(right) as Faragas in
Nadjy. A studio photograph by
Napoleon Sarony made to promote Powers and the 1888 production of
Nadjy at the Casino Theatre. In 1885 Solomon emigrated to the United States. He made his debut on the American stage with
Lillian Russell's theatre troupe in
Cleveland, Ohio, on 22 September 1885 as Major General Bangs in his brother's comic opera
Polly, or the Pet of the Regiment, with his brother conducting. By January 1886 Solomon had left Russell's theatre troupe and had established his own acting company, both directing and starring in the farce
Inside Out in a touring production that began its performances in
Minneapolis, Minnesota. He then returned to Russell's company in another of his brother's operas, portraying Curaso in
Pepita, or The Girl with the Glass Eye in theatres in
Boston, Massachusetts, and New York City from March through May 1886. He remained with that company in
Erminie, in which two of Solomon's original songs (as both composer and lyricist) were interpolated: "The Love Bird" and "When Love Is Asleep". After appearing on the New York stage as Reverend Thayer in his brother's critical flop
The Maid and the Moonshiner, Solomon left Russell's company and began a six-year-long period as a leading actor under
Rudolph Aronson at
Broadway's
Casino Theatre. There he starred in long-running productions of
Erminie,
Poor Jonathan (English language title for
Carl Millöcker's
Der Arme Jonathan),
The Brigands, and
Francis Chassaigne's
Nadjy. He simultaneously was active as a composer, writing the music to the 1887 comic opera
Pasquillo, or the Bottled Up Kingdom with a libretto by A. K. Fulton. He also wrote music for
The Night Owl, a work that toured in
vaudeville in 1887. Solomon married Mamie Sutten, a chorus girl at the Casino Theatre, in 1887. They had one son together, William Frederick Solomon, who was born in 1888. In 1888 the Casino staged his comic opera
Yulee (libretto by Frank Dupree, later retitled
King Kaliko for 1892 Broadway revival), and that same year the burlesque star May Howard toured in productions of his works
The Roman Fete and
Black Sheep. From 1889 to 1892 Solomon worked as a
librettist for numerous works performed at
Koster & Bial's Music Hall, also occasionally working as a composer. From 1892 to 1894 he toured as a member of
Pauline Hall's opera company. His duties with that company varied widely from work to work, from performing, to conducting and/or stage directing. Several of his original songs were also interpolated into productions by that troupe. With Hall's company his most prominent success was as the leading comic actor in
Edgar Stillman Kelley's
Puritania. ==Later life and career: 1895–1924==