« La couleur italienne de Shakespeare » Sept opéras venus de la péninsule sur les scènes françaises, 1812-1894

Several Italian operas inspired by Shakespeare’s plays are performed for French audiences between 1812 and 1894. Do spectators and critics find in these works—which attract unequal attention for their composers Zingarelli, Rossini, Vaccai, Bellini and Verdi—the traits they deem most characteristic of the English playwright? How are we to understand in their accounts the notion of Shakespeare’s Italian colour, and why do some performers attain for them the status of sons and daughters of Shakespeare?