Ira Aldridge, the African Roscius

Bibliographic Information

Ira Aldridge, the African Roscius

edited by Bernth Lindfors

(Rochester studies in African history and the diaspora, v. 28)

University of Rochester Press, 2007

  • :hardcover

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Description and Table of Contents

Description

Ira Aldridge -- a black New Yorker -- was one of nineteenth-century Europe's greatest actors. He performed abroad for forty-three years, winning more awards, honors, and official decorations than any of his professional peers. Billed as the "African Roscius," Aldridge developed a repertoire initially consisting of Shakespeare's Othello, melodramas about slavery, and farces that drew on his ability to sing and dance. By the time he began touring in Europe he was principally a Shakespearean actor, playing such classic characters as Shylock, Macbeth, Richard III, and King Lear. Although his frequent public appearances made him the most visible black man in the world by mid-nineteenth century, today Aldridge tends to be a forgotten figure, seldom mentioned in histories of British and European theater. This collection restores the luster to Aldridge's reputation by examining his extraordinary achievements against all odds. The early essays offer biographical information, while later essays examine his critical and popular reception throughout the world. Taken together, these diverse approaches to Aldridge offer a fuller understanding and heightened appreciation of a remarkable man who had an exceptionally interesting life and a spectacular career. Contributors: Cyril Bruyn Andrews, Nikola Batusic, Philip A. Bell, Keith Byerman, Ruth M. Cowhig,Nicholas M. Evans, Joost Groeneboer, Ann Marie Koller, Joyce Green MacDonald, Herbert Marshall, James J. Napier, Krzysztof Sawala, Gunner Sjoegren, James McCune Smith, Hazel Waters, and Stanley B. Winters. Bernth Lindfors is Professor Emeritus of English and African literatures at The University of Texas at Austin.

Table of Contents

Memoir and the Theatrical Career of Ira Aldridge, the African Roscius - London: Onwhyn Ira Aldridge (1860) - James McCune Smith Men We Have Known: Ira Aldridge (1867) - Philip A. Bell "Nothing extenuate, nor set down aught in malice": New Biographical Information on Ira Aldridge - Bernth Lindfors Ira Aldridge's Swedish Wife - Gunner Sjoegren "African Tragedian" in a Golden Prague: Some Unpublished Correspondence - James J Napier and Stanley B Winters A Garland of Love Letters - Cyril Bruyn Andrews Ira Aldridge's Fight for Equality - Hazel Waters Ira Aldridge in Manchester - Ruth M. Cowhig Acting Black: Othello, Othello Burlesques, and the Performance of Blackness - Joyce Green MacDonald Ira Aldridge: Shakespeare and Minstrelsy - Nicholas M. Evans "Mislike me not for my complexion...": Ira Aldridge in Whiteface - Bernth Lindfors Ira Aldridge as Macbeth and King Lear - Herbert Marshall Creating the Black Hero: Ira Aldridge's The Black Doctor - Keith Byerman The First American on the Zagreb Stage - Nikola Batusic A Heartwarming, Radiant Othello in the Netherlands, 1855 - Joost Groeneboer Ira Aldridge's Performances in Meiningen - Ann Marie Koller "Othello's Occupation's Gone!" The African Roscius in Poland, 1853-67 - Krzysztof Sawala

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Details

  • NCID
    BA8741129X
  • ISBN
    • 9781580462587
    • 1580462588
  • LCCN
    2007015443
  • Country Code
    us
  • Title Language Code
    eng
  • Text Language Code
    eng
  • Place of Publication
    Rochester, NY
  • Pages/Volumes
    xii, 288 p.
  • Size
    24 cm
  • Classification
  • Parent Bibliography ID
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