Theatre Sarah Bernhardt example essay topic

Sarah Bernhardt was one of the stage's most admired actresses. She was born in Paris, France where she became a star and later traveled the world touring. Bernhardt didn't start out as the best but did rise to the success she is known for today. She was known for her romantic looks and her melodious voice, her natural acting style and sometimes her tempestuous attitude. Bernhardt lived quite a life, from her many famous lovers, her fabulous clothing, and her travels performing on stages all over the world and even becoming a star of silent movies. She was what we know today as a "drama queen" in many ways.

She wasn't successful right away, but did rise to her stardom. As stated in The Divine Sarah, even Sigmund Freud who saw her in a performance (Sardou's Theodora) has said. ".. I believed at once everything she said... , it is incredible what postures she can assume and how every limb and joint acts with her". Sarah Bernhardt was born Henriette Rosin e Bernard in 1844 to women named Julie Bernard, who was of Jewish descent and little is known about her father. What is known about her mother, is that she was a legendary courtesan and was rarely home, and when she was home, there were always rich men around.

Sarah was a wild child who, when she wasn't sick, did what she wanted and threw many temper tantrums. Her mother wanted Sarah to follow in her footsteps and entertain men for money, the idea made Sarah sick (although later she learned that there is a thin line between acting and prostituting), she told her mom she was to become a nun. That all changed when she saw Racine's Britannic us at the Comedie Francaise. She planned on attending the Conservatoire, and in 1860 she did where she was trained for two years. In 1862, at the age of 18 she made her first debut as the lead in Racine's Iphigenia. Sarah often suffered from stage fright and her dire performance received some bad reviews.

According to Gold and Fizdale, Francis que Sarc ey, Paris's most powerful critic, was quoted to say " [she] is remarkably beautiful. She carries herself well and pronounces her words with perfect clarity. That is all that can be said at the moment". Her next appearance was in Scribe's Valerie which was virtually unnoticed, and her third debut in Moliere's Les Femmes Savants was not any better. Her bad reviews and her "diva" attitude made it hard for the Comedie Francaise to give her any new roles. An incident in 1863, at Moliere's birthday celebration led to her departure from the Comedie Francaise, where she wasn't to return to for over 10 years.

After her break from the Comedie Francaise, Sarah was hired to play small roles and understudy the leading ladies at the Gymnast. Those roles did nothing to launch her career, so she asked her favorite maid, Mme. Guerard, to accompany her to Spain. Unfortunately for Bernhardt, Mme. Guerard refused to go because she had her husband and two year old daughter in Paris. Bernhardt has stated in her book My Double Life, that Caroline (Mme. Guerard's assistant) escorted her to Spain. During that time Sarah gave birth to her son Maurice, in 1864, although never really confirmed by Sarah, his father is believed to have been Prince Henri de Levine. She continued to perform without recognition until 1868.

That is when she played in Dumas's Kean, at the Odeon Theatre in Paris. This was the beginning of a very successful career. She played three more roles that season including Cordelia in King Lear. In the late 1860's Sarah's career finally took off. She starred in many plays including Hugo's Ruy Blas, Francois Copp " ee's Le Passant, Scribe and Legouv'e's Adrienne Lecouvreur and Meilhac and Hal " eve's Frou Frou, 'Emile Augier's L'Aventuri " ere, Dumas film's La Dame aux Came lias, Sardou's La Tosca and so many more. Her most famous roles were, Ph " edge in Racine's play (first performed 1874), Dona Sol in Victor Hugo's Hernan i (first performed in 1877), Cleopatra and Theodora.

After the war and much acclaim of Sarah, the Comedie Francaise asked for her to rejoin their company. She was contracted to the Odeon, but The Comedie Francaise offered more money and more prestige. Ethical behavior was not Sarah's specialty, so she signed with them even though she had a year left at Odeon. Her double-dealing cost her a fine and a break with the manager Duquesne l. In 1972 she made her re-entry to the Comedie Francaise in Dumas pere's Mademoiselle de Belle-Isle.

And her next role was in Hugo's Brittanicus. Perrin, the theatre's manager, cast her and Jean Mount- Sully as much as he could. They were great on stage together and had an affair, that was the talk of Paris and lasted many years. Sarah Bernhardt was a name that caught attention and so her touring began, first to England.

This is where the young Oscar Wilde saw her performance in Phaedra, and said he now. ".. realized the sweetness of Racine's music" (The Devine Sarah). It is said that he later wrote the play Salome, in French, with Sarah in mind. She went on to tour in America debuting in 1880 at the Booth's Temple of Dramatic Arts, she had 27 curtain calls that night. Sarah Bernhardt was a star everywhere she went. She literally toured all over the world including all over Europe, North and South America, Australia, and even Egypt. She played many captivating roles including Hamlet, and Joan of Arc at the age of 65 with a wooden leg.

In My Double Life (an autobiography), she said her last tour lasted seven months where she visited fifty cities and gave one hundred and fifty six performances. Her presence graced many stages including Theatre de la Gate, Theatre de l'Oeuvre, Theatre des Nations, and her own theatre, Theatre Sarah Bernhardt, previously known as Theatre de Renaissance (all in Paris). She also became a silent film star in the early 1900's. From her career as an actress, her attempt at sculpting, to her directing later in life Sarah Bernhardt was a star, and very well paid. She was adored; people loved her and longed to see her perform, although she did have many enemies, that never really bothered her. She lived a tumultuous life until her death in 1923.

It was estimated that there were six hundred thousand to one million people at her funeral. She is buried in the famous Pere- La chaise cemetery.

Bibliography

Bernhardt, Sarah. Memories of my Life (London / New York: Benjamin Bloom, 1908, reissued 1968) Bernhardt, Sarah;
translated by Larson, Victoria Tie tze. My double Life (New York: State University of New York, 1999) Fizdale, Robert and Gold, Arthur.
The Devine Sarah, A Life of Sarah Bernhardt (New York: Knopf, 1991).