Giovacchino Forzano

He then began studying law and, after finishing his diploma, became a freelance journalist, contributing regularly to several of Italy's major newspapers.

With the success of Il trittico, Forzano was soon approached by other composers to provide librettos, including Alberto Franchetti, Ruggero Leoncavallo, Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, Mario Peragallo, Mary Rosselli Nissim, Umberto Giordano, and Pietro Mascagni.

[2] The subjects of his plays were many and varied: some were historical with settings as different as early Renaissance Florence or France during the Revolution; others were contemporary, comedies of manners often dealing with issues around societal preconceptions with regard to the role of women or the nature of relationships.

As a result of his success in the world of popular theatre, his high-profile directing of a well-received open-air performance of Gabriele d'Annunzio's La figlia di Iorio at the Vittoriale in 1927 and his involvement with the Carro di Tespi, a travelling theatre initiative supported by the Fascist regime, Forzano came to the attention of Benito Mussolini who, in 1929 suggested an artistic collaboration.

This eventually resulted in the composition of three plays, the joint authorship of which was never explicitly acknowledged in Italy, but which nonetheless was common knowledge.