The German State Theatre invites the audience to see the newest production in its repertoire - Servant of Two Masters, a commedia dell'arte by the great Carlo Goldoni, staged here by Niky Wolcz. The premiere will take place on Saturday 23 March 2024, starting at 7.30pm, and the next performance will take place the following day, 24 March, at the same time. Two more performances will then follow on 19 and 20 April 2024.

Tickets here: https://www.entertix.ro/evenimente?s=teatrul+german

The beautiful Beatrice of Turin goes in search of her lover Florindo, who is accused of murder and has gone into hiding. As this is the 18th century, she travels unnoticed in men's clothes and is accompanied by her servant Truffaldino. Unaware of each other, the two lovers meet in the same inn in Venice. And so, as if existing complications were not enough, Truffaldino unwittingly causes new ones, as he also takes on the job of Florindo's servant at the same time. In the end, in Carlo Goldoni's most successful comedy, „love and joie de vivre” win out.

The characters of The Slave of Two Masters correspond to the indications of the Commedia dell'arte: there are the two Pantalone and Dottore, then Arlecchino - here Truffaldino - and even two couples in love. To these important characters are added the host Brighella and the maid Smeraldina. In contrast to classic improvisational comedy, the characters are not just ideas or typologies, but are largely individualised. Goldoni, whose literary inspiration was the comedy of manners written by Molière, and whose sympathies lie with Smeraldina and Truffaldino, portrays here the rise of the bourgeoisie.

Niky Wolcz was born in Timișoara and studied acting at the Theater and Film Academy in Bucharest. He began his career as an actor at the GSTT and later played at the renowned Bulandra Theater. After leaving the country in 1975, he directed at numerous theaters and opera houses in Germany, including Bochum, Essen and Frankfurt, but also in Austria, Switzerland and France. From the mid-1990s, Wolcz taught acting at Columbia University in New York together with his wife Ursula. He has worked as a stage director and choreographer at La MaMa Theater in New York, the American Repertory Theatre Boston and the New York Metropolitan Opera, among others.

On the meaning of the meaning of the masks, Niky Wolcz said :

”The masks and fixed figures, which Goldoni had initially eliminated, return in The Servant of Two Masters. It is often said that the mask in Commedia dell'arte hides something. It is considered non-psychological, but in fact it is very psychological and concentrates the main features of the characters in a grotesque form. This is about revealing, not hiding. The mask denounces their nature while continuing the old theatrical traditions while adopting archetypes.”




His life spanned almost an entire century. Italian comedy playwright Carlo Goldoni was born in 1707 in Venice and died in 1797, shortly after the French Revolution ushered in the age of the bourgeoisie. It was also a period of the Enlightenment, when the educated class became concerned with issues of civil and human rights, and when people moved further and further away from the ideology of the church. "Cogito, ergo sum", it was said as early as the 17th century, following Descartes: people discovered that they were individuals, and reason determined their worldview.


Goldoni was a very productive author, even if many of his works were created according to the usual patterns of the period. He studied philosophy and law, devoted himself to the theater from his youth, and worked, among other things, as resident playwright at the Teatro Sant' Angelo in Venice, an incredibly rich city for the time, where theater and opera were flourishing. His rivalry with Carlo Gozzi led him to answer the call of the French king and join the Comédie Italienne in Paris. He succeeded in replacing traditional improvisational comedy and establishing a style that reflected society. He left us 150 comedies, five tragedies, scripts for actors and librettos. Goldoni brought theater into the modern age.


With: Rareș Hontzu, Isa Berger, Boris Gaza, Richard Hladik, Alma Diaconu, Robert Bogdanov-Schein, Franz Kattesch, Silvia Török, Harald Weisz, Daniel Ghidel, Aida Olaru, Radu Brănici, Simona Vintilă, Tatiana Sessler-Toami, Yannick Becker, Thomas Kattesch (gues) Mina Șelariu (guest), Ștefan Bogdan (guest), Eva Bancea (guest), David Săracu (guest), Corina Fratuțescu, Adelina Cătană, Matei Bumbescu, Adrian Georgescu, Dumitru Părpăluță, Alexandru Pacev.

Directed by Niky Wolcz (guest) • Sets: Helmuth Stürmer (guest) • Costumes: Ioana Popescu • Video: Cristian Ienciu • Light Design: Cosmin Anania • Speech Training: Ulrike Schulze (guest) • Assistant Director: Isolde Cobeț • Set, Mask and Prop Assistance: Fehervári Zsolt (guest) • Musical preparation: Roxana Ardeleanu (guest) • Make-up: Bojita Ilici • Wig design: Lucia Preda (guest) • Technical direction: Cătălin Tănase.

See you this spring in Venice, on the stage of the German Theatre!