Adelaide Ristori. Ritratto dell’artista in commedia

Abstract

In retracing the genesis of her work in the Artistic Studies (1887), Adelaide Ristori dwells on the creative process of tragedy characters. But Adelaide Ristori was particularly admired by contemporary audiences and critics in her interpretations of comedy characters. In 1854, in an article published in «Dramma», there is a remark explicit in this regard: «would have been wrong who believed that Mrs Ristori never steps down from the throne of Melpomene […]. The Zelinda’s or Pamela’s apron – that suits her so well – will convince him of his mistake». The French press explains this ability to excel in both the tragic and comic registers by attributing it to the tradition of Italian actors, very different from that of French actors. This study, analyzing the documentation, often unpublished, conserved at the Fondo Ristori of the Museo Biblioteca dell’Attore in Genoa, about the construction of the comic characters, focuses on the type that was particularly frequented by the Grande Attrice. It was thus possible to highlight her convictions, in the critical and aesthetic, that inspired the repertoire choices and the methods of stage performance of the comic characters interpreted by Ristori, identifying continuity and breaking points with her interpretation of tragic characters.