Taborda (actor)

Taborda in its prime

Francisco Alves da Silva Taborda (born January 8, 1824 in Abrantes , Portugal , † March 5, 1909 in Lisbon , Portugal) was a Portuguese actor. He was called "King of Portuguese Vaudeville " and "King of Portuguese Operetta ". He celebrated successes in Portugal and Brazil that are still legendary today. Taborda was one of the first actors in Europe after whom a theater was named during his lifetime.

Life

Taborda was born in Abrantes. At the age of 10 he moved with his family to Lisbon, where he began training as a printer and typesetter. His teacher, a philanthropic man, gave the vocational school a small theater, where Taborda took his first steps as an actor in 1846. He starred in a play that his teacher had written and found a taste for the theater. The French teacher Emile Doux, who taught at the vocational school in Lisbon, wrote various plays for the teenagers and young adults, which he also promoted as director and director of the theater. His first appearances at the Teatro de Ginasio (the youth theater of the vocational school) followed a stage career that would last 55 years.

As an actor, Taborda was very versatile: he could sing excellently, which earned him roles in operettas, vaudevilles and singing theaters. For example, he played the main male role in Jacques Offenbach's The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein in Lisbon. But also as a comedian, folk actor and in tragic and melodramatic roles he was able to show all his skills. He mostly played in Portuguese works such as A marquesa , Sr. Procopio Baeta , A princesa trelizonda , O chanela de cantadora (The singer's slippers) or Os tagarelos (The babblers).

On the recommendation of the Prince Consort of Portugal, the German Dom Fernando II , he appeared at French theaters in Paris and other cities in leading and supporting roles. In Lisbon and Paris he was successful as a Molière actor in The Misanthrope and The Conceited Sick .

In Portugal, in addition to Lisbon, he was a permanent member of the ensemble in theaters in Porto , Santarèm and Leiria . He celebrated great successes at Portugal's most important theater, the Teatro Dona Maria da Gloria in Lisbon. Especially in pieces by the Midosi family, Paulo Midosi (Pai) and Paulo Midosi (Filho) .

His tour of Brazil in 1871 made him a celebrated actor in the Portuguese “brother country”. There he was seen in plays by Brazilian dramatists in particular.

Taborda was his stage name with which he appeared as an actor. Taborda was easier to pronounce for other countries.

Very old and highly revered, he died at the age of 85 on March 5, 1909 in Lisbon.

reception

Caricature of Taborda drawn by Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro

Taborda is often cited as the most significant Portuguese actor since theater was introduced to Portugal during the Renaissance and the first Golden Age of Portuguese theater during that period.

Celebrities were also able to convince themselves of the power of his playing: the most famous Portuguese writer of his time, Camilo Castelo Branco , attended a performance of the play " Miguel, o toureiro ", which he is said to have loudly applauded, in the Teatro Sao Joao . For Joaquim Pedro Quintela, 2nd Conde de Farrobo (1823–1882), he was even able to hold a private performance in the Teatro de Laranjeira .

Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro's caricature Tabordas is considered one of the best portrayals of a Portuguese actor.

Taborda was a stroke of luck for his hometown Abrantes: he made the city known beyond the borders of the country and is considered the most famous son of the city. The city of Lisbon honored him during his lifetime by founding the Teatro Taborda in 1870 . In Abrantes the city park is also named after him; a bust of the actor was also placed there. There is a street in Lisbon with his name on it, and a bust of the famous sculptor António Augusto da Costa Mota (1862–1930) from 1914 can be seen in Parque de Estrelas.

Despite its fame in Portugal, Brazil, southern Europe and France, there are no film recordings of Taborda, not even documentary ones.

Web links

Commons : Francisco Alves da Silva Taborda - Collection of images, videos and audio files

personal data
SURNAME	Taborda
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Silva Taborda, Francisco Alves da (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Portuguese actor
DATE OF BIRTH	January 8, 1824
PLACE OF BIRTH	Abrantes , Portugal
DATE OF DEATH	March 5, 1909
Place of death	Lisbon , Portugal