Ercole Luigi Morselli ( Pesaro, 19 February 1882 –

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, 16 March 1921) was an Italian writer and dramatist. In Florence, where his family moved in 1891 following his father, a state counsel who died there in 1895, Morselli attempted to study medicine and literature, but in both cases he did not succeed and had to interrupt his studies. In the following years he had a very turbulent life, with many journeys first in Africa and Latin America, then also in England and France. Morselli was a friend of

Giovanni Papini Giovanni Papini (9 January 18818 July 1956) was an Italian journalist, essayist, novelist, short story writer, poet, literary critic, and philosopher. A controversial literary figure of the early and mid-twentieth century, he was the earliest and ...

and Giuseppe Prezzolini. After his return to Italy, Morselli started his literary career, which was initially quite difficult, such that his mother had to support him for long time. In 1910 his

tragicomedy Tragicomedy is a literary genre that blends aspects of both tragic and comic forms. Most often seen in dramatic literature, the term can describe either a tragic play which contains enough comic elements to lighten the overall mood or a seriou ...

''Orione'' obtained a great success, but Morselli did not reach economic stability until 1919, with the success of ''Glauco'', a drama given in Rome. Morselli was also film director and screenplayer. He died of tuberculosis in a Roman hospital in 1921. The works of Morselli are based on the classical myths, revisited from a modern viewpoint. His most successful works are ''Orione'', a tragicomedy where the main character is a demigod with very unspiritual desires, and ''Glauco'', which describes the story of a fisher who becomes god of the sea but discovers that power does not necessarily bring joy. Morselli, portraying antiheroes, represented an alternative to the spirit of D'Annunzio. With his

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

''La donna ragno'' (''The spider woman'', 1915), Morselli was in addition one of the precursors of the

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

in Italy. His play ''Belfagor'' was used by Claudio Guastalla as subject for the libretto of the opera with the same title (1926) of Ottorino Respighi.

Works

Plays

*''Orione'', tragicomedy in 3 acts,

Teatro Argentina The Teatro Argentina (directly translating to "Theatre Argentina") is an opera house and theatre located in Largo di Torre Argentina, a square in Rome, Italy. One of the oldest theatres in Rome, it was constructed in 1731 and inaugurated on 31 J ...

, Rome, 17 March 1910 *''Acqua sul fuoco'' (''Water upon fire''), comedy in 1 act, Teatro Metastasio, Rome, 31 March 1910 *''Il domatore Gastone'' (''Gastone the Tamer''), comedy in 1 act, Rome, 1911 *''La prigione'' (''The prison''), drama in 3 acts,

Teatro Carignano The Teatro Carignano (Carignano Theatre) is a theatre in Turin and one of the oldest and most important theatres in Italy. Designed by Benedetto Alfieri, it is located opposite the Palazzo Carignano. Building commenced in 1752 and the theatre was ...

, Turin, November 1911 *''Glauco'', Teatro Argentina, Rome, 30 May 1919 *''Belfagor'', "arcidiavoleria" ("archdevilment") in 4 acts, Teatro Valle, Rome, 19 April 1933 (posthumous première)

Short stories

*''Favole per i re d’oggi'' (''Fables for the kings of today''), Rome, 1909 *''Storie da ridere… e da piangere'' (''Stories to laugh... and to cry''), Milan, 1918. Eight short stories, including ''La donna ragno''. *''Il «Trio Stefania»'', Milan 1919 *''Favole e fantasie'' (''Tales and fantasies''), Milan, 1928 (posthumous edition) *''L’Osteria degli scampoli ed altri racconti'' (''The inn of the cripples and other stories''), Milan, 1936 (posthumous edition)

Films

*''Effetti di luce'' (''Light effects''), 1916, directed with Ugo Falena

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Morselli, Ercole Luigi 1882 births 1921 deaths People from Pesaro Italian dramatists and playwrights Italian male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Italian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Italian male writers