Vittorio Conte Alfieri

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Vittorio Alfieri, Conte , 1749–1803, Italian tragic poet. A Piedmontese, born to wealth and social position, he spent his youth in dissipation and adventure. From 1767 to 1772 he traveled over much of Europe but returned to Italy fired by a sense of the greatness of his own country. He saw himself as a prophet called to revive the national spirit of Italy and chose tragic drama as his means. The first of his plays, Cleopatra, written in a vigorous, harsh, and individual style, was staged in Turin in 1775. From 1776 to 1786 he wrote 19 tragedies, among them Philip the Second, Saul, Antigone, Agamemnon, Orestes, Sophonisba, and Maria Stuart —all in the tradition of French classical tragedy. He also wrote comedies; a bitter satire against France, the Misogallo ; and a revealing autobiography (1804, tr. by W. D. Howells, 1877). Alfieri's most productive period coincided with the beginning of his love for the countess of Albany, wife of Charles Edward Stuart, the Young Pretender. The rest of his life was spent with her; they may have married secretly after her husband's death. Alfieri's complete works, which figured in the rise of Italian nationalism, were posthumously edited and published (1805–15) by the countess. His tragedies were translated into English in 1815 and 1876. Della tirannia appeared as Of Tyranny (1961).

Bibliography: See biography by G. Megaro (1930, repr. 1971).

Alfieri, Vittorio Amedeo (1749–1803), Italian dramatist, chiefly remembered as a writer of austere tragedies in verse. His first, Cleopatra, was performed at Turin in 1775 with great success. Of the other 20, of which it has been said that their action ‘flies like an arrow to its mark’, the best are probably Saul (1782) and Mirra (1784). A production in 1967 of one of the half-dozen comedies written towards the end of his life, Il Divorzio (1802), showed a gift for satiric humour. Alfieri, who was born in Asti of a noble and wealthy family, had an unhappy childhood, and at an early age left home to travel widely in Europe. He became the devoted lover of the Countess of Albany, wife of the Young Pretender, to whom he left all his books and manuscripts.