French actress Sarah Bernhardt. Sarah Bernard - biography, information, personal life

Sarah Bernard (fr. Sarah Bernhardt; October 22, 1844, Paris - March 26, 1923, ibid., nee Henriette Rosine Bernard (fr. Henriette Rosine Bernard) - French actress of Jewish origin, who at the beginning of the 20th century was called "the most famous actress throughout history." She achieved success on the stages of Europe in the 1870s, and then toured America with triumph. Her roles were mostly serious dramatic roles, which is why the actress received the nickname "Divine Sarah."

Sarah Bernard was born on October 22, 1844 in Paris. Sarah's mother's name was Judith. Jewish, either of German or Dutch origin, she gave birth to Sarah at the age of sixteen. The father remained unknown. Sometimes they consider Paul Morel, an officer of the French fleet (this is evidenced by some official documents). According to another version, the father is Edouard Bernard, a young lawyer.

Before coming to France, Judith worked as a milliner. But in Paris, she chose to become a courtesan. Pleasant appearance, the ability to dress with taste provided her with a comfortable existence at the expense of wealthy lovers. The born daughter prevented Judith from leading a carefree life, and therefore Sarah was sent to England, where she lived with a nanny.

She could have stayed there until adulthood if there had not been an accident: the nanny left Sarah alone with her disabled husband, Sarah was able to get out of her chair and came too close to the fireplace, the dress caught fire. The neighbors rescued Sarah. Judith at this time traveled around Europe with another sponsor. She was called to her daughter, she came to England and took Sarah to Paris. However, she soon left her again, leaving in the care of another nanny.

Forced to live in a dull place, in a gloomy house, where her nanny brought her, Sarah withdrew into herself, grew thin. But fate still connected mother and daughter. A chance meeting with Aunt Rosina, who was the same courtesan as Judith, plunges Sarah into a frenzy. In a fit, she falls from the nanny's arms and breaks her arm and leg. The mother finally takes her away, and it takes several years for the lonely girl to remember what a mother's love is.

Sarah was not taught to read, write, or count. She is sent to Madame Fressard's school, where she spends two years. During her stay at school, Sarah takes part in performances for the first time. During one of the performances, she suddenly sees her mother enter the hall, having decided to visit her daughter. Sarah has a nervous attack, she forgets all the text and "stage fright" has remained with her since then until the very last days, continuing to haunt her even during her period of world fame.

In the autumn of 1853, Sarah was sent to study at a privileged private school Grandchamp. The patronage suits another admirer of Judith, the Duke of Morni.

As a teenager, Sarah was very thin, constantly coughing. Doctors examining her predicted that she would soon die from tuberculosis. Sarah becomes obsessed with the theme of death. Around this time, her famous photographs were taken, where she lies in a coffin (the coffin was bought by her mother after much persuasion).

One day, the mother arranged a meeting of close relatives and friends, where they decided that Sarah should be married as soon as possible. In affectation, the girl looks up to heaven and declares to those present that she is given to God and her fate is monastic clothes. Duke Morny appreciates this scene and recommends that the mother send her daughter to the conservatory.

At the same time, Sarah gets her first real performance at the Comédie Française. After that, her fate is sealed.

At the age of 13, Sarah entered the drama class of the Higher National Conservatory of Dramatic Art, from which she graduated in 1862.

Despite the patronage, in order to enter the conservatory, Sarah had to pass an exam before the commission. To prepare for it, she takes diction lessons. Alexandre Dumas-father becomes her main teacher at this time. An artistic genius, he teaches Sarah how to create characters through gestures and voice. At the exam, everyone is fascinated by Sarah's voice and she enters the training without any problems, to which she gives all her strength. At the final exam, she wins the second prize.

On September 1, 1862, Sarah Bernhardt made her debut at the Comedie Française in Jean Racine's Iphigenia, performing leading role.

The director of the Comédie Francaise expressed doubt: "She's too skinny to be an actress!"

“When the curtain slowly began to rise, I thought I would faint,” Bernard recalled. Regarding her first exit, the opinion of critics was as follows: “The young actress was how beautiful, just as inexpressive ...” Only the golden mass of fluffy hair conquered everyone.

None of the critics saw a future star in the aspiring actress, most believed that soon the name of this actress would quietly disappear from the posters. Soon, due to the conflict, Sarah Bernhardt stopped working with the Comédie Française. Her return there took place only ten years later.

After leaving the theater, difficult times come for Bernard. Little is known about the next four years of her life, except perhaps that during this period she changed several lovers. But Sarah did not want to become a courtesan like her mother. On December 22, 1864, Sarah gives birth to a son, Maurice, whose father was Henri, Prince de Ligne. Forced to look for funds for the existence and upbringing of her son, Sarah gets a job at the Odeon Theater, the second most important of the Parisian theaters of that time.

After several not so successful roles, critics notice her in King Lear, where she plays Cordelia. The next success comes with the role in the play "Kin" by Dumas, the father, who was very pleased with the game of his protégé.

Madam! You were charming in your grandeur, - said Victor Hugo. - You excited me, old fighter. I cried. I give you a tear that you vomited from my chest, and I bow before you.

