Sarah Bernhardt
Encyclopedia
Sarah Bernhardt was a French
stage and early film actress, and has been referred to as "the most famous actress the world has ever known". Bernhardt made her fame on the stages of France
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".
as Rosine Bernardt, the daughter of Julie Bernardt (1821, Amsterdam
– 1876, Paris) and an unknown father. Julie was one of six children of a widely traveling Jewish spectacle merchant, "vision specialist" and petty criminal, Moritz Baruch Bernardt, and Sara Hirsch (later known as Janetta Hartog; c. 1797–1829). Julie's father remarried Sara Kinsbergen (1809–1878) two weeks after his first wife's death, and abandoned his family in 1835. Julie left for Paris, where she made a living as a courtesan
and was known by the name "Youle". Sara would add the letter "H" to both her first and last names. Sarah's birth records were lost in a fire in 1871, 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.
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.
, France's most prestigious theater. She decided to leave France, and soon ended up in Belgium, where she became the mistress of Henri, Prince de Ligne, and gave birth to their son, Maurice, in 1864. After Maurice's birth, the Prince proposed marriage, but his family forbade it and convinced Bernhardt to refuse and end their relationship.
However, she was not entirely successful at the conservatory and left to become a courtesan
by 1865. During this time that she acquired her famous coffin, in which she often slept in lieu of a bed – claiming that doing so 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
. 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. In 1872 she left the Odéon and returned to Comédie-Française. One of her remarkable successes 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
.
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 Clairin, 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."
Bernhardt also expressed strong interest in inventor Nikola Tesla
, only to be disregarded as a distraction to his work.
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
.
Bernhardt once stated, "Me pray? Never! I'm an atheist." However, she had been baptised a Roman Catholic, and accepted the last rites shortly before her death.
actresses, debuting as Hamlet
in the two minute long film Le Duel d'Hamlet
in 1900 (Technically, this was not a silent film, and in fact, it is cited as one of the first examples of a sound and moving image syncing system created with the new phono-cinema-theatre system). 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.
'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; she was required to use 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). She continued her career often without using a wooden prosthetic limb; she had tried to use 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). According to Arthur Croxton, the manager of London's Coliseum, the amputation was not apparent during her performances, which were done with the use of an artificial limb. Her physical condition may have limited her mobility on the stage, but the charm of her voice, which had altered little with age, ensured her triumphs.
Sarah Bernhardt died from uremia
following kidney failure in 1923; she is believed to have been 78 years old. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
at 1751 Vine Street.
-like chocolate cake.
A popular scented pink double flowering cultivar of the peony
is also named after her.
1877: Hugo's Hernani
(as Doña Sol)
1879: Racine's Phèdre (as Phèdre)
1880: Émile Augier
's L'Aventurière
1880: Legouvé & Scribe's Adrienne Lecouvreur
1880: Meilhac
& Halévy's
Froufrou
1880: Dumas fils' La Dame aux Camélias (as Maguerite)
1882: Sardou's
Fédora''
1887 : Victorien Sardou
's La Tosca
1890: Sardou's Cléopâtre
, as Cleopatra
1893: Lemaître's
Les Rois
1894: Sardou's Gismonda
(pictured)
1895: Molière's Amphytrion
1895: Magda(translation of Sudermann's
Heimat
)
1896: La Dame aux Camélias
1896: Musset's
Lorenzaccio
(as Lorenzino de' Medici)
1897: Sardou's Spiritisme
1897: Rostand's
La Samaritaine
1897: Octave Mirbeau
's Les Mauvais bergers
1898: Catulle Mendès
Medée
1898: La Dame aux Camélias (as Marguerite Gautier)
1899: Shakespeare's Hamlet
(as Hamlet)
1900: Rostand's L'Aiglon
as L'Aiglon
1903: Sardou's La Sorcière
1904: Maeterlinck's
Pelléas et Mélisande
(as Pelléas)
1906: Ibsen's
The Lady From the Sea
1906: Mendès' La Vierge d'Avila (as Saint Theresa)
1911: Moreau's Les Amours de la reine Élisabeth
(as Queen Elizabeth)
1913: Bernard's
Jeanne Doré (as Jeanne Doré)
,_sarah-benhardt.jpg)
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
stage and early film actress, and has been referred to as "the most famous actress the world has ever known". Bernhardt made her fame on the stages of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in the 1870s, and was soon in demand in Europe and the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
. She developed a reputation as a serious dramatic actress, earning the nickname "The Divine Sarah".
