Director Attilio Maggiulli sees Carlo Goldoni's La Locandiera as an essentially masculine play, though it centers on the feminist heroine, Mirandolina. She may be "Mistress of the Inn" she inherited from her father, but it is in his -- that is to say, masculine -- world in which she governs her business and the men who pursue her.
Helene Lestrade brings a maturity to the title role that makes her dominance over her suitors more realistically believable than in productions that present her as cleverly coquettish. Indeed, the work is that of a mature cast in service of the same type of playwright. The setting, Florence, is a city that knows harsh politics. The set of the production, like Mirandolina's velvet robes, features browns draped in gold; this is an atmosphere in which darkness prevails over the sun. David Clair makes Le Chevalier, who most resists Mirandolina's charms, an almost tragic figure after he succumbs. Le Comte d'Albafiorita (Jean-Jacques Pivert), however, is the usual wealthy suitor displaying his hands full of rings and courting with gifts of jewels. He's natural prey to Michel Denis' avaricious Marquis, who's quick to offer himself as a go-between for money.
On a comic note, the character complains about how the author depicts him.Two servants, Olivier Soliveres' Bastien and Roberto Armini's Marco, contribute low comedy. Marco is the bigger bungler, always falling and dropping things. Soliveres and Candido Temperini (who calls little attention to himself as Mirandolina's intended) double, as well as cross-dress, when they don outrageous outfits to play two scheming putanes who visit the inn to steal as well as ply their trade.
In a play that's so well known, it's a tribute to Lestrade and Clair that their fates in the "contest" between them seem a matter of suspense. Perhaps it is director Magguilli's distinctive interpretation of the piece as a dark comedy that leads to wonder if a new spin can be put on Mirandolina's final decision.
Despite both comic lines and funny lazzi, Mirandolina's Italy may well be more shadowy than sunny.