The tear was not figurative, but diamond, and it crowned the bracelet chain. By the way, there were a lot of diamonds donated to Sarah Bernhardt. She loved jewelry and did not part with them during travels and tours. And for the protection of jewelry, she took a pistol with her on the road. "Man is such strange creature that this tiny and ridiculously useless thing seems to me a reliable defense, ”the actress once explained her addiction to firearms.

In 1869, the actress plays the role of the minstrel Zanetto in François Coppé's Passerby, after which success came to her. The role of the Queen in Ruy Blas by Victor Hugo, which she played in 1872, became triumphant for her.

Stanislavsky considered Sarah Bernhardt an example of technical perfection: beautiful voice, polished diction, plasticity, artistic taste. The connoisseur of the theater, Prince Sergei Volkonsky, highly appreciated the stage skills of Sarah Bernhardt: “She perfectly mastered the polarity of emotions - from joy to grief, from happiness to horror, from affection to rage - the subtlest nuance of human feelings. And then - “the famous talker, the famous whisper, the famous growl, the famous“ golden voice ”- la voix d’or,” Volkonsky noted. - The last stage of mastery is her explosions ... How she knew how to lower herself in order to jump up, to gather herself in order to rush; how she knew how to aim, to crawl up to burst. The same thing in her facial expressions: what a skill from a barely noticeable inception to the highest scope ... "

However, virtuoso skill, sophisticated technique, artistic taste were combined in Bernard with deliberate showiness, some artificiality of the game.

Many prominent contemporaries, in particular, A. P. Chekhov, I. S. Turgenev, A. S. Suvorin and T. L. Shchepkina-Kupernik, denied that the actress had talent, which was replaced by an extremely refined and mechanistic playing technique. Such a major success was due to the phenomenal publicity provided to Bernard by the press, and more concerned with her personal life than the theater itself, as well as the unusually inflated excitement that preceded the performance itself.

On trips, she was invariably accompanied by a retinue of reporters. Public and religious organizations treated her differently: who sang glory to her, and who betrayed her blasphemy. Many in America considered her visit "an invasion of the accursed snake, the offspring of the French Babylon, who arrived to pour poison into pure American mores."

In Russia, they were waiting with interest for the “new Napoleon in a skirt”, who had already conquered all of America and Europe and was moving straight to Moscow. Moskovskie Vedomosti wrote: “The greats of the world showered this fairy princess honors, which, probably, neither Michelangelo nor Beethoven dreamed of in a dream ... ”And why be surprised? Sarah Bernhardt was essentially the world's first superstar.

Sarah Bernard visited Russia three times - in 1881, 1898 and 1908. The success was huge, although there were critics, including Turgenev. In a letter to Polonskaya in December 1881, he wrote: “I can’t say how angry I am with all the madness that is being committed about Sarah Bernhardt, this impudent and distorted poofist, this mediocrity, which only has that lovely voice. Surely no one in the press will tell her the truth? .. "

What to say about this? Turgenev's heart was completely filled with Pauline Viardot, and there was not even a tiny corner left for Sarah Bernhardt. However, the negative emotions of Ivan Sergeevich could not overshadow the glory of Bernard. Great - she is great, even if someone does not think so.

But the stage is one thing, and life outside of it is already something else. Sergei Volkonsky believed that Sarah Bernhardt, outside the theater, was “an ugly person, she is all artificial ... Red tuft in front, red tuft in the back, unnaturally red lips, powdered face, all summed up like a mask; amazing flexibility of the camp, dressed like no one else - she was all “in her own way”, she herself was Sarah, and everything on her, around her gave off Sarah. She created not only roles - she created herself, her image, her silhouette, her type ... "

She was the first superstar, hence the advertising of her name: perfume, soap, gloves, powder - "Sarah Bernard". She had two husbands: one - a prince from an ancient French family, the second - an actor from Greece, an unusually handsome man. But the main passion of Sarah Bernhardt was the theater. She lived by them, she was inspired by them. She didn't want to be a thing, a toy in her hands the mighty of the world this - was engaged in painting, sculpture, composed funny novels and funny plays. She dared to take to the skies in the Giffard balloon, where, at an altitude of 2300 meters, the daredevils “dined heartily on goose liver, fresh bread and oranges. The champagne cork saluted the sky with a muffled noise…”

Sarah Bernhardt has often been compared to Joan of Arc. Considered a witch. It was she who prompted Emile Zola to stand up for the poor Captain Dreyfus. Chaos reigned in her apartment: carpets, rugs, ottomans, trinkets and other items were scattered everywhere. Dogs, monkeys and even snakes spun under their feet. There were skeletons in the actress's bedroom, and she herself liked to teach some roles, reclining in a coffin upholstered in white crepe. Outrageous? Undoubtedly. She loved scandals and demonstrated her special charms to the world. She wrote about herself like this: “I love it very much when people visit me, but I hate visiting. I love receiving letters, reading them, commenting; but I don't like answering them. I hate places of human walks and adore deserted roads, secluded corners. I love giving advice and I really don't like it when they give it to me."

