Alexander Girardi

Alexander Girardi (pronounced [dʒiˈrardi]) (5 December 1850 – 20 April 1918) was an Austrian actor and tenor singer in operettas.

Girardi was born in Graz; his father was the locksmith Andreas Girardi who had migrated to Graz from Cortina d'Ampezzo. Following the early death of his father, Alexander Girardi was raised by his stepfather who put him into a locksmith apprenticeship. Against his stepfather's wishes, he joined the amateur theatre Die Tonhalle, where his acting talent was discovered; this led to an engagement at the Vienna Strampfer-Theater.

In 1874 Girardi moved to the Theater an der Wien, where he continued to work for 22 years. In 1896/97 he worked at the Carltheater and then two years at the Volkstheater in Vienna. He also had guest appearances at other important theatres in Vienna and toured Germany (Berlin, Hamburg, Dresden).

One of his most renowned roles was Valentin in Ferdinand Raimund's , particularly his rendition of the "", the most famous number of the stage music by Conradin Kreutzer.

At the beginning of World War I Girardi retired from the stage and returned to Graz. Two months before his death in 1918, he was called to the Burgtheater in Vienna to play the role of Fortunatus Wurzel in Ferdinand Raimunds's .

Girardi was unhappily married to . Odilon had many affairs and had Girardi committed to a mental asylum (based on a by Julius Wagner-Jauregg, who had not seen Girardi). Odilon and Girardi divorced in 1896. The actress Katharina Schratt persuaded Emperor Franz Joseph to release Girardi.

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