Leopoldo Fregoli

Leopoldo Fregoli (born July 2, 1867 in Rome; died November 26, 1936 in Viareggio) was a stage star and early Italian actor.

Fregoli was the greatest protean (quick-change) artist of his day. He was famous for his extraordinary ability in impersonations and his quickness in exchanging roles- so much so that while he was performing in London in the 1890s unkind rumours spread that there was more than one Fregoli. He quickly quashed these rumours by inviting journalists and doubters backstage to see him at work: Fregoli had no secrets. He even went to see the host of imitators he inspired ("The Great Trickoli" was one example) and offered them advice about how to improve their performances.

Originally an amateur entertainer, he took his first steps to professionalism while serving in the Italian army in Abyssinia under General Baldissera in 1890. A troupe of theatrical performers hired by the general to entertain his soldiers did not materialise: Fregoli offered to replace them all on his own and was an immediate success. General Baldissera subsequently had Fregoli posted, not as a soldier but as a performer, to the theatre at Massowah which he used to entertain soldiers. Fregoli became the director and stage manager of the theatre and casino. After a year he returned to Italy and performed in Rome, Genoa and Florence. In the audience at Florence was a government registry clerk, Ugo Biondi, who was so impressed with Fregoli's performance that he sought him out and asked for some lessons in how to follow in his footsteps. Fregoli generously complied and Biondi went on to be another great quick change artist- first claiming to be a pupil but later set up as the 'original' Fregoli.

From Italy Fregoli went to Brazil, Spain, and the United States. While he was in Madrid he was watched in performance by Alfred Moul, the general manager of the Alhambra Theatre in London's Charing Cross Road (which was being refitted at that time in the Moorish style under the direction of the great designer Owen Jones). Moul had heard of Fregoli's genius and wanted to be the first impresario in Britain to sign him up. He subsequently claimed that Fregoli (and his team of supporting assistants) were being paid £350 per week to perform at the Alhambra- a remarkable amount for the time. But this was nothing as to what Fregoli was to generate in ticket sales.

The Alhambra was scheduled to reopen early in March of 1897 with the premiere of Sir Arthur Sullivan's new ballet "Victoria and Merrie England". There were a few problems with this work (it was rather over-long in its original form) and so it was thought that for a week or two, Leopoldo Fregoli could perform (he needed little in the way of permanent sets, etc.) until Sir Arthur was satisfied his work was just right. Such was Fregoli's success that it was to be late in May of that year before the Sullivan piece was finally performed.

Fregoli took London by storm. He did quick fire performances, impersonating Wagner, Rossini, Verdi and Paderewski one after another. He would exit stage left as a street musician and appear almost immediately stage right as a woman. Everybody- including all of the great actors and performers of the day, such as Dan Leno- wanted to see him and his run was extended and extended, as was the seating in the theatre. Not bad for someone who didn't even speak English. The general view of him was that, apart from his obvious abilities as a quick change artist he was- unlike his rivals- a consummate actor and a brilliant writer. He gave private performances for royalty and aristocrats (such as the Rothschilds, for whom he calmly explained all of his tricks). He inspired a host of imitators, male and female. Every theatre in London soon had its protean artist- even Biondi was there, performing at the same time. There were spoofers and parodists: journalists claimed tipsy theatre goers were demanding their money back when discovering that all the performers they had just watched were actually only one man.

While there is no doubt Fregoli enjoyed himself and his success, he seems to have been essentially a modest man and he did not wish to carry on in London forever. Late in May 1897 he left for Argentina, promising to be back in London the following February. Whether he did so is presently unclear. Several of his performances were later filmed. Rather suddenly while performing in Niteroi, a suburb of Rio de Janiero, he decided to quit the world of quick change. He returned to Italy and subsequently worked with Futurist theatre performers, but very little information is available about him in English. He did write an autobiography (published by Rizzoli) and was the subject of another book (possibly in French). The artist Antonio Tapies did some work relating to Fregoli and the contemporay Italian quick change artist Arturo Brachetti does performances based on Fregoli's.

He is buried in Italy with the words "His last transformation" on his gravestone.

A psychological syndrome, in which people do not recognise their loved ones or mistake strangers for people they know is known as Fregoli delusion.

External links

• Leopoldo Fregoli at IMDb