Oeuvres/Related Works Lister, Henry Bertram: The Alchemist - San Francisco, The La Boheme Club, 1940. With an original third act by Henry Bertram Lister.
From A Bibliography of Alexandre Dumas père by Frank Wild Reed: A drama in five acts, in verse.
This piece was largely composed on the German Rhine, with the assistance of Gérard de Nerval, who was there with Dumas and Ida Ferrier.
It consists of 1,857 alexandrines and a lyric (Raffaello's Song) of 36 lines. (See page 109.)
The plot seems to have originated with Anton-Francesco Grazzini (according to Roscoe ; Dr. Richard Garnett calls him Antonio Maria), From his First Evening, Novella V.—"The Story of Fazio"—Milman took the plot of his drama "Fazio." Whether Dumas borrowed direct from the English work or by way of a German variant, as is sometimes claimed, but without direct evidence, is still unproved. If the latter, Milman's work is plainly in evidence, but at the same time Dumas immensely improved upon his material. For one thing, he entirely removes the stigma of theft which unquestionably attached to Fazio in both the earlier versions, thus greatly lessening our interest in the hero. Then he adds to the cast the interesting role of Lelio, who frees Fazio from the stain of theft, if not of murder, and so rescues him from the scaffold. Finally Dumas makes Fazio's love for La Maddalena that of the artist only, and not that of the lover, thus converting a tragic to a happy ending. Frédérick-Lemaitre says the choice between this play and "Mlle. de Belle-Isle" was offered by Dumas to Anténor Joly, manager of the "Renaissance Théâtre. He chose the verse piece, and thereby lost much.
First performed at the Théâtre de la Renaissance on the 10th of April, 1839.
Original edition : Paris, Dumont, 8vo., pp. 176. Dedicated, with three prefatory verses, to Madame I. F. (Ida Ferrier). (Refer to page 108.)
This play was included in the second volume of Passard's continuation of Charpentier's edition of the "Théâtre."
It is now to be read in Vol. IV. of the 15 Vol. edition, and in Vol. VI. of that in 25 Vols. issued by Calmann-Lévy.
In the year of its appearance it was also issued in the "Magasin Théâtral," Paris, Marchant, large 8vo. of two columns, pp. 31.
References :— Lemaitre (Frédérick): "Souvenirs," pp. 232-34. Gautier: "Art Dramatique," Série I., pp. 244-45.
Courmeaux: "Alexandre Dumas," page 28. Quérard: "Supercheries Littéraires Dévoilées," Vol. I., Column 1072. Parran: "Bibliographie d'A. Dumas," pp. 14-15.
Simon: "Histoire d'une Collaboration," pp. 17-20.
Marie (Aristide): "Gérard de Nerval," pp. 135-44.
Milman: "Fazio, a Tragedy."
Grazzmi (in Roscoe's "Italian Novelists"): First Evening, Novella V., "The Story of Fazio."
Parigot: "Le Drame d'Alexandre Dumas," pp. 213-15.
From A Bibliography of Alexandre Dumas père by Frank Wild Reed: In addition to the dedicatory verses at the head of this play (see page 108), "L'Alchimiste" contains a song in Act III., Sc. iii. : CHANT DE RAFAELLO. (LXXIV.) It consists of six six-line stanzas, rhyming a, a, b, c, c, b. Though based on the song to be found in Milman's "Fazio," Dumas does not translate it, and, as he progresses, departs more and more from the original.
A translation of this has been given by John Payne in his "Flowers of France," Romantic Period, Vol. II.
