Persisting with further attempts to convince the composer, Ricordi had also broached the idea of a collaboration with Boito for a new opera based on Shakespeare's "Othello". Verdi admired the dramatic works of Shakespeare and had, throughout his career, desired to create operas based on his plays, although his one attempt at doing so, "Macbeth" in 1847, although initially successful, was not well received when revised for performance in Paris in 1865. Because of its relatively straightforward story, the play "Othello" was selected as a likely target.