'The young Casanova'. A frequent enough term - but what first caused such an expression to enter the English vernacular? The story is traced back to Venetian adventurer and author Giacomo Casanova, who died in 1798 at the age of 73. His life, as will be known to anyone who has seen one of the many screen biopics, is too rich and varied to be done justice in a few short words, but suffice to say that, tainted by scandals and accusations, Casanova wended his way across Europe, fraternising with royalty, and names such as Voltaire, Göthe and Mozart.
Casanova's ethos was simple, 'cultivating whatever gave pleasure to my senses was always the chief business of my life'. During his later years, Casanova wrote 'Histoire de ma vie', 'The Story of My Life', and it because of this that we are fully able to relish in the most licentious details. Adapted for stage screen and music in recent years, here is a film first released in 2005, starring Heath Ledger and Sienna Miller among others.
There was a film of this with David Tennant!! =)
ReplyDeleteThere's probably some kind of remake every three years! I would think David Tennant would suit it though :-)
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