Early life
Bernhardt was born in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
as Rosine Bernardt, the daughter of Julie Bernardt (1821, Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
– 1876, Paris) and an unknown father. Julie was one of six children of a widely traveling Jewish spectacle merchant, "vision specialist" and petty criminal, Moritz Baruch Bernardt, and Sara Hirsch (later known as Janetta Hartog; c. 1797–1829). Julie's father remarried Sara Kinsbergen (1809–1878) two weeks after his first wife's death, and abandoned his family in 1835. Julie left for Paris, where she made a living as a courtesan
Courtesan
A courtesan was originally a female courtier, which means a person who attends the court of a monarch or other powerful person.In feudal society, the court was the centre of government as well as the residence of the monarch, and social and political life were often completely mixed together...
and was known by the name "Youle". Sara would add the letter "H" to both her first and last names. Sarah's birth records were lost in a fire in 1871, but in order to prove French citizenship, necessary for Légion d'honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
eligibility, she created false birth records, on which she was the daughter of "Judith van Hard" and "Edouard Bernardt" from Le Havre
Le Havre
Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...
, in later stories either a law student, accountant, naval cadet or naval officer.
Much of the uncertainty about Bernhardt's life arises because of her tendency to exaggerate and distort. Alexandre Dumas, fils
Alexandre Dumas, fils
Alexandre Dumas, fils was a French author and dramatist. He was the son of Alexandre Dumas, père, also a writer and playwright.-Biography:...
described her as a notorious liar.
Stage career
Bernhardt's stage career started in 1862 while she was a student at the Comédie-FrançaiseComédie-Française
The Comédie-Française or Théâtre-Français is one of the few state theaters in France. It is the only state theater to have its own troupe of actors. It is located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris....
, France's most prestigious theater. She decided to leave France, and soon ended up in Belgium, where she became the mistress of Henri, Prince de Ligne, and gave birth to their son, Maurice, in 1864. After Maurice's birth, the Prince proposed marriage, but his family forbade it and convinced Bernhardt to refuse and end their relationship.
However, she was not entirely successful at the conservatory and left to become a courtesan
Courtesan
A courtesan was originally a female courtier, which means a person who attends the court of a monarch or other powerful person.In feudal society, the court was the centre of government as well as the residence of the monarch, and social and political life were often completely mixed together...
by 1865. During this time that she acquired her famous coffin, in which she often slept in lieu of a bed – claiming that doing so 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
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. 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. In 1872 she left the Odéon and returned to Comédie-Française. One of her remarkable successes there was in the title role of Voltaire's Zaïre
Zaïre (play)
Zaïre is a five act tragedy in verse by Voltaire. Written in only three weeks, it was given its first public performance on 13 August 1732 by the Comédie française in Paris. It was a great success with the Paris audiences and marked a turning away from tragedies caused by a fatal flaw in the...
(1874). She even traveled to Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
and performed in the Sauto Theater
Sauto Theater
The Sauto Theater opened in 1863 in Matanzas, Cuba, and has since then been a proud symbol of the city. The U-shaped 775-seat theatre is almost entirely covered with wood-panelling. It has three balconies, and its floor can be raised to convert the auditorium into a ballroom. The original theater...
, in Matanzas, in 1887. She coached many young women in the art of acting, including actress and courtesan Liane de Pougy
Liane de Pougy
Liane de Pougy , was a Folies Bergères dancer renowned as one of Paris's most beautiful and notorious courtesans.- Early Life and Marriage :...
.
Personal life
Jablonowski
Jabłonowski is the surname of a Polish szlachta family. Because Polish adjectives have different forms for the genders, Jabłonowska is the form for a female family member.-History:...
).
Sarah's close friends would include several artists, most notably Gustave Doré
Gustave Doré
Paul Gustave Doré was a French artist, engraver, illustrator and sculptor. Doré worked primarily with wood engraving and steel engraving.-Biography:...
and Georges Clairin, and actors Mounet-Sully
Jean Mounet-Sully
Mounet-Sully , a French actor, was born at Bergerac. His birth name was Jean-Sully Mounet: "Mounet-Sully" was a stage name....
and Lou Tellegen
Lou Tellegen
Lou Tellegen was a Dutch-born silent film and stage actor, director and screenwriter. -Early life:...
, as well as the famous French author Victor Hugo
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo was a Frenchpoet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France....
