrims, con artists, gamblers, phonies, policemen, waiters, businessmen -- all caught up in the Carnival, dropping in at the coffee shop for a cuppa, for java was big in 1750. From Booklist Goldoni was one of the most prolific and influential eighteenth-century playwrights, and his reforms of Italian comedy still influence contemporary practice. As Robert Cornthwaite notes in the foreword to his new version of La Bottega del...
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Anyone for Venice? Yes, lots of people actually: pilgrims, con artists, gamblers, phonies, policemen, waiters, businessmen - all caught up in the Carnival. Goldoni's single set for this comedy from his golden middle period is a quiet piazzette he knew well where a little coffee shop, a gambling den, a barber shop and an inn keep the action hopping.Carolyn M. MulacDubbed "Italy s Moliere" by none other than Voltaire, Goldoni (1707-93) is regarded as the father of Italian comedy. Until now, anyone looking for an English translation of his La Bottega del Caffe has only one choice, a 1925 translation by Henry B. Fuller. Now there are two new choices, each with unique qualities to recommend them. Cornthwaite s translation is like espresso: pungent, distinctive, with a bit of an edge. Parzen s is more like cappuccino: sharing the strong base, but with the added ingredient of the original Italian on the facing page. Parzen s version tends to be more literary and is better suited for reading than playing. Drama collections, then, may prefer Cornthwaite s acting version, while language and literature collections might opt for Parzen s traditional and bilingual version. (Chicago Public Library)
Comedy in 3 ActsMen: 7Women: 3Extras: Constables, Waiters, The Barber's Apprentice (speaking), A Waiter at the Inn (speaking), Chief Constable (speaking)Sets: 1
