A Cyclopaedia of Female Biography/Ristori, Adelaide
RISTORI, ADELAIDE,
Is a tragic actress, whose powerful delineations of passion have placed her, as many think, on an equality with Rachel and Siddons. She is a native of Civitale di Friuli, in Lombardo-Venetia, and wan born In 1822. Her introduction into theatrical circles took place at a very early age; when only four years old, she was accustomed, at Rome, to play children's parts in simple dramas; and when fourteen, was enabled to sustain the part of Francesca de Rimini in the sad though sweet tragedy of that name. She studied with great care and diligence, and seems thoroughly to have imbued her soul with the noble sentiments and lofty asperations of her assumed characters. In 1846, while performing at Rome, her hand was solicited in marriage by an Italian nobleman, and shortly after she became the Marquise Capranica del Grillo. After this union she relinquished the stage for awhile, but, like a dethroned monarch, she sighed to return to her seat of dominion, and the opportunity, or the excuse, for doing so soon came. An old friend and patron of hers fell into distress, and she offered to give three performances for his benefit. The success of these was so great, and the solicitations for a continuance of her dramatic career became so urgent, her own wishes, too, were so strongly urged, that her husband consented, notwithstanding the objections of his noble relations, that she should return to the stage; and this she did after a two years' retirement, which seems to have much enriched and improved her faculties.
After a long series of triumphs in Italy, she made her first public appearance in Paris in the summer of 1855, when the Great Industrial Exhibition was open, and the city unusually full of foreigners. She met with an enthusiastic reception from the public, and the critics were loud in their praise. In 1856, she came to London, and performed at the Lyceum Theatre such characters as Mary Queen of Scots, Medea, etc., displaying in each high tragic power and rare knowledge of human nature. Her acting is simple and majestic, and she depends little on meretricious ornament or display of any sort. Her figure is tall and well rounded; she has an intelligent face, lit up with lustrous black eyes, and thrown out by a setting of hair, dark and abundant. Such is "the Ristori," which is still her stage name, although in private circles she claims the title of an Italian marquise.