. Alphonse Mucha based several of his iconic Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
works on her. Her friendship with Louise Abbéma
Louise Abbéma
Louise Abbéma was a French painter, sculptor, and designer of the Belle Époque.-Biography:...
(1853–1927), a French impressionist painter
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
, 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."
Bernhardt also expressed strong interest in inventor Nikola Tesla
Nikola Tesla
Nikola Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor, mechanical engineer, and electrical engineer...
, only to be disregarded as a distraction to his work.
She later married Greek-born actor Aristides Damala (known in France by the stage name Jacques Damala
Jacques Damala
Aristides Damalas , known in France by the stage name Jacques Damala, , was a Greek military officer-turned-actor, who is mostly remembered as being husband to Sarah Bernhardt for a number of years. Damala's characterization by modern researchers is far from positive...
) 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
Morphine
Morphine is a potent opiate analgesic medication and is considered to be the prototypical opioid. It was first isolated in 1804 by Friedrich Sertürner, first distributed by same in 1817, and first commercially sold by Merck in 1827, which at the time was a single small chemists' shop. It was more...
. During the later years of this marriage, Bernhardt was said to have been involved in an affair with the Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
, who later became Edward VII
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
.
Bernhardt once stated, "Me pray? Never! I'm an atheist." However, she had been baptised a Roman Catholic, and accepted the last rites shortly before her death.
Silent film career
Bernhardt was one of the pioneer silent movieSilent Movie
Silent Movie is a 1976 satirical comedy film co-written, directed by, and starring Mel Brooks, and released by 20th Century Fox on June 17, 1976...
actresses, debuting as Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
in the two minute long film Le Duel d'Hamlet
Hamlet (1900 film)
Hamlet, also known as Le Duel d'Hamlet, is a 1900 French film adaptation of an excerpt from the William Shakespeare play Hamlet. It is believed to have been the earliest film adaptation of the play, and starred actress Sarah Bernhardt in the lead role. It was directed by Clément Maurice. The film...
in 1900 (Technically, this was not a silent film, and in fact, it is cited as one of the first examples of a sound and moving image syncing system created with the new phono-cinema-theatre system). 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
In 1905, while performing in Victorien SardouVictorien Sardou
Victorien Sardou was a French dramatist. He is best remembered today for his development, along with Eugène Scribe, of the well-made play...
'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
Gangrene
Gangrene is a serious and potentially life-threatening condition that arises when a considerable mass of body tissue dies . This may occur after an injury or infection, or in people suffering from any chronic health problem affecting blood circulation. The primary cause of gangrene is reduced blood...
had set in and her entire right leg was amputated; she was required to use a wheelchair
Wheelchair
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, designed to be a replacement for walking. The device comes in variations where it is propelled by motors or by the seated occupant turning the rear wheels by hand. Often there are handles behind the seat for someone else to do the pushing...
for several months. Bernhardt reportedly refused a $10,000 offer by a showman
Showman
Showman can have a variety of meanings, usually by context and depending on the country.- Australia :Travelling showmen are people who run amusement and side show equipment at regional shows, state capital shows, events and festivals throughout Australia...
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). She continued her career often without using a wooden prosthetic limb; she had tried to use one but didn't like it. She carried out a successful tour of America in 1915, and on returning to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan 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). According to Arthur Croxton, the manager of London's Coliseum, the amputation was not apparent during her performances, which were done with the use of an artificial limb. Her physical condition may have limited her mobility on the stage, but the charm of her voice, which had altered little with age, ensured her triumphs.
Sarah Bernhardt died from uremia
Uremia
Uremia or uraemia is a term used to loosely describe the illness accompanying kidney failure , in particular the nitrogenous waste products associated with the failure of this organ....
following kidney failure in 1923; she is believed to have been 78 years old. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
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)
Trivia
Sarah Bernardt lent her name to a famous meringueMeringue
Meringue is a type of dessert made from whipped egg whites and sugar, occasionally some recipes may call for adding an acid such as cream of tartar or a small amount of vinegar and a binding agent such as cornstarch found in icing sugar which may be added in addition to the corn starch which...
-like chocolate cake.
A popular scented pink double flowering cultivar of the peony
Peony
Peony or paeony is a name for plants in the genus Paeonia, the only genus in the flowering plant family Paeoniaceae. They are native to Asia, southern Europe and western North America...
is also named after her.
Selected roles
- 1862: Racine's Iphigénie in the title role, her debut.
