GIACOSA, Giuseppe, Italian dramatist: b. Colleretto Parella, Piedmont, 21 Oct. 1847; d. 2 Sept. 1906. His father, a distinguished lawyer and magistrate, destined him early for the bar, but an early dramatic attempt, 'Una partita a scacchi' (A Game of Chess), writ ten in 1871 for private amateur performance, was so successful that it induced the young lawyer to seek a career in literature and the theatre. Giacosa's work as a dramatist may be roughly divided into three periods. His early plays, Una partita a scacchi,> 'Trionfo d'amore' (Triumph of Love, 1875), are romantic comedies in verse, dreamy dramatic legends of the Val d'Aosto of the 14th century. These were followed in 1877 by 'IL Fratello d'armi' (Brothers at Arms), a romantic drama in four acts. In the subsequent plays, while the plots are still laid in mediaeval Piedmont, the author changes from the rhymed Martelliani of the comedies to an unrhymed hendecasyllable and turns to historical melodrama, a transitional step toward the more modern realism of his later works. This is the period of Conte Rosso' (The Red Count), 'Luisa' (1:.:1) and 'The Lady of Challant,' the last written for Sarah Bernhardt and first produced by the French actress in America. With ‘Tristi Amori) (Hapless Love) the healthy romanticism of Giacosa's early manner is abandoned for the modern social drama. Writing now in prose only, Giacosa interests himself in the conflict between idealism and various aspects of bour geois materialism. In the powerful domestic triangle of 'Tristi Amori' (1888) and in the one-act 'Diritti dell' anima) (The Rights of the Soul, 1894), an Italian counterpart of Ib sen's 'A Doll's House,' the influence of the Scandinavian dramatist is apparent. 'Come le
foglie' (Like Falling Leaves, 1900), a pitiless study of the disintegration of an Italian family, is a great modern play, and with 'Tristi Amori) represents the author at his best. Giacosa's last play, '11 piu forte) (The Stronger), pro duced in 1905, portrays the struggle between the antagonistic ideals of father and son. In addition to his work as a dramatist, Giacosa wrote in collaboration with Luigi Illica the libretti for Puccini's three operas. 'La Bo heme,' 'Tosca' and 'Madame Butterfly.' He founded La Lettura in 1901, which magazine he directed until his death, 2 Sept. 1906. He was also the author of historical works, essays and short stories, among which 'Castelli Valdos tani e Canavesi' (1898), 'Novelle e paesi val dostani' (1886), qmpressioni (1898) are the most noted for their penetrating observation and for their clearness and vigor of thought. Consult Updegraff, A. and E., 'Three Plays by Giuseppe Giacosa) (New York 1913); Trombley, A. E., 'Unhappy Love) (Boston 1916) ; and translations in The Drama (Chi cago 1911 and 1913). On the author see Oietti, U., in the (Nuova Antologia) (November 1906); Croce, B., in La Critica (Vol. VI) ; and Smith, S. A., in The Drama (May 1913).