Chasing the young Duse

Abstract

This paper reviews Martino Cafiero’s Volere, potere. Contro Eleonora Duse, edited by Teresa Megale and Elena Lenzi. Through unpublished sources the book leads to unexpected discoveries and makes new contributions to the history of nineteenth-century theater. The appendix novel Volere Potere, published as a serial in the newspaper «Corriere del Mattino», has been transcribed in complete. The feuilleton tells the love story between Silvio Hall and the actress Lidina, but behind the fiction lies the controversial story of the author's relationship with Eleonora Duse. A narrative source that Cafiero disseminates with references and that, connected with other documents, highlights the time of Duse's stay in Naples, between the end of 1878 and the beginning of 1880. This was a significant period for the actress who underwent training here following her debut on the stage of the Teatro dei Fiorentini.