Eleonora Duse was one of the greatest actresses of all time, beloved by audiences all over the world and considered Sarah Bernhardt's only rival. But she was also something else: an artist who brought a new vision to the stage. Placing themes like vulnerability, suffering, and pity at the center of the theater, she transformed theatre from entertainment or artistic admiration into an intense existential experience. She was capable of using both extraordinary and low-literary value plays to evoke these deep emotions. This book casts light on Duse's scenic techniques, strategies, motivations and needs. It reconstructs her revolution and analyses the efffect she had spectators – an efffect so intense that it bordered on magic