This is a transcription of the Maud (Dixon) Salvini biography from New Hampshire Women: A Collection of Portraits and Biographical Sketches of Daughters and Residents of the Granite State, Who are Worthy Representatives of their Sex in the Various Walks and Conditions of Life, The New Hampshire Publishing Co., Concord, NH, 1895, page 201.
Maud (Dixon) Salvini
“PRETTY little Maud Dixon” is the manner in which this clever young actress is spoken of, and a dainty bit of femininity she is in every-day life. Maud Dixon (now Mrs. Alexander Salvini) although born on the other side of the ocean, was brought to this country when an infant, and therefore knew no other home than Concord, where she was reared and educated. When very young she developed rare musical abilities, and was sent to the New England Conservatory of Music, where she came directly under the care of the late Dr. Eben Tourgee, who greatly encouraged her to adopt the operatic stage. Her first appearance in public was in 1882 in “Iolanthe,” when that opera was given its first production in America at the opening of the Bijou theatre in Boston. Then followed a season in the same company on the road in repertoire, when she was under-study for the leading soprano roles. She soon experienced a desire to enter the legitimate drama, and, much against the advice of her teacher, discarded singing for the attractions at the Union Square theatre, New York, where she appeared in several metropolitan successes. Here she remained for several seasons when an opportunity presented itself to enter the company of the elder Salvini, in which she acquitted herself successfully in each role. Young Salvini was a member of the same company, and the acquaintance thus formed ripened into a happy marriage October 7, 1893, in Cleveland, O. For many seasons Miss Dixon, in the support of that versatile, romantic actor, Alexander Salvini, from Maine to California, has made friends and admirers by her conscientious work and her pleasing personality. In the summer of ’93 she made her first visit to the home of her ancestors in Leeds, Yorkshire, England. She is connected on both sides with notable personages, Sir Rupert Kettell, well known in British court circles, being a near relative of her father. In 1894 Mrs. Salvini accompanied her husband to his Italian home. The elder Salvini is delighted with the marriage of his son to this charming New Hampshire girl.