- 1862: Eugène ScribeEugène ScribeAugustin Eugène Scribe , was a French dramatist and librettist. He is best known for the perfection of the so-called "well-made play" . This dramatic formula was a mainstay of popular theater for over 100 years.-Biography:...
's ValérieValérieValérie is a 1969 black-and-white Quebec film starring Danielle Ouimet, who plays Valérie, and Guy Godin. It was the first Quebec film to show nudity.... - 1862: MolièreMolièreJean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...
's Les Femmes SavantesLes Femmes SavantesLes Femmes savantes is a play by Molière in five acts, written in verse. A satire on academic pretention, female education, and préciosité , it was one of his most popular comedies... - 1864: LabicheEugène Marin LabicheEugène Marin Labiche was a French dramatist.-Biography:He was born into a bourgeois family and studied law. At the age of twenty, he contributed a short story to Chérubin magazine, entitled Les plus belles sont les plus fausses. A few others followed , but failed to catch the attention of the...
& Deslandes, Un Mari qui Lance sa Femme - 1866: T & H Cognard's La Biche aux Bois
- 1866: Racine's PhèdrePhèdrePhèdre is a dramatic tragedy in five acts written in alexandrine verse by Jean Racine, first performed in 1677.-Composition and premiere:...
(as Aricie) - 1866: Pierre de MarivauxPierre de MarivauxPierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux , commonly referred to as Marivaux, was a French novelist and dramatist....
's Le Jeu de l'Amour et du HasardLe Jeu de l'Amour et du HasardThe Game of Love and Chance is a three-act romantic comedy by French playwright Marivaux. The Game of Love and Chance was first performed 23 January 1730 by the Comédie Italienne. In this play, a young woman is visited by her betrothed, whom she does not know. To get a better idea of the type of...
(as Silvia) - 1867: MolièreMolièreJean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...
's Les Femmes SavantesLes Femmes SavantesLes Femmes savantes is a play by Molière in five acts, written in verse. A satire on academic pretention, female education, and préciosité , it was one of his most popular comedies...
(as Armande) - 1867: George SandGeorge SandAmantine Lucile Aurore Dupin, later Baroness Dudevant , best known by her pseudonym George Sand , was a French novelist and memoirist.-Life:...
's Le Marquis de Villemer - 1867: Georges Sand's "François le Champi" (as Mariette)
- 1868: Dumas pèreAlexandre Dumas, pèreAlexandre Dumas, , born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie was a French writer, best known for his historical novels of high adventure which have made him one of the most widely read French authors in the world...
's Kean (as Anna Damby) - 1869: Coppée'sFrançois CoppéeFrançois Edouard Joachim Coppée was a French poet and novelist.-Biography:He was born in Paris to a civil servant. After attending the Lycée Saint-Louis he became a clerk in the ministry of war, and won public favour as a poet of the Parnassian school. His first printed verses date from 1864...
La Passant, as a male troubadour (Zanetto); her first major stage success - 1870: George Sand's L'Autre
- 1871: Theuriet'sAndré TheurietClaude Adhémar André Theuriet French poet and novelist, was born at Marly-le-Roi , and was educated at Bar-le-Duc in his mother's province of Lorraine....
Jeanne-Marie - 1871: Coppée's Fais ce que Dois
- 1871: Foussier and Edmond La Baronne
- 1872: Bouilhet'sLouis BouilhetLouis Hyacinthe Bouilhet was a French poet and dramatist.He was born at Cany, Seine Inférieure. He was a schoolfellow of Gustave Flaubert, to whom he dedicated his first work, Miloenis , a narrative poem in five cantos, dealing with Roman manners under the emperor Commodus...
Mademoiselle AïsséMademoiselle AïsséMademoiselle Charlotte Aïssé , , French letter-writer, was the daughter of a Circassian chief, and was born about 1694.... - 1872: Hugo'sVictor HugoVictor-Marie Hugo was a Frenchpoet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France....
Ruy BlasRuy BlasRuy Blas is a tragic drama by Victor Hugo. It was the first play presented at the Théâtre de la Renaissance and opened on November 8, 1838. Though considered by many to be Hugo’s best drama, the play initially met with only average success....
(as Doña Maria de Neubourg, Queen of Spain) - 1872: Dumas père Mademoiselle de Belle-Isle (as Gabrielle)
- 1872: Racine's BritannicusBritannicusTiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus was the son of the Roman emperor Claudius and his third wife Valeria Messalina. He became the heir-designate of the empire at his birth, less than a month into his father's reign. He was still a young boy at the time of his mother's downfall and Claudius'...
