The Bells (play)
Encyclopedia
The Bells is a play in three acts by Leopold Davis Lewis
which was one of the greatest successes of the British
actor Henry Irving
. The play opened on November 25 1871 at the Lyceum Theatre in London and initially ran for 151 performances. Irving was to stage the play repeatedly throughout his career, playing the role of Mathias for the last time the night before his death in 1905.
(The Polish
Jew) by Erckmann-Chatrian. The Erckmann-Chatrian play was also adapted into an opera
of the same name in three acts by Camille Erlanger
, composed to a libretto
by Henri Cain
.
In 1871, Irving began his association with the Lyceum Theatre with an engagement under the management of Hezekiah Bateman
. The fortunes of the house were at a low ebb when the tide was turned by Irving's sudden success as Mathias in The Bells, a property which Irving had found for himself. Bateman had been looking for a leading man when he saw Irving in a play, and the two discussed terms and possible roles for Irving, including a new version of The Polish Jew, a play about a man haunted by a murder he has committed. The Lyceum Theatre season opened in September 1871, and the first two plays were box office failures. By late October Bateman was facing financial ruin. Again Irving urged him to stage The Polish Jew, convinced that the play would be a dramatic and financial success. An unsuccessful version of the play was running at the Royal Alfred Theatre in Marylebone
to meagre audiences, which failed to convince Bateman that another version could be a success; but Irving persuaded him and gave him a copy of The Bells, by Leopold Lewis.
The opening night of The Bells on November 25 1871 was held before a small audience, and during the performance a woman fainted in the stalls. The audience sat in stunned silence at the end of the play. However, they then gave the play, and Irving's performance, a great ovation.
George R Sims
later wrote for the The Evening News:
The critics declared Irving a new star, and he was immediately established at the forefront of British drama. The play ran for 150 nights, which was an unusually long run at the time. It would prove a popular vehicle for Irving for the rest of his professional life.
Edward Gordon Craig
, who saw Irving perform the play 30 times, described Irving's performance as "the finest point the craft of acting could reach". Craig added,
The overture
and incidental music for The Bells was originally composed by Etienne Singla, Chef d'orchestre of the Théâtre Cluny in Paris
for the opera Le Juif Polonais
in 1869. H L Bateman
brought Singla to the Lyceum to arrange his score for The Bells, and, according to the programme
, Singla conducted on the opening night. In future productions Irving deleted many of the musical themes in order to heighten the drama in various scenes.
As they drove home from the opening night of The Bells, Irving's wife, Florence, criticised his profession: "Are you going on making a fool of yourself like this all your life?" (She was then pregnant with their second son, Laurence). Irving got out from their carriage at Hyde Park Corner
, walked off into the night and chose never to see her again.
Set in Alsace
, the border country between France and Germany, Irving played the burgomaster
and family man Mathias, who, fifteen years before, on the night of the 24th December 1818, to pay off his mortgage debt, had robbed a wealthy Polish
Jewish seed merchant named Koveski who had come to Mathias' inn, killing him with an axe and throwing his body into a lime kiln. Over time Mathias goes insane with guilt, and begins to hallucinate the ghost of the Polish Jew. Only the murderer and the audience, but nobody on stage, could hear the bells on the Jew's sledge jingling or see his ghostly face.
Finally, Mathias dreams that he is on trial for the murder and, confessing his guilt, is condemned to death by hanging. Waking, he tries to pull the imaginary noose from around his neck, and dies of a heart attack.
produced the play regularly throughout his career. Other actors who have played the Burgomaster
Mathias in subsequent productions include Irving's son H. B. Irving
, Henry Baynton
, Bransby Williams
and John Martin-Harvey
.
The play was adapted into an Australian film in 1911
.
Leopold Davis Lewis
Leopold Davis Lewis , was an English dramatist.Lewis was born in London and educated at the King's College School, and upon graduation became a solicitor, practising as such from 1850 to 1875...
which was one of the greatest successes of the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
actor Henry Irving
Henry Irving
Sir Henry Irving , born John Henry Brodribb, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility for season after season at the Lyceum Theatre, establishing himself and his company as...
. The play opened on November 25 1871 at the Lyceum Theatre in London and initially ran for 151 performances. Irving was to stage the play repeatedly throughout his career, playing the role of Mathias for the last time the night before his death in 1905.
Background
The Bells is a translation by Leopold Lewis of the 1867 play Le Juif PolonaisLe Juif polonais
Le Juif Polonais is an opera in three acts by Camille Erlanger composed to a libretto by Henri Cain. The libretto was adapted from the 1867 play of the same name by Erckmann-Chatrian...
(The Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
Jew) by Erckmann-Chatrian. The Erckmann-Chatrian play was also adapted into an opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
of the same name in three acts by Camille Erlanger
Camille Erlanger
Camille Erlanger was a Parisian-born French opera composer. He studied at the Paris Conservatory under Léo Delibes and Émile Durand, and in 1888 won the Prix de Rome for his cantata Velléda...
