Commotion on the Lagoon

Temperament, quarrels, brawls, arguments, breakups and reconciliations - all of this in the famous classical comedy from sunny Italy.

One of his most successful comedies, "Poprask na laguně" ("La baruffe chiozotte"), was written by Carlo Goldoni in 1762. In his "Memoirs" about its creation, he notes: "In my youth I lived for some time in Chioggia as an assistant to the chancellor. I had plenty to do there with the numerous restless population made up of fishermen, sailors and women, who have no gathering place other than the street. I became acquainted with their customs, their peculiar dialect or jargon, I learned their cheerful wit and their cunning. I was able to portray them as they deserved."

On Czech stages, this comedy about the joys and sorrows of ordinary people from a fishing village has a rich history: in the sixties it was presented by the National Theatre in Prague with Ladislav Pešek, and twenty years ago the Vinohrady Theatre in Prague with Viktor Preiss and Petr Kostka.