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Sarah Bernhardt

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Sarah Bernhardt
Bernhardt in June 1877, during a visit to Boston, Massachusetts
Born
Sara-Marie-Henriette Rosine Bernard
Years active1862-1923
SpouseAmbroise Aristide Damala (1882-1889)

Sarah Bernhardt (born circa October 23, 1844 – March 26, 1923) was a legendary French stage and early film actress, and has been referred to as "the most famous actress the world has ever known".[2] Bernhardt made her fame on the stages of Europe in the 1870s, and was soon in demand in Europe and the Americas. She developed a reputation as a serious dramatic actress, earning the nickname "The Divine Sarah."

Early life

Bernhardt was born in Paris as Sara-Marie-Henriette Rosine Bernardt[3], the illegitimate daughter of Julie Bernardt (1821, Amsterdam - 1876, Paris) and an unknown father. Julie was the daughter of a Jewish spectacle merchant, "vision specialist" and petty criminal, Moritz Baruch Bernardt, and his first wife, Janetta Hartog. Julie was probably mostly raised by her stepmother, Sara Abraham Kinsbergen, who married her father in 1829[4] and after whom Julie may have named Sara. Julie left for Paris, where she made a living as a courtesan and was known by the name "Youle". Sarah would add the letter "H" to both her first and last name. Sarah's birth records were lost, but in order to prove French citizenship, necessary for Légion d'honneur eligibility, she created false birth records, on which she was the daughter of "Judith van Hard" and "Edouard Bernardt" from Le Havre, in later stories either a law student, accountant, naval cadet or naval officer.[5]

Bernhardt photographed by Nadar

As the presence of a baby interfered with her terrible and stressful mother's life, Sara-Marie-Henriette was brought up in a pension, and later in a convent. A child of delicate health, she considered becoming a nun, but one of her mother's reputed lovers, the future Duc de Morny, Napoleon III's half-brother, decided that she should be an actress. When she was 13, he arranged for her to enter the Conservatoire, the government sponsored school of acting. She was not considered a particularly promising student, and, although she revered some of her teachers, she regarded the Conservatoire's methods as antiquated and too deeply steeped in tradition.[6][7]

Much of the uncertainty about Bernhardt's life arises because of her tendency to exaggerate and distort. Alexandre Dumas, fils described her as a notorious liar.[2]

Stage career

Sarah Bernhardt left the Conservatoire in 1862, and, thanks to the Duc de Morny‘s influence, was accepted by the national theatre company, the Comédie-Française, as a beginner on probation. During the obligatory three debuts required of probationers, the strength, beauty, and sheer virtuosity of her performance was scarcely noticed by critics. Her contract with Comédie-Française was cancelled in 1863 after she slapped the face of a senior actress who had been rude to her younger sister. For a time she found employment at the Théâtre du Gymnase-Dramatique. After playing the role of a foolish Russian princess, she entered a period of soul searching, questioning her talent for acting. During these critical months she became a mistress of Henri, Prince de Ligne, and gave birth to his only child, Maurice. In 1866 she signed a contract with Odéon theatre and during six years of intensive work with a congenial company there, gradually established her reputation. Her first resounding success was as Anna Damby in the 1868 revival of Kean (by the novelist and playwright Alexandre Dumas père). Bernhardt’s greatest triumph at the Odéon, however came 1869 when she portrayed the minstrel Zanetto in the one-act verse play Le Passant (“The Passerby”) by the young dramatist François Coppée – a part of which she played again in a command performance before Napoleon III.[8][9]

However, she was not entirely successful at the conservatory and left to become a courtesan by 1865. It was during this time that she acquired her famous coffin, in which she often slept in lieu of a bed, claiming it helped her understand her many tragic roles. She made her fame on the stages of Europe in the 1870s, and was soon in demand all over Europe and in New York.[10] She developed a reputation as a serious dramatic actress, earning the title "The Divine Sarah"; arguably, she was the most famous actress of the 19th century.[11]