Jules Renard noted: “Sarah has a rule: never think about tomorrow. Tomorrow - come what may, even death. She enjoys every moment ... She swallows life. What an unpleasant gluttony! .. "

The word "gluttony" is clearly felt envy of the successes of Sarah Bernhardt.

In 1882, in St. Petersburg, Sarah experienced the most ardent love story which finally ended her marriage. The subject of Sarah's passion was the Greek diplomat, the handsome Aristidis Jacques Damalla., who was 11 years younger than her. He left the service, career, homeland and joined the troupe of his favorite actress. Sarah, in love, considered him a genius. Aristidis entered the proposed role, but apart from success with young actresses, he achieved nothing.

For self-affirmation, he boasted to Sarah of his victories on the intimate front and received great satisfaction if he managed to publicly humiliate the great actress. In general, a cross between Casanova and the Marquis de Sade. The man is not very smart, he played too much, became a drug addict and a gambler. And this is not acting. Here the stakes are higher. They divorced, but when Arstidis was dying of morphine, all the last months Sarah carefully took care of ex-husband and already worthless lover.

At the age of 66, during a tour of America, Sarah Bernhardt meets Lou Tellegen, who was 35 years younger than her. Their love affair lasted over four years. In his old age, this man admitted that the years with Sarah Bernhardt were the most best years in his life.

During a 1905 tour in Rio de Janeiro, Sarah Bernhardt injured her right leg, which had to be amputated in 1915.

But, despite the injury, Sarah Bernard did not leave the stage activity. During the First World War, she served at the front. In 1914 she was awarded the Order of the Legion of Honor. In 1922 she left the stage activity.

The actress died on March 26, 1923 in Paris at the age of 78 from uremia after kidney failure. She is buried in the Pere Lachaise cemetery.

Her last order was to choose the six most beautiful young actors who will carry her coffin.

Almost all of Paris came to the funeral of the "queen of the theater." Tens of thousands of admirers of her talent followed the rosewood coffin through the whole city - from Malserbe Boulevard to the Pere Lachaise cemetery. Last way Sarah Bernhardt was literally strewn with camellias - her favorite flowers.

“Sarah Bernhardt, an actress of almost legendary fame and fame, has died. There was a lot of exaggeration in judgments about Sarah Bernhardt - in one direction and the other, - Alexander Kugel, one of the best Russian critics, wrote in an obituary. - Of the thousand theatrical dreams, more or less intoxicating, that I dreamed, the dream of Sarah Bernhardt is one of the most original and complexly entertaining.

D. Marell wrote the play "Laughter of Lobsters" about Sarah Bernhardt.

Portraits of Sarah Bernhardt were painted by Bastien-Lepage, Boldini, Gandara and other artists, she was repeatedly photographed by Nadar. Alphonse Mucha wrote promotional posters for her performances.

French actress of Jewish origin. She graduated from the drama class of the Paris Conservatory (1862). She worked in the theaters "Comédie Française", "Gimnaz", "Port-Saint-Martin", "Odeon". In 1893, she acquired the Renaissance Theater, in 1898 the theater on Chatelet Square, which was called the Sarah Bernard Theater (now the French Theater de la Ville). Many eminent figures theater, for example, K. S. Stanislavsky, considered the art of Bernard a model of technical perfection. However, virtuoso skill, sophisticated technique, artistic taste were combined in Bernard with deliberate showiness, some artificiality of the game. Among the best roles: Dona Sol (“Hernani” by Hugo), Marguerite Gauthier (“The Lady of the Camellias” by Dumas son), Theodora (the play of the same name by Sardou), Princess Greuze, Duke of Reichstadt (in the play of the same name and The Eaglet by Rostand), Hamlet (the tragedy of the same name by Shakespeare), Lorenzaccio (the play of the same name by Musset). Since the 1880s Bernard toured in many countries of Europe and America, performed in Russia (1881, 1892, 1908-09) within the walls of the Mikhailovsky Theater and in the provinces. In 1922 she left the stage activity.

Sarah Bernard

It is difficult to find in the annals of women's biographies a more scandalous, more eccentric personality than Sarah Bernhardt. She brought her “acting” to its full logical conclusion not only on stage, but also in life, she performed this incredibly difficult role from beginning to end with such purity and impeccability, with such an effort of will that you simply wonder: what was more in this position - natural inclination or acquired ambition, innate strength or educated habit to crush everything around. And although the actress herself in her memoirs slyly, pretending to be a “poor sheep”, writes off incredible rumors about herself at the expense of the “yellow” press and malicious journalists bribed by enemies, no one more than Sarah tried to deliberately surround her own existence.
an impenetrable cloud of rumors. And the liberty of morals, barely covered by invented virtue, arouses even greater curiosity of the layman, just as the “pink” innocence of a courtesan attracts more than sheer vulgarity. Probably, Sarah Bernhardt can be recognized as the first "star" of the scene, who "made" a name for herself on the scandal.

