Servant of Two Masters: A Comedy

The Servant of Two Masters is one of Goldoni's earliest plays. At the center of this madcap comedy is Truffaldino, the scheming - and perpetually hungry - servant who concocts a zany scheme to double his wages and his meals by serving two masters at once. The play was written in 1743 at the request of the actor Sacchi, who suggested the subject and himself played the part of Truffaldino. The Italian theatre of that day was dominated by the improvising actors who wore the traditional masks, and in the original form of this play the comic scenes were left to the actor's own invention. Goldoni wrote them down when he printed the play in 1753, and there can be no doubt that he incorporated a great deal of Sacchi's traditional business. Mozart had a great admiration for The Servant of Two Masters, and in 1783 contemplated turning it into a comic opera.