Volume I: Narrative History

Chapter 1: Alexander Salvini

By 1893, Alessandro Salvini, referred to in the American press as Alexander Salvini, was one of the better-known stage performers in America. Born in Rome on December 21, 1861, he was the son of Tomasso Salvini, the celebrated tragedian. As he approached adulthood, Alexander desired to go on the stage, following the footsteps of his father and grandfather. The elder Salvini, recalling the tribulations and vicissitudes of a traveling thespian, encouraged his son to pursue another career, so Alexander took up the life of a sailor. After several voyages over a period of seven months, he decided that the sea was not for him. He then enrolled in a technical school in Florence to learn civil engineering.

Upon completion of his studies in 1881, young Salvini came to America with a family friend, Rossi, an actor of some repute. Bringing with him a letter of introduction to an official of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, he hoped to gain employment as an engineer, but the letter was never delivered. Instead, Alexander spent the next year traveling with Rossi, assisting him in various ways, and spending much of his time practicing fencing and swordsmanship and learning to speak English without an accent.

In 1882, Rossi dismissed him, and Salvini went to New York City with a letter of introduction to A.M. Palmer, Note manager of the Union Square Theatre. In spite of the Salvini name, he was skeptical of the young Italian. However, fortune smiled, and through Palmer the young Salvini made his professional debut in New York City on February 23, 1882, playing George Duhamel with Clara Morris as Cora in L'Article 47. His father, still in Italy, was advised by cable of Alexander's success. In due course, a reply arrived by mail: "How dare you, sir, go on the stage without my permission?" His son replied, "Because, sir, I knew that if I asked I could not get it." Note

Several weeks after his debut, he joined Margaret Mather's traveling stock company and spent two years on the road, playing roles in such diverse productions as Leah Kleschna, The Hunchback, Lights o' London, Storm Beaten, A Celebrated Case, and The Child of the State.

In 1885 his father, Tomasso Salvini, came to America for a tour. Realizing that Alexander had earned a good reputation by his own efforts, he hired his son as part of the troupe, where Alexander subsequently served as stage manager and, on off nights, as a performer.

An article in The New York Dramatic Mirror, September 24, 1913, presented a less than flattering view of Alexander Salvini's talent:

The male members of the [Tomasso] Salvini Company were, with one exception, excellent actors. The one exception was Alessandro Salvini, a brother [sic] of Tomasso; and it was he who was always cast for the role of Iago. Alessandro's performance was condemned by the critics all over the country as inferior and totally unworthy of the star; but Salvini was indifferent to this criticism of his brother, and it was generally believed that none of the other actors in the support were willing to submit to the fearful mauling meted out by Salvini to his own flesh and blood; Note nor would he modify his performance in this respect any more than alter his policy as to repertoire.

After the stint with his father, Alexander Salvini established his own company. In 1886 he was engaged for a lengthy run at the Union Square Theatre, where he played the young priest in William Dean Howells' A Foregone Conclusion, Launcelot in George Parsons Winthrop's Elaine, the baron in Jim, the Penman, and Henri Borgfeldt in Partners, an 1888 play which also featured a young girl, Gertrude F. Homan.

In 1889, his father returned to America for another tour, and Alexander joined him once again. At the conclusion of the tour, he returned with his father to Italy. After a brief vacation, Alexander came back to America, bringing with him costumes from the rich wardrobe the elder Salvini had accumulated over a period of many years. His reputation had been established, and Alexander Salvini and his company toured America. His roles ranged from Hamlet and Othello to characters in modern romantic plays. For respite he returned to Europe at intervals, and in the process was a guest of various luminaries, including Adelina Patti, the celebrated diva, Note and the elder Coquelin, in Paris.

Interviewed by a Boston newspaper in 1890, Salvini said: "I am a Bohemian, without a country and without a home. Shall I marry an American girl? No. The life I lead I would not ask anyone to share. Wandering here and there, hither and yonder, I am a veritable bird of passage." Note A few years later he changed his mind, and Miss Maude Dixon, the leading lady of his company, became his wife.

In 1896 he was afflicted with what the press described as "organic trouble." After being confined to his bed for four months, he died in Florence, Italy, on December 15, 1896, with his wife at his side. Note