During the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, she organized a military hospital in the Odéon. After the war, the reopened Odéon paid tribute to the 19th century writer Victor Hugo with a production of his verse-play Ruy Blas. As Queen Maria, Bernhardt charmed her audiences with lyrical quality of her voice. It was then that Hugo coined the phrase “golden voice,” though her critics usually called her voice “silvery” -- as resembling the tone of a flute.[12]

In 1872 she left the Odéon and returned to Comédie-Française. One of her remarkable success there was in the title role of Voltaire’s Zaïre (1874). She even traveled to Cuba and performed in the Sauto Theater, in Matanzas, in 1887. She coached many young women in the art of acting, including actress and courtesan Liane de Pougy.

Personal life

The Fool and Death, a bronze sculpture by Bernhardt depicting the character of Triboulet in Hugo's Le roi s'amuse.

Bernhardt had an affair with a Belgian nobleman, Charles-Joseph Eugène Henri Georges Lamoral de Ligne (1837-1914), son of Eugène, 8th Prince of Ligne, with whom she had her only child, Maurice Bernhardt, in 1864. He married a Polish princess, Maria Jablonowska (see Jablonowski).

Sarah's close friends would include several artists, most notably Gustave Doré and Georges Clarin, and actors Mounet-Sully and Lou Tellegen, as well as the famous French author Victor Hugo. Alphonse Mucha based several of his iconic Art Nouveau works on her. Her friendship with Louise Abbéma (1853–1927), a French impressionist painter, some nine years her junior, was so close and passionate that the two women were rumored to be lovers. In 1990, a painting by Abbéma, depicting the two on a boat ride on the lake in the bois de Boulogne, was donated to the Comédie-Française. The accompanying letter stated that the painting was "Peint par Louise Abbéma, le jour anniversaire de leur liaison amoureuse."[13]

Sarah Bernhardt as Queen in Victor Hugo’s Ruy Blas.

She later married Greek-born actor Aristides Damala (known in France by the stage name Jacques Damala) in London in 1882, but the marriage, which legally endured until Damala's death in 1889 at age 34, quickly collapsed, largely due to Damala's dependence on morphine. During the later years of this marriage, Bernhardt was said to have been involved in an affair with the Prince of Wales, who later became Edward VII.[14]

Bernhardt once stated, "Me pray? Never! I'm an atheist."[15] However, she had been baptised a Roman Catholic, and accepted the last rites shortly before her death.[16]

Silent film career

Bernhardt was one of the pioneer silent movie actresses, debuting as Hamlet in the two minute long film Le Duel d'Hamlet in 1900. (Technically, this was not a silent film, as it had an accompanying Edison cylinder with sound effects.)[17] She went on to star in eight motion pictures and two biographical films in all. The latter included Sarah Bernhardt à Belle-Isle (1912), a film about her daily life at home.

Later career

Bernhardt's grave at Père Lachaise cemetery.

In 1905, while performing in Victorien Sardou's La Tosca in Rio de Janeiro, Bernhardt injured her right knee when jumping off the parapet in the final scene. The leg never healed properly. By 1915, gangrene had set in and her entire right leg was amputated, confining her to a wheelchair for several months. Bernhardt reportedly refused a $10,000 offer by a showman to display her amputated leg as a medical curiosity (while P.T. Barnum is usually cited as the one to have made the offer, he had been dead since 1891). Nonetheless, she continued her career, and contrary to belief, without the use of a wooden prosthetic limb (she tried using one, but didn't like it). She carried out a successful tour of America in 1915, and on returning to France she played in her own productions almost continuously until her death. Her later successes included Daniel (1920), La Gloire (1921), and Régine Armand (1922). Her physical condition confined her practically to immobility on the stage, but the charm of her voice, which had altered little with age, ensured her triumphs.[18]

Bernhardt has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1751 Vine Street.