It is difficult to say what proportion of originality came directly from her nature, but the actress realized very early how advantageously this very dissimilarity could be applied to anyone. As a child, Sarah suffered bouts of wild anger, which she deftly explained as a state of health. But it was the violent seizures, arranged by the girl from time to time, that allowed Sarah to get her way from adults who are always busy with business. Perhaps if Sarah had caring, moral parents, the world would have lost the pleasure of seeing a great artist and delving into gossip about her, but, fortunately, society's ideas about integrity are never embodied verbatim.

Sarina's parents did not fit well into the usual paternal ideals. The mother, the Dutch Jewess Judith Hart, is usually listed in the biographies of the great artist as a music teacher, but in reality she was a beautiful, high-ranking, elite kept woman, who, by occupation, was instructed primarily to cherish her own person. The illegitimate daughter Sarah was born sickly, predisposed to tuberculosis, and although mommy had some feelings for the child, they did not extend beyond cuteness Penochka (this was the only name that five-year-old Sarah responded to). The identity of the father of the researchers generally raises doubts. It is usually customary to call the engineer Edouard Bernard the father of the artist, but there is no exact evidence of this to this day.

In the end, after some unsuccessful attempts to attach his daughter to a decent educational institution, the father allegedly (according to Sarah herself) came up with the idea of giving the girl to a boarding school at the Grand Shan monastery. So, in the biography of the great actress, the first paradoxical page appeared, which Sarah would later use with pleasure - as if she passionately wanted to become a nun, but the case did not allow it. The institution where our heroine ended up was distinguished by humane methods and care for her pupils. The sisters of the monastery replaced a non-existent family for little Sarah. The rebellious, sickly girl was sincerely loved and spoiled by the abbess, mother Sophia. However, even this kind woman could hardly restrain Sarino's unbridled rage, which from time to time made itself felt. She left the Grand Shan Bernard with a scandal, because of her fantastic stubbornness and defiant desire for publicity.

Sarah grabbed the soldier's shako, who threw his headdress over the fence of the monastery, and climbed onto the high sports ground, teasing the joker. Having achieved the delight of the “companions”, Sarah realized that the game had gone far only when she tried to drag the ladder she had climbed onto the platform, but the heavy wooden structure fell and cracked with a roar. As a result, the girl was cut off from the earth. Considerable troubles disrupted the measured life of the monastery. After this adventure, Sarah fell ill, and besides, all the inappropriateness of the presence of "a sort of beast" among the good-looking nuns became clearly visible, and the girl was sent home.

Her further fate was determined at the family council. Since a rich inheritance was not expected for Sarah, and, according to her mother, it was something shameful to marry a wealthy leather merchant, and since Sarah was not destined to become a nun, Judith's then lover, Count de Morny, Napoleon III's half-brother, decided that the girl should be sent to the conservatory, since the high-ranking friend of the family had plenty of connections. What helped the count so correctly determine the future of Sarah, no one knows for sure today, but, probably, fanatical narcissism and rare inner freedom of the girl played an important role.

Having successfully passed the entrance exams, Sarah immediately attracted the attention of teachers. At the annual competition of the conservatory, the girl received two awards - the second for a tragic role and the first for a comic one. An unusually beautiful voice, a cat's plasticity, expressive appearance - all these features made the young actress look closely, and soon Sarah received an offer to play one-time performances at the most prestigious French theater, the Comédie Francaise. However, going to an appointment with the director to discuss her first contract, Sarah took her younger sister with her, who by that time was five years old. A girl as "well-bred" as Sarah, in the headmaster's office, began to climb chairs, jump over a stool, scatter papers from a wastebasket. When the respected monsieur made a remark to the artist's sister, the little prankster, without thinking much, blurted out: “And about you, sir, if you pester me, I will tell everyone that you are a master of making empty promises. This is my aunt talking!

Sarah almost had a stroke. She was dragging her stupid sister along the corridor, who howled heart-rendingly, and in the cab she began that terrible fit of anger, which almost led to the murder of an ingenuous child. But despite the failure of the first negotiations, a year later, in 1862, Sarah Bernhardt made her successful debut in the Comédie Française as Iphigenia in Racine's tragedy Iphigenia in Aulis. One of the critics, Francis Sarse, later even became famous for being the first to notice the young talent, predicting a bright future for him.

But in the famous theater, Sarah did not stay long. In the scandal that happened this time, her little sister was again to blame. Well, just the "evil angel" of poor Sarah! Bernard herself said that on Molière's birthday (and the Comédie Francaise is called the home of this great playwright), according to tradition, all the theater artists approached the bust of their patron with a greeting. At the ceremony, Sarah's supposedly little sister stepped on the train of the prima stage, the so-called "socièter", Natalie. The old, angry, quarrelsome woman sharply pushed the culprit away, and the girl, as if in blood, smashed her face against a column. With a cry: "Evil creature!" - Bernard attacked a colleague. The fight took place with a clear preponderance of forces in favor of youth. Sarah was soon forced to leave the famous scene in disgrace. Agree, aren't there too many scandals due to the fault of the poor little sister ...

It seemed that after such an embarrassment, the actress would not recover soon, but the very next day after breaking the contract, Sarah visited the Gimnaz Theater and was accepted into the troupe.

