Word: salvini
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Dates: during 1870-1879
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...approve of an exhibition of dramatic art, then the Websters and Burkes get all the prizes, while the disciples of Shakespeare or the other poets come away empty-handed. If, on the other hand, the majority are gentlemen who dislike " spouting " and like acting, then our incipient Booths and Salvini's are in the ascendant, and the Burkes and Websters go to the wall. Men, therefore, in selecting their pieces, often do not choose those for which they are best fitted by nature, but take those which they think the committee will prefer. If a particular style of speaking...
This week, Signor Tommaso Salvini, "the greatest living actor," if we are to believe the bills, has presented us with a third rendering, quite distinct from either of the others. Fechter's imperfect English gives way to the rich Italian of the new comer; but the English was Shakspere's, while the name of the translator of "Amleto" is not preserved. To almost all, it is Hamlet in pantomime; and the labor of mentally connecting Shakspere's words with the action of the player can hardly fail to detract somewhat from the spectator's pleasure. But, pantomime and all, Salvini...
There are places in Salvini's acting that are unsurpassed in their power and dramatic fervour, while nowhere does he pass the line that divides tragedy from absurdity. This is his chief merit. He plays throughout with a freedom from over-acting that is as welcome as it is uncommon, yet he is never tame, nor does he anywhere fail to do justice to his conception. If consistency and evenness are all that is wanted, his impersonation is the best, in so far as it is the most "perfect piece of acting." But with those who look for the highest...