, composed to a libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
by Henri Cain
Henri Cain
Henri Caïn was a French dramatist, opera and ballet librettist. He wrote over forty librettos from 1893 to his death, for many of the most prominent composers of the Parisian Belle Epoque....
.
In 1871, Irving began his association with the Lyceum Theatre with an engagement under the management of Hezekiah Bateman
Hezekiah Linthicum Bateman
Hezekiah Linthicum Bateman , known as H. L. Bateman, was an American actor and manager.Born in Baltimore, Maryland, his original goal was to be an engineer, but in 1832 became an actor, playing with Ellen Tree in juvenile leads...
. The fortunes of the house were at a low ebb when the tide was turned by Irving's sudden success as Mathias in The Bells, a property which Irving had found for himself. Bateman had been looking for a leading man when he saw Irving in a play, and the two discussed terms and possible roles for Irving, including a new version of The Polish Jew, a play about a man haunted by a murder he has committed. The Lyceum Theatre season opened in September 1871, and the first two plays were box office failures. By late October Bateman was facing financial ruin. Again Irving urged him to stage The Polish Jew, convinced that the play would be a dramatic and financial success. An unsuccessful version of the play was running at the Royal Alfred Theatre in Marylebone
Marylebone
Marylebone is an affluent inner-city area of central London, located within the City of Westminster. It is sometimes written as St. Marylebone or Mary-le-bone....
to meagre audiences, which failed to convince Bateman that another version could be a success; but Irving persuaded him and gave him a copy of The Bells, by Leopold Lewis.
The opening night of The Bells on November 25 1871 was held before a small audience, and during the performance a woman fainted in the stalls. The audience sat in stunned silence at the end of the play. However, they then gave the play, and Irving's performance, a great ovation.
George R Sims
George Robert Sims
George Robert Sims was an English journalist, poet, dramatist, novelist and bon vivant.Sims began writing lively humour and satiric pieces for Fun magazine and The Referee, but he was soon concentrating on social reform, particularly the plight of the poor in London's slums...
later wrote for the The Evening News:
"... There were plenty of stalls vacant at the Lyceum, and the author and I sat in two of them... The first part of The Bells was not very enthusiastically received, but the audience was undoubtedly held by the big scene. In the stalls there was a general agreement that Henry IrvingHenry IrvingSir Henry Irving , born John Henry Brodribb, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility for season after season at the Lyceum Theatre, establishing himself and his company as...
had fulfilled the promise of dramatic intensity which he had shown in his recitation of The Dream of Eugene AramEugene AramEugene Aram was an English philologist, but also infamous as the murderer celebrated by Thomas Hood in his ballad, The Dream of Eugene Aram, and by Bulwer Lytton in his 1832 novel Eugene Aram.-Early life:...
.
The play left the first-nighters a little dazed. Old fashioned playgoers did not know what to make of it as a form of entertainment. But when the final curtain fell the audience, after a gasp or two, realised that they had witnessed the most masterly form of tragic acting that the British stage had seen for many a long day, and there was a storm of cheers. Then, still pale, still haggard, still haunted, as it were, by the terror he had so perfectly counterfeited, the actor came forward with the sort of smile that did not destroy the character of the Burgomaster or dispel the illusion of the stage."
The critics declared Irving a new star, and he was immediately established at the forefront of British drama. The play ran for 150 nights, which was an unusually long run at the time. It would prove a popular vehicle for Irving for the rest of his professional life.
Edward Gordon Craig
Edward Gordon Craig
Edward Henry Gordon Craig , sometimes known as Gordon Craig, was an English modernist theatre practitioner; he worked as an actor, director and scenic designer, as well as developing an influential body of theoretical writings...
, who saw Irving perform the play 30 times, described Irving's performance as "the finest point the craft of acting could reach". Craig added,
"The thing Irving set out to do was to show us the sorrow which slowly and remorselessly beat him down. The sorrow, which he suffers, must appeal to our hearts. Irving set out to wring our hearts, not to give a clever exhibition of antics such as a murderer would be likely to go through. Here is a strong human being who, through a moment of weakness, falls into error and for two hours becomes a criminal - does what he knows he is doing - acts deliberately but acts automatically, as though impelled by an immense force, against which no resistance is possible."
The overture
Overture
Overture in music is the term originally applied to the instrumental introduction to an opera...
and incidental music for The Bells was originally composed by Etienne Singla, Chef d'orchestre of the Théâtre Cluny in Paris
Paris
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...
for the opera Le Juif Polonais
Le Juif polonais
Le Juif Polonais is an opera in three acts by Camille Erlanger composed to a libretto by Henri Cain. The libretto was adapted from the 1867 play of the same name by Erckmann-Chatrian...
in 1869. H L Bateman
Hezekiah Linthicum Bateman
Hezekiah Linthicum Bateman , known as H. L. Bateman, was an American actor and manager.Born in Baltimore, Maryland, his original goal was to be an engineer, but in 1832 became an actor, playing with Ellen Tree in juvenile leads...
brought Singla to the Lyceum to arrange his score for The Bells, and, according to the programme
Programme (booklet)
A programme or program is a booklet available for patrons attending a live event such as theatre performances, fêtes, sports events, etc. It is a printed leaflet outlining the parts of the event scheduled to take place, principal performers and background information. In the case of theatrical...