A difficult period began in her life - everyday life similar to one another, rehearsals, readings of plays, mediocre performances. For Sarah's active nature, such silence and smoothness became unbearable torture. No one wanted to recognize her as a brilliant actress, no one admired her, and in such an environment she could wither like a flower without water. Frightened by the gloomy prospects, Sarah, in a moment of desperation, decided to go into business and for this she found a suitable candy store. Only irresistible boredom, which blew over her from the shelves filled with roasted almonds, sweets and sweet cakes, kept Bernard from a reckless step.

But she would not have become a great artist if she had not been prone to unexpected, adventurous actions. After another nasty performance, Sarah secretly disappeared from Paris at the height of the season. She was searched with the police almost all over France. And she went to Spain, ate tangerines there and enjoyed her vacation. Having provoked another scandal, our heroine parted with the hated theater with a light heart and immediately received a new invitation to the Odeon.

It was this imperial theater that opened the way to fame for Bernard. Sarah believed that she felt the first happy ecstasy of the stage on the stage of the Odeon, and the first delight of the audience from her performance pierced the Odeon hall. At
Sarah had many fans, especially among students, she became popular, young people loved her for her courage and looseness, for the fact that the actress declared her ideals new France. Sarah Bernard becomes an actress in the emerging romantic direction in the theater. Her showiness and ardor capture the viewer, she is the divine symbol of the romantic beauty of Rostand, Hugo, Dumas son. One Russian critic compared the performance of a French actress to lovely figurines that one would like to put on one's fireplace with pleasure.

Sarah, who loved luxury and pleasure, herself became the subject that was included in the mandatory list of luxurious social entertainment. Even during her lifetime, the artist made herself an object of worship. Delighted, Victor Hugo knelt before Sarah Bernhardt right on stage after the premiere of one of his tragedies. But not only exalted artists prostrated themselves before the actress. Vie with each other demonstrated their love for celebrities and the powers that be. Sarah possessed magical effect on men and women, and all the high society adored her. The pamphlet The Loves of Sarah Bernhardt boldly suggested that she seduced all the heads of state of Europe, including the Pope. Of course, this is mere hyperbole, but there is evidence that she did have a "special relationship" with the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII) and with Prince Napoleon, the nephew of Napoleon I, to whom George Sand introduced her. As for the rest of the leaders, if she did not occupy their beds, then she won their hearts. She was showered with gifts by Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria, King Alfonso of Spain and King Umberto of Italy. King Christian IX of Denmark put his yacht at her disposal, and Duke Frederick allowed her to use his ancestral castle.

Perhaps, objectively, Sarah Bernhardt was not the most talented actress of her time, but she became the brightest personality on the stage of that era. The performance of the role of Marguerite Gauthier in "Lady of the Camellias" by Alexandre Dumas son led the audience into hysterical ecstasy. It is unlikely that any of the enthusiastic admirers thought about true art, rather, in the fanatical worship of the “star”, the usual instinct of the crowd, the desire to be involved in the “deity”, was guessed.

Sarah strived to stand out in everything. And the only thing that Bernard really differed from everyone else was her unusually powerful energy. She could do a hundred things at once. Nobody knew when she slept. Rostand recalled the actress in this way: “It rushes to the dark stage; enlivens with his appearance a whole crowd of people yawning and languishing here in the twilight; walks, moves, ignites everyone and everything she touches; sits down in front of the prompter booth; begins to stage a play, indicates gestures, intonations; jumps up as if stung, demands to be repeated, growls with rage, sits down, drinks tea again; begins to rehearse by herself ... "

One of the first among celebrities, Bernard realized that charity and a small amount of sympathy for the disadvantaged would give her name an extra flair. During the war of 1870, the artist remains in besieged Paris and even arranges (fortunately, her name also works flawlessly on officials) in the Odeon Theater a hospital for the wounded. In this act of Sarah there was both a desire to help, and irresistible narcissism.

In the hospital, despite the martial law, admirers “bursted” to the artist. Bernard was happy to sign autographs. One day she gave her photo to an ardent nineteen-year-old boy, whose name was Ferdinand Foch. In 1915, Marshal Ferdinand Foch accompanied Sarah Bernhardt on a trip to the fronts of the First World War.

“Forgetting” about the contract with the Odeon, the artist, seduced by astronomical fees, returns to the Comedie Francaise, where she successfully works until 1880. There was probably not a single day that the newspapers did not write about another sensation associated with Sarah Bernhardt. Either the actress will acquire a panther “for personal use”, then she “flies” on hot-air balloon, then finally accepts the interviewer, reclining in a coffin. There was a lot of gossip about the last oddity of the "star". One of the spiteful critics even claimed that Sarah prefers to make love on this funeral bed than drives men crazy.
The culprit herself, with childish spontaneity, explained the existence of the coffin in her room by the tightness in square meters. Say, my sister was dying, and there was nowhere to put the coffin - so they "stuffed" it into Sarina's room. Well, it’s clear that you won’t sleep in the same bed with the patient, so the poor artist had to lay herself in a coffin. Sometimes she and the role immediately learned. In general, Sarah did not want to shock anyone, the journalists who simply tried to make money on her name made such a prosaic fact downright sinister.

