by InTrieste
The forgotten worlds of 18th-century Venetian playwright Carlo Goldoni are coming back to life in an unexpected and enchanting way. L’incognita, a little-known comedy by Goldoni, will be performed on October 15 and 16 at Sala Bartoli as part of the season at the Teatro Stabile del Friuli Venezia Giulia. This production offers a fresh take on a nearly forgotten play, blending the talents of an all-female cast and the innovative use of puppetry.
Scholars and theater historians have long pondered why L’incognita, which belongs to Goldoni’s “sixteen new comedies” of 1750-51, has remained on the fringes of the repertoire. The play’s revival is thanks in large part to Piermario Vescovo, a renowned Goldoni expert, who, alongside Antonella Zaggia, both directs and produces this fresh interpretation. The two have embraced the challenge of bringing the play into the 21st century, using creative staging to emphasize the speed and complexity of Goldoni’s original narrative.
In this new production, the action unfolds in a whirlwind of shifting scenes and perspectives, moving from bustling streets to intimate interiors in quick succession. Characters weave in and out of locations over the course of 24 hours, capturing an unrelenting pace that evokes the techniques of cinematic storytelling. While Goldoni was a master of human comedy, Vescovo and Zaggia’s staging takes the narrative into the realm of the surreal, where human actors share the stage with life-sized puppets.
As the narrative spirals through twists and coincidences, the interplay between actors and puppets grows central to the play’s message. The plot is thick with deceit, adventure, and sudden revelations, making it feel almost more suited to marionettes than living performers. Yet, as the production reveals, there’s a poignant layer of truth in this puppet-driven world. The artificiality of the performance gradually becomes a metaphor, with the women behind the puppets offering a commentary on the blurred lines between reality and illusion, romance and deception.
This revival is also part of a broader reassessment of Goldoni’s connection to the European novel of his time. Competing with writers like Pietro Chiari, Goldoni sought to adapt the elaborate plots of contemporaneous French and English novels for the stage, in much the same way that serialized television shows do today. As modern scholars turn their attention to this overlooked chapter of Goldoni’s career, younger academics are revisiting his works with new insight, pushing back against the long-standing stereotypes of the playwright as a simplistic humorist.
L’incognita promises to show Trieste’s audiences that even the most seemingly absurd stories contain a kernel of deeper meaning. Vescovo and Zaggia’s decision to feature an all-female cast and puppetry allows the production to strike a delicate balance between farce and profundity, demonstrating that what may appear “false” on the surface can often reveal profound truths.
For those interested in witnessing this distinctive blend of old and new, performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on October 15 and 9:00 p.m. on October 16 at Sala Bartoli. Tickets and subscriptions are still available through Teatro Stabile del Friuli Venezia Giulia’s website and affiliated outlets.
L’incognita may have been unknown for centuries, but its rediscovery at the hands of Piermario Vescovo and Antonella Zaggia reminds us why the world of Carlo Goldoni, with all its humor and humanity, is worth a second look.
Performance Details: L’INCOGNITA
By Carlo Goldoni
Featuring: Manuela Muffatto, Federica Mulas, Eleonora Ruzza,
Marika Tesser, Antonella Zaggia, Francesca Zava
Directed by: Piermario Vescovo and Antonella Zaggia
Lighting by: Nicola Fasoli
Costumes by: Caterina Volpato
For tickets and more information, visit www.ilrossetti.it or call +39 040.3593511.
