Characters of Shakespear's Plays Merry Wives of Windsor". The bulk of Hazlitt's commentary on the two history plays is devoted to Falstaff, whom he considers to be "perhaps the most substantial comic character ever invented". Falstaff had been of interest to Shakespearean commentators for years. Forty years earlier, a full-length book had appeared, "An Essay on the Dramatic Character of Sir John Falstaff" (1777), by Maurice Morgann, often taken as the beginning of that school of Shakespearean criticism which considers the characters of Shakespeare's plays as though they were real people. Hazlitt, who seems to have had little acquaintance with Morgann's work, is careful
Giuseppe Verdi good stead. These included an introduction by Lavigna to an amateur choral group, the "Società Filarmonica", led by Pietro Massini. Attending the "Società" frequently in 1834, Verdi soon found himself functioning as rehearsal director (for Rossini's "La cenerentola") and continuo player. It was Massini who encouraged him to write his first opera, originally titled "Rocester", to a libretto by the journalist Antonio Piazza. List of compositions by Giuseppe Verdi In mid-1834, Verdi sought to acquire Provesi's former post in Busseto but without success. But with Barezzi's help he did obtain the secular post of "maestro di musica". He taught, gave