Having finally quarreled with the management of the House of Moliere, in 1893 Bernard acquired the Renaissance Theater, and in 1898 - the theater on Chatelet Square, which was called the Theater of Sarah Bernhardt.

The artist did not leave this beloved brainchild until her death. Even when her leg was amputated in 1914, Sarah continued to play with the prosthesis. This sight, apparently, was not for the faint of heart. Bernard, who always boasted of her “skeletal” thinness, flaunted a fragile figure and successfully used fainting to defuse the situation, grew fat, flabby in old age, and her health was by no means weak. She resolutely despised pragmatic opinions that it was time for her to leave the stage, that nothing in her was left of her former charm. She considered herself above sympathetic whispers, above generally accepted norms, above, finally, nature itself. Sarah continued to play.
Marina Tsvetaeva, who aspired to Paris in early youth to see the legendary Sarah with her own eyes, was shocked. Bernard played the role of a twenty-year-old youth in Rostand's The Eaglet. The actress turned 65, she moved on a prosthesis. “I played in the era of whalebone corsets, which emphasized all the roundness of the female figure, a twenty-year-old youth in a tight-fitting white uniform and officer's breeches; majestic as it was ... the spectacle of unbending old age, but it smacked of the grotesque and also turned out to be a kind of tomb erected by Sarah and Rostand, and Rostanov's "Eaglet"; as, however, and a monument to blind acting heroism. If the spectators were still blind…” Tsvetaeva called it “egocentric courage”.

And yet she achieved her goal - exorbitant ambition, unprecedented energy melted into genuine recognition. Sarah entered the history of the theater, the history of culture as the most great actress XIX century.

The great actress wrote the autobiographical book “My Double Life” (1907), but she hid a lot in it, did not finish, especially from the area of personal life. This book only deepened the mystery around the phenomenon of Sarah Bernhardt.

What is known for sure? Sarah Bernhardt was born on October 22, 1844 in Paris. Her mother is Dutch Jewish Judith Hart, a musician who actually led the life of a beautiful kept woman. Sarah's father is the engineer Edouard Bernard, although some researchers believe that the father was a certain Morel, an officer of the French navy. However, Sarah Bernard, herself becoming a mother, carefully concealed from whom she gave birth to a son, Maurice.

Sarah received her upbringing in a monastery, but she never mastered obedience: she grew up hot-tempered, stubborn, a real demon. But when it came time to go beyond the fence, Sarah felt as if she had been thrown into the sea. And she can't swim...

The fate of the girl was determined by the next owner of her mother, the Count de Morny: he decided to send Sarah to the conservatory. So "Mop" (nickname of Sarah Bernhardt) appeared in public, became, in modern terms, a public person. Well, then the theater, which she had long dreamed of. The director of the Comédie Francaise expressed doubt: "She's too skinny to be an actress!" Nevertheless, Sarah Bernard was accepted, and at the age of 18 she made her debut in Racine's tragedy Iphigenia in Aulis. This happened on September 1, 1862.

The unsuccessful debut did not break Sarah, it was not for nothing that her motto was the words: "By all means." She had a steel character and extraordinary courage. She left the House of Molière and played in the theaters Gymnasium, Porte Saint-Martin, Odeon, to return to the Comédie Française as a prima donna in all the brilliance of acting. She wonderfully played young heroines in the classical repertoire - Phaedra, Andromache, Desdemona, Zaire, and then began to shine in the plays of modern playwrights. One of the best roles of Sarah Bernhardt is Marguerite Gauthier ("Lady of the Camellias" by Alexandre Dumas son).

Madam! You were charming in your grandeur, - said Victor Hugo. - You excited me, old fighter. I cried. I give you a tear that you vomited from my chest, and I bow before you.

The tear was not figurative, but diamond, and it crowned the bracelet chain. By the way, there were a lot of diamonds donated to Sarah Bernhardt. She loved jewelry and did not part with them during travels and tours. And for the protection of jewelry, she took a pistol with her on the road. “Man is such a strange creature that this tiny and absurdly useless thing seems to me a reliable defense,” the actress once explained her addiction to firearms.

Best of the day

Interestingly, few actresses played as many male roles as Sarah Bernhardt - Werther, Zanetto, Lorenzaccio, Hamlet, Eaglet ... In the role of Hamlet, Sarah Bernhardt conquered Stanislavsky himself. And the 20-year-old Eaglet, the unfortunate son of Napoleon Bonaparte, the actress played when she was 56 years old! The premiere of the heroic drama by Edmond Rostand took place in March 1900 with a resounding success - 30 encores! ..

