Il teatro comico

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Il teatro comico is a comedy play by the Venetian writer Carlo Goldoni, written in 1750. It was the first of sixteen comedies Goldoni wrote after being commissioned by Gerolamo Medebach. In the Introduction, Goldoni says that much of contemporary comedy had become corrupt and vulgar, and he explains his plan to revive good traditions while showing scenes and characters that feel real. The play is self-aware about being a performance: the actors pretend to be in a comedy, wearing masks and using the traditional names of the Commedia dell’Arte to tell the story.