Giacomo Casanova: one of the most beguiling and controversial individuals of his or any age. Braggart or perfect lover? Conman or genius? He made and lost fortunes, founded two state lotteries, wrote various plays, philosophical and mathematical treatises, opera libretti, poetry, and forty-two books. His 3,600 pages of memoirs recorded hundreds of meals as well, of course, as his affairs and sexual encounters with dozens of women and a handful of men and have bought him two centuries of notoriety.
Now, in CASANOVA, Ian Kelly reveals previously unpublished documents by Giacomo himself, as well as his friends and lovers, which give new insights into his life and his world. From his devotion to the Kaballah to his collaboration with Mozart on his opera Don Giovanni, from his vast appetite for food and sex to his training for priesthood, this is the fascinating story of an icon of his age and ours.
Five episodes of approximately 15 minutes each.
Episode 1:
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Born into a notorious family of actors in Venice, Giacomo Casanova is never far from the stage door. His parents think the sickly, abnormally self-obsessed young boy will die young, and send him out of the city for his health. Within a few years, Casanova returns to Venice, now a tall, handsome, dashing young man, with a string of potential mistresses, and a somewhat unlikely career in the Church.
Episode 2:
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When Casanova's scandalous affair with a married woman becomes the talk of Rome, he is encouraged to leave the city. Before long the unlikely cleric is embarking upon a trip to Constantinople, where the delights of the harem lead him into uncharted waters.
Episode 3:
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Casanova inveigles himself into the lavish court of Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour at Versailles, where he immediately gains something of a reputation. After causing something of a stir, he finds himself without income or employment. He decides to return to Venice, where an affair with an enigmatic masked nun brings him to the attention of the Venetian Inquisition.
Episode 4:
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Casanova arrives in London, a city in the midst of a craze for Venetian masquerades. Using all his wit and charm, he finds himself rubbing shoulders with high society. But when he unexpectedly falls for the city's most infamous courtesan, her endless refusals drive him to distraction. He finds himself with lead weights in his pockets, contemplating the murky waters of the Thames.
Episode 5:
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Hoping to try his luck at the court of Catherine the Great, Casanova accepts an invitation to a masked Venetian ball at the Winter Palace in St Petersburg. His introduction to the Tsarina proves fruitless and he moves on to Poland, where a duel boosts his reputation. But Casanova is no longer a young man, and soon he begins to reflect on his own mortality.
Produced by Duncan Minshull.
Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch (born 19 July 1976) is an English actor.
He is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking in the BBC drama, Hawking, for which he was nominated as Best Actor at the 2005 British Academy Television Awards.
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Casanova - 4.mp3
Casanova - 5.mp3
Thank you!