, Singla conducted on the opening night. In future productions Irving deleted many of the musical themes in order to heighten the drama in various scenes.
As they drove home from the opening night of The Bells, Irving's wife, Florence, criticised his profession: "Are you going on making a fool of yourself like this all your life?" (She was then pregnant with their second son, Laurence). Irving got out from their carriage at Hyde Park Corner
Hyde Park Corner
Hyde Park Corner is a place in London, at the south-east corner of Hyde Park. It is a major intersection where Park Lane, Knightsbridge, Piccadilly, Grosvenor Place and Constitution Hill converge...
, walked off into the night and chose never to see her again.
Original cast
- Mathias, the burgomaster - Henry IrvingHenry IrvingSir Henry Irving , born John Henry Brodribb, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility for season after season at the Lyceum Theatre, establishing himself and his company as...
- Catherine, his wife - Miss G. Pauncefort
- Annette, his daughter - Miss Fanny Heywood
- Walter, a friend of Mathias - Frank Hall
- Hans, a friend of Mathias - F W Irish
- Christian, a gendarme - Herbert Crellin
- Sozel, a servant - Miss Ellen Mayne
- Doctor Zimmer - Mr A Tapping
- Notary - Mr Collett
- Tony, Karl & Fritz, guests - Mr Fredericks, Mr Fotheringham and Mr Everard
- Villagers, Officers of the Court, Crowd
Synopsis
Period - December 24th & 26th, 1833.- Act I - The Burgomaster's Inn
- Act II - The Burgomaster's Parlour
- Act III - The Burgomaster's Bedroom
Set in Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
, the border country between France and Germany, Irving played the burgomaster
Burgomaster
Burgomaster is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief magistrate or chairman of the executive council of a sub-national level of administration...
and family man Mathias, who, fifteen years before, on the night of the 24th December 1818, to pay off his mortgage debt, had robbed a wealthy Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
Jewish seed merchant named Koveski who had come to Mathias' inn, killing him with an axe and throwing his body into a lime kiln. Over time Mathias goes insane with guilt, and begins to hallucinate the ghost of the Polish Jew. Only the murderer and the audience, but nobody on stage, could hear the bells on the Jew's sledge jingling or see his ghostly face.
Finally, Mathias dreams that he is on trial for the murder and, confessing his guilt, is condemned to death by hanging. Waking, he tries to pull the imaginary noose from around his neck, and dies of a heart attack.
Productions
Henry IrvingHenry Irving
Sir Henry Irving , born John Henry Brodribb, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility for season after season at the Lyceum Theatre, establishing himself and his company as...
produced the play regularly throughout his career. Other actors who have played the Burgomaster
Burgomaster
Burgomaster is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief magistrate or chairman of the executive council of a sub-national level of administration...
Mathias in subsequent productions include Irving's son H. B. Irving
Harry Brodribb Irving
Harry Brodribb Irving , was a British stage actor and actor-manager; the eldest son of Sir Henry Irving and his wife Florence , and father of designer Laurence Irving and actress Elizabeth Irving....
, Henry Baynton
Henry Baynton
Henry Baynton was a British Shakespearean actor and actor-manager of the early twentieth century....
, Bransby Williams
Bransby Williams
Bransby Williams was a British actor, comedian and monologist. He became known as "The Irving of the Music Halls".-Early years:...
and John Martin-Harvey
John Martin-Harvey
John Martin Harvey , known after his knighthood in 1921 as Sir John Martin-Harvey, was a romantic actor of the English theatre....
.
The play was adapted into an Australian film in 1911
The Bells (1911 film)
The Bells is a 1911 Australian feature length film directed by W.J. Lincoln. It is based on the famous stage melodrama by Erckmann-Chatrian adapted by Leopold Lewis, which had been adapted for the Australian stage by Lincoln.-External links:...
.
External links
- http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=X8bmAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=irving+the+bells&source=bl&ots=gxMrwxaxsV&sig=5-CbC7nXbDlr9NvYMgGcbmQqm7I&hl=en&ei=szl-Tf34AoyJhQfYr8neBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CFkQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q&f=falseMayer, David (editor) 'Henry Irving and The Bells: Irving's Personal Script of the Play by Leopold Lewis' Manchester University PressManchester University PressManchester University Press is the university press of the University of Manchester, England and a publisher of academic books and journals. Manchester University Press has developed into an international publisher...
(1980) Google Books] - Full text of the play
- Images of Irving in The Bells