Books

  • Dans les nuages, Impressions d'une chaise (1878)
  • L'Aveu, drame en un acte en prose (1888)
  • Adrienne Lecouvreur, drame en six actes (1907)
  • Ma Double Vie (1907), & as My Double Life: Memoirs of Sarah Bernhardt, (1907) William Heinemann
  • Un Coeur d'Homme, pièce en quatre actes (1911)
  • Petite Idole (1920; as The Idol of Paris, 1921)
  • L'Art du Théâtre: la voix, le geste, la prononciation, etc. (1923; as The Art of the Theatre, 1924)

Selected roles

Bernhardt as Hamlet, ca. early 1880s
Bernhardt, in a portrait, 1890s.

Filmography

portrait by William Downey
  • 1900: Le Duel d'Hamlet (Hamlet, as Hamlet) An excerpt from the play, featuring Bernhardt in a duel to the death with Laertes.
  • 1908: La Tosca (Tosca, as Tosca) A one-reel condensation of the play by the same name by Victorien Sardou.
  • 1911: La Dame aux Camélias (Lady of the Camelias - Camille, in the U.S. release, as Camille) A two-reel condensation of the play by the same name, and co-starring Lou Tellegen.
  • 1912: Adrienne Lecouvreur (An Actress's Romance; as Adrienne Lecouvreur) A two-reel condensation of the play by the same name. Co-starring Lou Tellegen.
  • 1912: Les Amours d'Elisabeth, Reine d'Angleterre (Queen Elizabeth; a major success) A four-reel condensation of the play of the same name. Co-starring Lou Tellegen.
  • 1912: Sarah Bernhardt à Belle-Isle (Sarah Bernhardt at Home, as herself) This documentary features Sarah at home with her family and friends, fishing for shrimp, and cuddling indoors with her pet dogs.
  • 1915: Mères Françaises (Mothers of France, as Madame Jeanne D'Urbex, a war widow in World War I. When she learns that her son has also been wounded, she searches the battlefields, crawls through trenches, and finally reaches him at a medical station only to have him die in her arms. After this tragedy, she dedicates her life to helping others survive the ravages of war.
  • 1915: Ceux de Chez Nous (Those at Home: biographical, home movies) Among other celebrated persons of the era, there is a brief scene featuring Sarah sitting on a park bench and reading from a book.
  • 1916: Jeanne Doré (as Jeanne Doré). Based on a play of the same name. Sarah appears as a widowed mother, who lavishes attention on her son, Jacques. When he is seduced by a temptress and accidentally murders a man, she visits him in his cell on the night before his execution, pretending to be his fiancée.
  • 1921: Daniel (5-minute death scene from the play of the same name.) Sarah appears as a morphine addict in the hour before death.
  • 1923: La Voyante (The Fortune Teller,) Sarah appears as a clairvoyant, who makes predictions that influence the outcome of national events. This film was Sarah's final performance, and was made while she was mortally ill. It was eventually completed with scenes made with a stand-in performing Bernhardt's character with her back turned to the camera.

Recordings

Sarah Bernhardt
Georges Clairin (1843 - 1919) oil painting on canvas
  • Phèdre (1902)
  • Le Lac (The Lake) (1902)
  • La Fiancée du Timbalier (1902)
  • Lucie (1902)
  • Le Lac (1903)
  • La Samaritaine (1903)
  • Les Vieux (The Old Ones) (1903)
  • Un Évangile (A Gospel) (1903)
  • Phèdre (1903)
  • La Mort d'Izéil (The Death of Izéil) (1903)
  • La Rêverie de Théroigne de Méricourt (The Dream of Théroigne de Méricourt) (1903)
  • Un Peu de Musique (A Little Music) (1903)
  • L'Aiglon (The Eaglet) (1910)
  • Phèdre (1910)
  • Les Buffons (The Buffoons) (1908)
  • La Samaritaine (1910)
  • L'Étoile dans la Nuit (The Star in the Night) (1918)
  • Prière pour nos Ennemis (A Prayer for our Enemies) (1918)