(as Junie) - 1872: Beaumarchais's Le Mariage de Figaro
- 1872: Sandeau'sJules SandeauLeonard Sylvain Julien Sandeau was a French novelist.He was born at Aubusson , and was sent to Paris to study law, but spent much of his time in unruly behaviour with other students. He met George Sand, then Madame Dudevant, at Le Coudray in the house of a friend, and when she came to Paris in...
Mademoiselle de la Seiglière - 1873: Feuillet'sOctave FeuilletOctave Feuillet was a French novelist and dramatist.- Overview :Octave Feuillet was born at Saint-Lô, Manche . His father Jacques Feuillet was a prominent lawyer and Secretary-General of La Manche, but also a hypersensitive invalid. His mother died when he was an infant...
Dalila (as Princess Falconieri) - 1873: Ferrier'sPaul FerrierPaul Ferrier , French dramatist, was born at Montpellier.He had already produced several comedies when in 1873 he secured real success with two short pieces, Chez l'avocat and Les Incendies de Massoulard. Others of his numerous plays are Les Compensations ; L'Art de tramper les femmes , with M...
Chez l'Avocat - 1873: Racine's AndromaqueAndromaqueAndromaque is a tragedy in five acts by the French playwright Jean Racine written in alexandrine verse. It was first performed on 17 November 1667 before the court of Louis XIV in the Louvre in the private chambers of the Queen, Marie Thérèse, by the royal company of actors, called "les Grands...
- 1873: Racine's Phèdre (as Aricie)
- 1873: Feuillet's Le Sphinx''
- 1874: VoltaireVoltaireFrançois-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...
's ZaireZaireThe Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In... - 1874: Racine's Phèdre (as Phèdre)
- 1875: Bornier'sHenri de BornierHenri, vicomte de Bornier was a French poet and dramatist, born in Lunel .He came to Paris in 1845 with the object of studying law, but in that year he published a volume of verse, Les Premieres Feuilles, and the Comédie-Française accepted a play of his entitled Le Manage de Luther.He was given a...
La Fille de Roland- Dumas fils'Alexandre Dumas, filsAlexandre Dumas, fils was a French author and dramatist. He was the son of Alexandre Dumas, père, also a writer and playwright.-Biography:...
- Dumas fils'
- Parodi's Rome Vaincue
Hernani (drama)
----Hernani is a drama by the French romantic author Victor Hugo.The play opened in Paris on February 25, 1830...
(as Doña Sol)
Émile Augier
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's L'Aventurière
Adrienne Lecouvreur
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Henri Meilhac
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& Halévy's
Ludovic Halévy
Ludovic Halévy was a French author and playwright. He was half Jewish : his Jewish father had converted to Christianity prior to his birth, to marry his mother, née Alexandrine Lebas.-Biography:Ludovic Halévy was born in Paris...
Froufrou
Victorien Sardou
Victorien Sardou was a French dramatist. He is best remembered today for his development, along with Eugène Scribe, of the well-made play...
Fédora''
- Sardou's ThéodoraTheodoraTheodora is a name of Greek origin, meaning "God's gift". It is the feminine form of the Greek name, Θεόδωρος meaning "God's gift" , neuter gender...
(as Theodora, Empress of Byzantium)
Victorien Sardou
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's La Tosca
- Dumas fils' La Princesse Georges
Cléopâtre
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, as Cleopatra
Jules Lemaître
François Élie Jules Lemaître , was a French critic and dramatist.He was born at Vennecy . He became a professor at the university of Grenoble, but was already well known for his literary criticism, and in 1884 he resigned his position to devote his time to literature...
Les Rois
Gismonda
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(pictured)
Hermann Sudermann
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Heimat
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)
Alfred de Musset
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Lorenzaccio
Lorenzaccio
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(as Lorenzino de' Medici)
Edmond Rostand
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La Samaritaine
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Octave Mirbeau
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's Les Mauvais bergers
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Catulle Mendès
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Medée
- Barbier'sHenri Auguste BarbierHenri Auguste Barbier was a French dramatist and poet.Born in Paris, France, Barbier was inspired by the July Revolution and poured forth a series of eager, vigorous poems, denouncing the evils of the time. They are spoken of collectively as the Iambes , though the designation is not strictly...
Jeanne d'Arc (as Joan of Arc) - Morand & Sylvestre's Izéïl (as Izéïl)
- Shakespeare'sWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
King LearKing LearKing Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological...