Stanislavsky considered Sarah Bernhardt an example of technical perfection: a beautiful voice, perfect diction, plasticity, artistic taste. The connoisseur of the theater, Prince Sergei Volkonsky, highly appreciated the stage skills of Sarah Bernhardt: “She perfectly mastered the polarity of emotions - from joy to grief, from happiness to horror, from affection to rage - the subtlest nuance of human feelings. And then - “the famous talker, the famous whisper, the famous growl, the famous“ golden voice ”- la voix d’or,” Volkonsky noted. - The last stage of skill - her explosions ... How she knew how to lower herself in order to jump up, to gather herself in order to rush; how she knew how to aim, to crawl up to burst. The same thing in her facial expressions: what a skill from a barely noticeable inception to the highest scope ... "

Newspaper articles describing Sarah Bernhardt's tour of America and Europe sometimes resembled reports from the theater of war. Attacks and sieges. Triumphs and defeats. Raptures and lamentations. The name of Sarah Bernard in the news of the world often replaced economic and government crises. First, Sarah Bernhardt, and only then conflicts, disasters and other incidents of the day. On trips, she was invariably accompanied by a retinue of reporters. Public and religious organizations treated her differently: who sang glory to her, and who betrayed her blasphemy. Many in America considered her visit "an invasion of the accursed snake, the offspring of the French Babylon, who arrived to pour poison into pure American mores."

In Russia, they were waiting with interest for the “new Napoleon in a skirt”, who had already conquered all of America and Europe and was moving straight to Moscow. Moskovskie Vedomosti wrote: “The greats of the world showered this fabulous princess with honors, which, probably, neither Michelangelo nor Beethoven dreamed of in a dream ...” Why be surprised? Sarah Bernhardt was essentially the world's first superstar.

She was the first superstar, hence the advertising of her name: perfume, soap, gloves, powder - "Sarah Bernard". She had two husbands: one - a prince from an ancient French family, the second - an actor from Greece, an unusually handsome man. But the main passion of Sarah Bernhardt was the theater. She lived by them, she was inspired by them. She did not want to be a thing, a toy in the hands of the powerful of this world - she was engaged in painting, sculpture, composed funny novels and funny plays. She dared to take to the skies in the Giffard balloon, where, at an altitude of 2300 meters, the daredevils “dined heartily on goose liver, fresh bread and oranges. The champagne cork saluted the sky with a muffled noise...

Jules Renard noted: “Sarah has a rule: never think about tomorrow. Tomorrow - come what may, even death. She enjoys every moment... She swallows life. What an unpleasant gluttony! .. "

The word "gluttony" is clearly felt envy of the successes of Sarah Bernhardt. Yes, she lived full life, excitedly, and even after her leg was amputated in 1914. Despondency was never her lot. Sarah Bernard died on March 26, 1923, at the age of 79. Almost all of Paris came to the funeral of the "queen of the theater." Tens of thousands of admirers of her talent followed the rosewood coffin through the whole city - from Malserbe Boulevard to the Pere Lachaise cemetery. The last path of Sarah Bernhardt was literally strewn with camellias - her favorite flowers.

one of the most original and complex-entertaining.

"Divine Sarah" - it was there that the public called one of the most famous actresses late 19th-early 20th centuries Sarah Bernhardt. Outstanding appearance, dramatic talent, magical energy made her then known to the whole world. Chekhov wrote: “When playing, she pursues not naturalness, but extraordinaryness. Its goal is to amaze, surprise, dazzle ... "

Sarah Bernard ( Sarah Bernhardt) was born in 1844 in the family of a fashionista courtesan and a lawyer. The childhood of the future actress was surrounded by nannies. The girl practically did not see her mother, because she spent time at balls and receptions with her patrons. At the age of 15, having learned about the true occupation of her mother, Sarah Bernard threw herself at her feet and begged to be sent to a monastery. This scene was witnessed by the Duc de Morny, another admirer of his mother. He exclaimed that this girl's place was not in the monastery, but in the theater. Under his patronage, Sarah was admitted to the National Academy of Music and Recitation, and after 2 years to the Comedy Française Theater.

Thanks to the magnificently performed dramatic roles and tragic reincarnations, the audience dubbed the actress "The Divine Sarah." Spectators from all over Europe, Russia, Northern and South America. Everywhere she was showered with precious gifts, poems were dedicated.

As a rule, actresses take liberties, but Sarah Bernard shocked the audience with her behavior not only on stage, but also in life. Even in her youth, when the actress had been ill with consumption, she begged her mother to buy her mahogany coffin. The girl was afraid that she would be buried in some ugly coffin. Subsequently, Sarah Bernard carried this coffin on all tours. She slept in it, learned roles, posed for photographers, in general, considered him her talisman.
The actress had a lot of unusual things in the house. Stuffed birds with skulls in their beaks hung on the walls, among the pets there were a cheetah, a crocodile, a chameleon.

In addition to female roles, the actress brilliantly coped with male parts. The role of Napoleon's son in the play "Eaglet" by Rostand aroused the admiration of the public. And for the performance of the part of a 20-year-old boy, the audience called Sarah Bernhardt (who at that time was 56 years old) for an encore 30 times.
With the advent of cinema, Sarah Bernhardt was the first to take part in the filming. At that time, the actress was far from being a young woman, and the camera showed all her wrinkles. After watching the film with her participation "The Lady of the Camellias" Sarah Bernhardt no longer starred in films.

