Betti, Ugo

Betti, Ugo
born Feb. 4, 1892, Camerino, Italy
died June 9, 1953, Rome

Italian playwright.

He pursued a legal career, serving as a judge and as librarian of the Ministry of Justice in Rome. He wrote three volumes of poetry, three collections of short stories, and 26 plays. His first play, The Landlady (1927), drew mixed reviews, but later works were more successful. Several were translated into French and English and performed in Paris, London, and New York City, including Landslide (1933), Corruption in the Palace of Justice (1949), The Queen and the Rebels (1951), and The Fugitive (1953).

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▪ Italian author
born Feb. 4, 1892, Camerino, Italy
died June 9, 1953, Rome

      the foremost internationally known Italian playwright, after Luigi Pirandello, in the first half of the 20th century.

      Educated for the law, Betti fought in World War I and while imprisoned (1917–18) by the Germans wrote a volume of poems, Il re pensieroso (1922; “The Thoughtful King”). After the war he became a magistrate in Rome in 1920, rose to a judgeship in 1930, and became librarian at the Ministry of Justice in 1944. His legal career was interspersed with the writing of two more volumes of poetry, three books of short stories, a novel, much miscellaneous writing, and, most important, 26 plays.

      His first play, La padrona (first performed 1927; “The Landlady”), drew mixed reactions, but later successful plays include Frana allo scalo Nord (first performed 1933; Eng. trans., Landslide, 1964), the story of a natural disaster and collective guilt; Delitto all'Isola delle Capre (first performed 1950; Eng. trans., Crime on Goat Island, 1960), a violent tragedy of love and revenge; La regina e gli insorti (first performed 1951; Eng. trans., The Queen and the Rebels, 1956), a strong argument for compassion and self-sacrifice; and La fuggitiva (first performed 1953; Eng. trans., The Fugitive, 1964), a story presenting legal courts as a symbol of world salvation. Corruzione al palazzo di giustizia (first performed 1949; Eng. trans., Corruption in the Palace of Justice, 1962) depicts an unscrupulous judge who, having clawed his way to the presidency of the Supreme Court, realizes his own guilt and gives himself up for trial.

      International attention, offsetting lukewarm popular and critical acclaim in Italy, came with Paris productions in the early 1950s of his plays, which were then translated into English.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Betti, Ugo — ► (1892 1953) Dramaturgo italiano. La influencia de Kafka le ha señalado como precursor del existencialismo. Se inició en el teatro con La patrona (1927), a la que siguieron La casa sobre el agua (1929) y Corrupción en el palacio de justicia… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Betti, Ugo — (Camerino, Macerata 1892 Roma 1953) drammaturgo e poeta, scrittore collab./opere: “Pan” …   Dizionario biografico elementare del Novecento letterario italiano

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  • Ugo Betti — (Camerino, February 4, 1892 – Rome, June 9, 1953) was an Italian judge, better known as an author, who is considered by many the greatest Italian playwright next to Pirandello. Betti studied law in Parma at the time when World War I broke out,… …   Wikipedia

  • BETTI (U.) — BETTI UGO (1892 1953) Auteur dramatique italien, Ugo Betti est l’un des écrivains les plus importants de sa génération. De nombreux prix l’ont couronné dans son pays. Ses dernières pièces, adaptées par M. Clavel (Pas d’amour , Corruption au… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Betti — is a surname, and may refer to* Betti number in topology, named for Enrico Betti * Betti s theorem in engineering theory, named for Enrico Betti * Betti reactionPeople with the surname Betti* Enrico Betti, Italian mathematician (1823 1892). *… …   Wikipedia

  • Ugo — (as used in expressions) Betti Ugo Foscolo Ugo Ugo di Segni Ugo Buoncompagni * * * …   Universalium

  • Ugo — (as used in expressions) Betti, Ugo Foscolo, Ugo Ugo di Segni Ugo Buoncompagni …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Ugo Betti — Nacimiento 4 de febrero de 1892 Camerino (Italia) Defunción 9 de junio de 1953 Roma (Italia) Ocupación Juez y …   Wikipedia Español

  • Ugo Betti — (* 4. Februar 1892 in Camerino; † 9. Juni 1953 in Rom) war ein italienischer Dramatiker. Leben und Werk Ugo Betti studierte Rechtswissenschaft in Parma, als der Erste Weltkrieg begann und er freiwillig Soldat wurde. Nach dem Krieg beendete er… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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