Word: salvini
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Dates: during 1874-1874
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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...