The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-07-14
1rALY's FOREMOST ACTOR.
Ermete NoveIli, Who Would Revive
This COUntry's Drama

ErUlete NOveIli, Who Would Revive
This COEntry's Drama.
The American theatrical manager who
has gone to Italy presumably to engage
one of that country's noted actors might
find it well worth his time to consider
one other noted player who, In his own
country, ranks with Eleonora Duse and
has met with nearly the same degree
OF approval in Paris, st. Petersburg and
Vienna. This is ETmete NOvelli, Italy
fol amost actor He Is the most noted
player that country has produced since
Tcnasso SalvinL but he is as different
in ais methods from that actor as Duse
Is different from Ristori. There is in
his art none Of the old redundancy OF
gesture and prOdigality of voice which
W. re the salient characteristics of the
earlier Italians. Heisas modern as Duse,
or for that matter as Ermete Zaccoui
Who comes nearer than amy other Italian
actor to sharing his eminence; Tina di
- -enZa, lrma Grammatical and tae
9th 4 prominent actors of Italy.
ut the fame CT NovelH is established
In Paris where his appearances two
y as ago were triumphant; in Russia
an In Austria. His Italian tours are
Toeu ar, varied by seasons in Spain and
south America He mas already been
app cached with offers to come here,
bur he names a prohibitive figure,
clieiiy because he has no especial de-
Size to act in this country and partly
because he just now feels that he has
soU ething to do in his country which
he has lahored without much success
to accomplish. Tt is nothing less am
bilious than the establishment OF a
national theater, founded on the
Coincide Franchise as a model
actors visit to Paris. He felt the great
value Of such an academic institution on
the drama of a country. The Italian
stage, in spite of its few great figures
is in degraded condition and the ma
terial circumstances of the actors are
said TO have sunk to greater depth OF
Indebtedness than even Austria ana
France know, which is saying much, as
In the former country the state of the
actors has lately been the subject of
governmental interference. The lack OF
material progress in his country's drama
seemed to Novell to be the result of a
lack of any academic standard and when
he came to Rome after his Paris APP
pearanees he determined to do what he
could to establish a national theater.
The first year Of its career has lust end.
ed and the experiment was not sue
cessful enough to encourage the founder
viii continue for another year his er-
Tort to give Italy a permanent theater.
He took an old playhouse in Rome had
IL reoecorated in accordance with modern
IDEAS and supplied with what were, for
Italy, remarkable Innovations in the wav
of scenic and illuminative appliances He
took the theater without a subsidy. bur
determined that in every detail the per
rormances should be equal to the best
seen in Paris. He carried through This
part q of his promise and for the first time
one {neater-goers of Rome saw plays put
seen IN the cities of the other European
capitals Noyelli did not name the
theater after himself, but called it after
the country's greatest dramatist casa
For the first time in Rome theater
was supplied with electric light, and for
the first time an Italian theater pos
sessed three curtains. one of iron and the
other two to fall at the intermissions
ana at the end Of the play. The cos
tunes We're as unusual as the other fea
- the theaters equipment, and
lance of the Goldoni COM