Pietro Chiari (; 25 December 1712 – 31 August 1785) was an Italian

catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

, playwright, novelist and

librettist A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major litu ...

Life

Chiari was born and died in

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...

. He was a

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

until leaving the order in 1747. From 1747 to 1762 he was court poet of Duke Francis III of Modena, in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, although not at the public cost. During this period he wrote nearly 60 comedies, which from 1761 or earlier often brought him into conflict with his rival Goldoni. With a deep hatred for the style of

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...

, Chiari made ''

comédie larmoyante Comédie larmoyante () was a genre of French drama of the 18th century. In this type of sentimental comedy, the impending tragedy was resolved at the end, amid reconciliations and floods of tears. Plays of this genre that ended unhappily never ...

'' fashionable in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

under the name ''commedia fiebile''. He also edited the '' Gazzetta Veneta'' from 1761 to 1762, when he returned to his birthplace to spend his final years.

Works

Comedies

Tragedies

* ''Catilina'', based on the life of

Catilina Lucius Sergius Catilina ( 108 BC – January 62 BC), known in English as Catiline (), was a Roman politician and soldier. He is best known for instigating the Catilinarian conspiracy, a failed attempt to violently seize control of the R ...

* ''Giulio Cesare'', based on the life of

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

* ''Kouli-Kan'', based on the life of

Timur Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kür ...

* ''La Morte di Kouli-Kan'' * ''Marco Antonio triumviro'', based on the life of

Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the autoc ...

* ''Marco Tullio Cicerone'', based on the life of

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...

Novels

*''La Filosofessa italiana'' (1753) *''La Cantatrice per disgrazia, osia le avventure della Marchesa N. N. scritte da lei medesima'' (1754) *''Le Memorie di madama Tolot ovvero la giocatrice di lotto'' (1757) *''La Bella Pellegrina'' (1759) *''La Francese in Italia'' (1759) *''La Veneziana di spirito'' (1762)
''L'Americana ramminga, cioè Memorie di Donna Jnnez di Quebrada. Scritte da lei stessa, e ora pubblicate da M. G. Di S. Sua confidente amica''
(1763; work attributed to Chiari) * ''La Ballerina onorata, o sia Memorie d'una figlia naturale del duca N. V. scritte da lei medesima'' * ''La Fantasima, aneddoti castigliani d'una dama di qualità, scritti da lei medesima'' *''Memorie del Barone di Trenk Comandante de' Panduri'' (1784; date it came to light)
''I privilegi dell'ignoranza - Lettere d'una Americana ad un Letterato d'Europa''
(1784)

Bibliography

* Alessio Giannanti
L'America di Pietro Chiari. Tra attribuzioni apocrife e riflessioni filosofiche
* Carmelo Alberti, ''Convegno Un rivale di Carlo Goldoni, l'abate Chiari e il teatro europeo del Settecento'', Vicenza, N. Pozza, 1986 * Giuseppe Antonelli, ''Alle Radici della letteratura di consumo : la lingua dei romanzi di Pietro Chiari e Antonio Piazza'', Milan, Istituto di propaganda libraria, 1996 * Luca Clerici, ''Il Romanzo italiano del Settecento : il caso Chiari'', Venezia, Marsilio, 1997 * Xavier de Courville, ''Un Artisan de la rénovation théâtrale avant Goldoni Luigi Riccoboni'', Paris, 1894 * Pietro Toldo, ''L’Œuvre de Molière et sa fortune en Italie'', Turin, E. Loescher, 1910 {{DEFAULTSORT:Chiari, Pietro 1712 births 1785 deaths Italian opera librettists Italian dramatists and playwrights Former Jesuits Italian male dramatists and playwrights