Tommaso Salvini

Who was Tommaso Salvini?

Tommaso Salvini was an Italian actor.

Salvini was born in Milan. His father and mother were both actors. His father was involved in the Bon and Berlaffa Company and the actor who was to play Pasquino fell ill. Instead of closing the theatre for the night his father asked the young Salvini to play the role. In his autobiography, he writes that “when I perceived that some of Pasquino’s lines were amusing the audience, I took courage, and, like a little bird making is first flight, I arrived at the goal, and was eager to try again … It is certain that from that time I began to feel that I was somebody.”

In 1847 Salvini joined the company of Adelaide Ristori, who was then at the beginning of her career. It was with her as Elettra that he won his first success in tragedy, playing the title role in Alfieris Oreste at the Teatro Valle in Rome.

Salvini fought in the First Italian War of Independence in 1849, but otherwise devoted his life to acting. In 1853, however, he took a year off because “he rarely felt adequately prepared for a role”. During this time, he prepared roles in great depth.

Salvini's most famous role was Othello, which he played for the first time at Vicenza in June 1856. His other important roles included Conrad in Paolo Giacometti's La Morte civile, Egisto in Alfieri's Merope, Saul in Alfieri's Saul, Paolo in Silvio Pellico's Francesca da Rimini, Oedipus in Nicolini's play of that name, Macbeth and King Lear. The core of his acting method came from his studies. While visiting Gibraltar, for example, he spent time studying the Moors and found one particular man whom he based his Othello on. Instead of relying on a mustache, which was the traditional way of depicting Moor, he tried to copy “gestures, movements, and carriage” to depict the character.