One of the pioneers of the Italian national theater: Who is Vittorio Amedeo Alfieri?

(1749-1803) Italian writer of tragedy. He was born into a noble family in Astı, Italy. He had a relaxed and active youth. Although he graduated from the Military Academy in Turin and joined the army as a second lieutenant, military life did not appeal to him, so he took leave and went on a trip to Europe. Voltaire, whom he studied in France, was greatly influenced by the ideas of J. J. Rousseau and Montesquieu. He resigned from the army in 1772 and settled in Turin. He started to study classical literature and Italian poets and write plays to fill the void in his life. His relationship, which started with the Countess of Albany in 1777, continued in 1787 when they settled in Paris together. Although he initially supported the French Revolution of 1789, his views changed and he had to leave Paris and settle in Florence because of a satire he wrote against France. The monument, which was commissioned by his wife in the Church of Santa Croce upon his death in 1803, is one of the outstanding works of Genoa.

Count Vittorio Alfieri (16 January 1749 – 8 October 1803) was an Italian dramatist and poet, considered the "founder of Italian tragedy." He wrote nineteen tragedies, sonnets, satires, and a notable autobiography.

After his resignation from the military, the tragedy Cleopatra, which he wrote, was a great success in 1775, and he devoted himself entirely to writing plays. From 1776 to 1789, he wrote nineteen tragedies, all about opposition to tyranny. All of his plays were tragedies, in which the fight between the heroes fighting for freedom and the tyrants was portrayed in harsh and bitter language, calling the people to fight. His plays were published in Paris in 1789.

Trying to use classical legends and historical stories in the progressiveness of his age, Alfieri helped found a national theater in Italy. The loose, sentimental comedies of his predecessors were greeted with enthusiasm by Italians for his strong characters, tragic situations, and the use of hateful emotions against tyrants.

WORKS:

Cleopatra, 1775;

Merope, 1782;

Polinice, 1783;

Antigone, 1783;

Agamemnon, 1783;

Oreste, 1783;

Octavia, 1784;

Mana Stuarda, 1789.