152 UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO STUDIES 



stage, he became interested in Shakespeare, through the Italian 

 translation of Giulio Carcano (1812-84). At that time the quality 

 of form still appeared so important to him that he regarded Voltaire 

 as superior to Shakespeare, and preferred the Orosmane of Zaire to 

 the Othello of Shakespeare's play. But gradually the artificial 

 perfection of the French classic school lost its fascination for him. 

 He had become absorbed in the free and inspired drama of Shake- 

 speare. In like manner Rossi and Ristori showed their preference for 

 Shakespeare. Rossi appeared in a repertory similar to that of Sal- 

 vini, while Ristori appeared as Juliet in her youth and achieved her 

 greatest fame in later years as Lady Macbeth. This is the part in 

 which most Americans will remember her. Nevertheless, in her tours 

 in this country, she did appear in the plays of one Italian dramatist 

 of high standing in the nineteenth century, Paolo Giacometti. He is 

 the author of Elizabeth, and of Marie Antoinette, played by Ristori, 

 as well as of Sophocles and La Morte Civile, played by Salvini. But 

 the native Italian stage, during the lifetime of its three greatest 

 actors, was nevertheless poverty-stricken. In 1856 Ristori at the 

 height of her fame had an Italian translation made of the old-fashioned 

 tragedy, Fazio, or the Italian Wife. The title of this play would lead 

 one to believe that it was of Italian origin, but it was the work of the 

 Rev. H. H. Milman, an English clergyman, his own work and not 

 adapted from an Italian source. Far from drawing our plays from the 

 Italian stage, we were actually, in this instance, furnishing the Italian 

 stage with an English play, a rare occurrence, indeed, as English 

 plays down to the present day have seldom made their way to the 

 continent. Fazio, which dates from the year 1817, has not been seen 

 on the American stage since the early days of Mary Anderson, some 

 thirty-five years ago. 



From the foregoing pages we can only infer that throughout the 

 nineteenth century, Italian drama had practically no effect on the 

 English stage. This is the case. The dramatic literature of Italy 

 is a sealed book to us. On the other hand, the music of Italy in the 

 nineteenth century, through the medium of opera, early penetrated 

 to America. The melodies of Bellini, Donizetti and Rossini glad- 



