“The Improvisatore” (Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine)
The author sarcastically comments on an unnamed improvisatore’s poetic technique, and dismisses his skill.
Tag: Lucca
Alessandro Luzio, “Amarilli Etrusca”
Luzio summarizes the correspondence between Teresa Bandettini (Amarilli Etrusca) and the Abbot Saverio Bettinelli. Bandettini’s letters describe her poetry and performances in glowing terms, but the critic finds her work mediocre. While Luzio admires the fact that she continued to perform her poetry to support her family financially, her verses remain boring and tiresome.
Mary Shelley, The Journals of Mary Shelley: 1814-1844
A series of excerpts from Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s journals, and accompanying notes, describing her encounters with the improvisatori Sgricci and Gabriele Rossetti, in Lucca and Pisa respectively.
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, “Letter to Claire Clairmont, [14-15] January 1821”
Shelley recounts her experience of two performances at Lucca, one of which was an improvisation by Sgricci on the subject of Ignez di Castro, which Shelley very much enjoyed. Shelley also describes various aspects of her social life at Lucca and Pisa, including her acquaintance with Sgricci himself, and her opinion of his character.
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, “Letter to Claire Clairmont, 21 [24] January 1821”
Shelley describes an enchanting performance by Sgricci on the Death of Hector and recounts her later conversation with Sgricci about the performance.
Thomas Medwin, Conversations of Lord Byron Noted During a Residence with His Lordship at Pisa, in the Years 1821 and 1822
A recorded conversation between Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley, in which the two touch on Kemble and Hook briefly, and then speak about Sgricci at greater length. Shelley mentions Sgricci’s improvised performance of Iphigenia at Tauris in Lucca, which very much impressed him. Byron notes the marked difference between the arts of written poetry and improvisation. In the second passage, Medwin describes Byron’s incredible memory, focus, and the perfection of his manuscripts, likening his skills to those of an improvisatore.
Thomas Medwin, The Life of Percy Bysshe Shelley
Medwin discusses Shelley’s relationship with Tommaso Sgricci, noting Shelley’s enthusiasm for the improvisatore. Medwin himself holds Sgricci in lower esteem, mentioning the inferiority of the latter’s poetry in written form, and recounting the end of his career.