(as Cordelia)
Hamlet
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(as Hamlet)
- Shakespeare's Antony and CleopatraAntony and CleopatraAntony and Cleopatra is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607. It was first printed in the First Folio of 1623. The plot is based on Thomas North's translation of Plutarch's Lives and follows the relationship between Cleopatra and Mark Antony...
(as Cleopatra) - Shakespeare's MacbethMacbethThe Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
(as Lady Macbeth) (in French) - Richepin's Pierrot Assassin (as Pierrot)
L'Aiglon
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as L'Aiglon
Maurice Maeterlinck
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Pelléas et Mélisande
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(as Pelléas)
Henrik Ibsen
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The Lady From the Sea
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Les Amours de la reine Élisabeth
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(as Queen Elizabeth)
Tristan Bernard
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Jeanne Doré (as Jeanne Doré)
Filmography
- 1900: Le Duel d'HamletHamlet (1900 film)Hamlet, also known as Le Duel d'Hamlet, is a 1900 French film adaptation of an excerpt from the William Shakespeare play Hamlet. It is believed to have been the earliest film adaptation of the play, and starred actress Sarah Bernhardt in the lead role. It was directed by Clément Maurice. The film...
(HamletHamletThe Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
, as Hamlet) An excerpt from the play, featuring Bernhardt in a duel to the death with Laertes. - 1908: La ToscaLa ToscaLa Tosca is a five-act drama by the 19th-century French playwright Victorien Sardou. It was first performed on 24 November 1887 at the Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin in Paris, with Sarah Bernhardt in the title role...
(Tosca, as Tosca) A one-reel condensation of the play by the same name by Victorien SardouVictorien SardouVictorien Sardou was a French dramatist. He is best remembered today for his development, along with Eugène Scribe, of the well-made play...
. - 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 TellegenLou TellegenLou Tellegen was a Dutch-born silent film and stage actor, director and screenwriter. -Early life:...
. - 1912: Adrienne LecouvreurAdrienne LecouvreurAdrienne Lecouvreur was a French actress.Born in Damery, she first appeared professionally on the stage in Lille...
(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'AngleterreLes Amours de la reine ÉlisabethLes Amours de la reine Élisabeth , Les Amours d'Elisabeth, Reine d'Angleterre or La reine Élisabeth is a 1912 short 4-reel French silent film based on the love affair between Elizabeth I of England and the Earl of Essex...
(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
- 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)
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.
- Léturgie, Jean and Xavier Fauche: Sarah Bernhardt, Lucky LukeLucky LukeLucky Luke is a Belgian comics series created by Belgian cartoonist, Maurice De Bevere better known as Morris, the original artist, and was for one period written by René Goscinny...
(49). Dupuis, 1982. - 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 PressYale University PressYale University Press is a book publisher founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day. It became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but remains financially and operationally autonomous....
, 2005 - Skinner, Cornelia OtisCornelia Otis SkinnerCornelia Otis Skinner was an American author and actress.-Biography:Skinner was the daughter of the actor Otis Skinner and his wife Maud Skinner. After attending the all-girls' Baldwin School and Bryn Mawr College and studying theatre at the Sorbonne in Paris, she began her career on the stage...
. 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
- Gottlieb, Robert "Sarah: The Life of Sarah Bernhardt" New Haven, Yale University Press, 2010
External links
- The "La Samaritaine" controversy and other performances in London
- Performances in Theatre Archive University of Bristol
- Sarah Bernhardt cylinder recordings, from the Cylinder Preservation and Digitization ProjectCylinder Preservation and Digitization ProjectThe Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project is a free digital collection maintained by the University of California, Santa Barbara Libraries with streaming and downloadable versions of over 10,000 phonograph cylinders manufactured between 1893 and the mid 1920s.- History :The project began...
at the University of California, Santa BarbaraUniversity of California, Santa BarbaraThe University of California, Santa Barbara, commonly known as UCSB or UC Santa Barbara, is a public research university and one of the 10 general campuses of the University of California system. The main campus is located on a site in Goleta, California, from Santa Barbara and northwest of Los...
Library. - Sarah Bernhardt Collection at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at AustinUniversity of Texas at AustinThe University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
. - Bernhardt's sculpture
- Bibliography
- Sarah Bernhardt photo gallery series 1 New York Public Library (NYPL)
- Sarah Bernhardt photo gallery series 2 NYPL