References

  1. ^ She was baptised in 1857, when she was about 12, but the record is missing. A birth date taken from a certificate of a baptism conducted at the age of 12 would not be reliable as a primary source, and could only be used to corroborate other evidence. (In The Art of High Drama, a Professor Ockman describes finding an "unidentified newspaper clipping" in the Bibliothèque de la Comédie Francaise in Paris, which included a copy of a baptismal certificate saying Bernhardt was born on 25 September 1844.) It has been claimed that "Bernhardt sometimes celebrated her birthday on 23 October", although there is no verification of this claim. Bernhardt’s 1907 autobiography Ma double vie (My Double Life) made no reference to her date of birth.
  2. ^ a b Gottlieb, Robert. "The Drama of Sarah Bernhardt". Retrieved 2007-10-18.
  3. ^ However, lacking birth records, her exact birth name is uncertain
  4. ^ Marriage of Moritz Bernardt, widower of Janetta Hartog, and Sara Kinsbergen
  5. ^ Snel, Harmen. "The ancestry of Sarah Bernhardt; a myth unravelled", Amsterdam, Joods Historisch Museum, 2007, ISBN 978-90-8020-293-1
  6. ^ Colombier Marie. "Le voyage de Sarah Bernhardt en Amérique"
  7. ^ Sarah Bernhardt (1933), a biography based on Bernhardt's memoirs
  8. ^ May Agate, Madame Sarah (1945)
  9. ^ Encyclopedia Britannica -- Macropædia (Knowledge in Depth) Volume 2
  10. ^ Sarah Bernhardt at the Internet Broadway Database
  11. ^ Golden, Eve. "From Stage to Screen: The Film Career of Sarah Bernhardt". Retrieved 2007-10-18. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  12. ^ C. O. Skinner, Madame Sarah (1967), and excellent book primarily biographical attempt at separating fact from fiction
  13. ^ Guibert et. al., Portrait(s) de Sarah Bernhardt, 2000
  14. ^ "Edward VII biography". Retrieved 2007-10-18.
  15. ^ "Positive Atheism's Big List of Quotations: Sarah Bernhardt". Retrieved 2007-10-18.
  16. ^ .Sarah Bernhardt in the Theatre of Films and Sound Recordings, by David W. Menefee, McFarland & Company, Inc, 2003
  17. ^ "Filming Shakespeare With And Without Words In Settings Familiar And Unfamiliar". Retrieved 2007-10-18.
  18. ^ "New International Encyclopedia". Retrieved 2007-10-18.

Further reading

  • Brandon, Ruth. Being Divine: A Biography of Sarah Bernhardt. London: Mandarin, 1992.
  • Gold, Arthur and Robert Fitzdale. The Divine Sarah: A Life of Sarah Bernhardt. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1991.
  • Lorcey, Jacques. Sarah Bernhardt, l'art et la vie, Paris : Éditions Séguier, 2005. 160 pages. Avec une préface d'Alain Feydeau. ISBN 2-84049-417-5.
  • Menefee, David W. Sarah Bernhardt in the Theater of Films and Sound Recordings. North Carolina: McFarland, 2003.
  • Menefee, David W. The First Female Stars: Women of the Silent Era. Connecticut: Praeger, 2004.
  • Ockmann, Carol and Kenneth E. Silver. Sarah Bernhardt: The Art of High Drama New York: Yale University Press, 2005
  • Skinner, Cornelia Otis. Madame Sarah. Paragon House, 1966.
  • Snel, Harmen. "The ancestry of Sarah Bernhardt; a myth unravelled", Amsterdam, Joods Historisch Museum, 2007, ISBN 978-90-8020-293-1
Wikiquote has quotations related to Sarah Bernhardt.
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Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Bernhardt, Sarah".

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