The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 17.0688 Monday, 24 July 2006
From: Harold Rogge <
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Date: Monday, 24 Jul 2006 13:04:16 -0400
Subject: A Day, a Life, a Word
:::[1]::: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
For Life of the Day complete with portrait
[Ira Frederick Aldridge as Othello], visit
http://www.oxforddnb.com/public/lotw/1.html.
Aldridge, Ira Frederick (1807?-1867), actor, was probably born on 24
July 1807 in New York city, the son of Daniel Aldridge, a lay preacher.
Little is known of his mother, Lurona, who died when he was a youth. He
was the first major African-American actor, although virtually all of
his appearances were in Britain or on the continent; best known for his
tragic roles, he was also successful in a variety of comic parts.
Aldridge's origins have often been romanticized: an anonymous 1849
publication, Memoir and Theatrical Career of Ira Aldridge, tells a tale,
often repeated, that he was born in Senegal, the son of a royal family
of the Fulah tribe. Based on the evidence, it seems most likely that he
and his father were both free-born African-Americans. The Memoir is
sometimes attributed to Aldridge, who may have had a hand in creating
such a marketably romantic 'history'.
Aldridge was attracted to the theatre as a child, and attended
performances at New York's Park Theatre. While a student at the city's
African Free School he became involved in the short-lived African
Theatre, where, according to the Memoir, he first played the part of
Rolla in Sheridan's Pizarro, a part to which he would later return.
After the closing of the African Theatre, when it became apparent that
the opportunities for roles would be severely limited in the United
States, Aldridge sailed for England some time around 1824. According to
another popular but unconfirmed tale he travelled as a servant to the
American actor Henry Wallack.
Aldridge made his London debut on 10 October 1825, at the Royal Coburg
Theatre, playing the part of Oronooko in The Revolt of Surinam, or, A
Slave's Revenge (an adaptation of Thomas Southern's Oronooko). During
his time at the Royal Coburg he performed in such other works as Thomas
Morton's The Slave and J. H. Amherst's The Death of Christophe. From
the beginning of his career, reviewers focused on his appearance: he was
generally described as tall and well built; it was common for critics to
note, with some surprise, that he was not as dark-skinned as actors in
'blackface', but rather was 'almost a light brown', with a 'mulatto
tint'. His voice was described as 'rich and melodious', but some
reviewers considered it nasal or whiny; the contradiction may be on
account of varying responses to an American accent (many critics comment
on his 'strikingly un-English' pronunciation, and George Eliot found it
intolerable). He was given the sobriquet 'the African Roscius'.
Much of Aldridge's early career in Britain, when he was known as 'Mr
Keene', found him in the provincial theatres, including those at Hull,
Brighton, Manchester, Newcastle, Liverpool, and Edinburgh, and in the
theatres of London's East End. Othello, The Slave, and Bickerstaffe's
The Padlock were the staples of his repertory. He was married for the
first time shortly after his arrival in England, to Margaret Gill
(c.1800-1864).
Aldridge made his West End debut at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, in
1833, when he played Othello barely two weeks after the death of Kean,
who had been playing the Moor on that very stage. Aldridge was forced to
circulate handbills defending his adoption of Kean's part. The reviews
were a fascinating mix, indicative of the feelings Aldridge inspired in
critics. Some, as in The Athenaeum, were unable to get beyond a
consideration of his race; the Theatrical Observer, in a typical pun,
noted that his performance was 'very fair for a black'. In general the
more even-tempered reviewers focused on his 'naturalness'. Notably, they
mention the overwhelmingly favourable response from the audience. After
two performances Covent Garden closed for five days, and Aldridge's
remaining performances were cancelled, possibly as a result of the
hostility of the press. Aldridge sought out new roles beyond those of
his standard repertory, and he in fact revived Shakespeare's rarely
produced Titus Andronicus at the Britannia Theatre in 1852; in his
revision the Moor Aaron became an unlikely tragic hero.
After continuing his work in the provinces and in Ireland, Aldridge
began his first continental tour in 1852, and it was here that he
received his warmest welcome from the theatrical community. Appearances
in Switzerland and Germany, where he played in Othello, The Padlock, and
Macbeth, were met with great acclaim; there and in various parts of the
Austro-Hungarian empire he was able to move with ease among aristocrats
and artists. On his visits to Russia in 1858 and 1862 he was credited
with introducing a more naturalistic acting style and encouraging the
production of Shakespeare's plays. It was on one such European tour, in
1857 or 1858, that he met the woman who was to become his second wife,
Amanda Pauline von Brandt (d. 1915). They married on 20 April 1865,
after Margaret Aldridge's death the previous year, and had four children:
Irene (1860-1932), Ira Frederick Olaff (1862-1886), Amanda Christina
Elizabeth Aldridge (1866-1956), and Rachel Margaret Frederika (b. 1868,
after her father's death). Aldridge's eldest child, Ira Daniel, was born
in May 1847, when his first wife was nearly fifty and already in ill
health; the child apparently was not hers.
Having returned to England in 1855, Aldridge again toured the provinces
and appeared in the East End. After a second continental tour had
enhanced his reputation he was offered work at the Lyceum, and the
response of the London press this time was much more respectful. Still,
the theatres and audiences on the continent evidently offered Aldridge
greater artistic range and freedom. It was on one such continental tour,
when in Lodz, Poland, that he died of an apparent lung infection on 7
August 1867. He was buried on 9 August in the city's Evangelical cemetery.
Heidi J. Holder
http://www.oxforddnb.com
:::[2]::: Wordsmith
roscian (ROSH-ee-uhn) adjective
Of or related to acting.
[After Quintus Roscius Gallus (c.126-62 BCE), a Roman actor famous for his
talent in acting.]
Roscius was born in slavery but his success on stage won him freedom
from the dictator Sulla. He was considered the greatest comic actor and
Cicero took elocution lessons from him. Cicero later returned the favor
by defending him in a lawsuit and the defense speech survives to this
day. In his honor, accomplished actors are sometimes called Roscius.
Anu Garg
http://wordsmith.org
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