In 1905, while performing at the theater in Rio de Janeiro, Sarah Bernhardt injured her knee. The injury turned out to be serious. By 1915, due to gangrene, she had to amputate her entire right leg. The actress was even offered $10,000 to demonstrate her limb to the doctors, but she refused. Despite the absence of a leg, the woman did not stop her performances until 1922.

Felix Nadar, nicknamed "The Titian of Photography" by his contemporaries.

Sarah Bernard (fr. Sarah Bernhardt; nee Henriette Rosine Bernard, fr. Henriette Rosine Bernard; October 22, 1844, Paris, France - March 26, 1923, ibid) - French actress, who at the beginning of the 20th century was called "the most famous actress in history."

She achieved success on the stages of Europe in the 1870s, and then toured America with triumph. In her roles were mostly serious dramatic roles, because of which the actress received the nickname "Divine Sarah".

Sarah Bernhardt was born on October 22, 1844 in Paris. Sarah's mother - Judith (later Julia) Bernard (1821, Amsterdam - 1876, Paris), came from a Jewish family and was the daughter of a traveling salesman Moritz Baruch Bernardt and Sarah Hirsch (1797-1829). Since 1835, Judith, her four sisters and brother were brought up by their stepmother Sarah Kinsbergen (1809-1878). The father remained unknown. Sometimes they consider Paul Morel, an officer of the French fleet (some official documents testify to this). According to another version, the father is Edouard Bernard, a young lawyer.

Before coming to France, Judith worked as a milliner. But in Paris, she chose to become a courtesan. Pleasant appearance, the ability to dress with taste ensured her a comfortable existence at the expense of wealthy lovers. The born daughter prevented Judith from leading a carefree life, and therefore Sarah was sent to England, where she lived with a nanny. She could have stayed there until adulthood, if an accident had not happened: the nanny left Sarah alone with her disabled husband, Sarah was able to get out of her chair and came too close to the fireplace, the dress caught fire. The neighbors rescued Sarah. Judith at this time traveled around Europe with another sponsor. She was called to her daughter, she came to England and took Sarah to Paris. However, she soon left her again, leaving in the care of another nanny.

Forced to live in a dull place, in a gloomy house where her nanny brought her, Sarah withdrew into herself. But fate still united mother and daughter. A chance meeting with her aunt, Rosina, who was the same courtesan as Judith, plunges Sarah into a frenzy. In a fit, she falls from the nanny's arms and breaks her arm and leg. The mother finally takes her away, and it takes several years for the lonely girl to remember what a mother's love is.

In the fall of 1853, Sarah was sent to study at the privileged private school Grandchamp. The patronage suits another admirer of Judith, the Duke of Morni.

As a teenager, Sarah was very thin, constantly coughing. Doctors examining her predicted her quick death from tuberculosis. Sarah becomes obsessed with the theme of death. Around this time, her famous photographs were taken, where she lies in a coffin (the coffin was bought by her mother after much persuasion). One day, the mother arranged a meeting of close relatives and friends, where they decided that Sarah should be married as soon as possible. In affectation, the girl looks up to heaven and declares to those present that she is given to God and her fate is monastic clothes. Duke Morny appreciates this scene and recommends that the mother send her daughter to the conservatory. At the same time, Sarah gets her first real performance at the Comédie Française.

At the age of 13, Sarah entered the drama class of the Higher National Conservatory of Dramatic Art, from which she graduated in 1862.

Despite the patronage, in order to enter the conservatory, Sarah had to pass an exam before the commission. To prepare for it, she takes diction lessons. Alexandre Dumas-father becomes her main teacher at this time. An artistic genius, he teaches Sarah how to create characters through gestures and voice. At the exam, everyone is fascinated by Sarah's voice and she enters training without any problems, to which she gives all her strength. At the final exam, she wins the second prize.

On September 1, 1862, Sarah Bernhardt made her debut at the Comedy Française Theater in the play Iphigenia by Jean Racine, playing the title role. None of the critics saw a future star in the aspiring actress, most believed that soon the name of this actress would quietly disappear from the posters. Soon, due to the conflict, Sarah Bernhardt stopped working with the Comédie Française. Her return there took place only ten years later.

After leaving the theater, difficult times come for Bernard. Little is known about the next four years of her life, except that during this period she changed several lovers. But Sarah did not want to become a courtesan like her mother. On December 22, 1864, Sarah gives birth to a son, Maurice, whose father was Henri, Prince de Ligne. Forced to look for funds for the existence and upbringing of her son, Sarah gets a job at the Odeon Theater, the second most important of the Parisian theaters of that time. After several not-too-successful roles, critics notice her in King Lear, where she plays Cordelia. The next success comes with the role in the play "Kean" by Dumas, the father, who was very pleased with the game of his protégé.

In 1869, the actress played the role of the minstrel Zanetto in François Coppé's Passer-by, after which success came to her. The role of the Queen in Ruy Blas by Victor Hugo, which she played in 1872, became triumphant for her.

She worked in the theaters "Comédie Française", "Gimniz", "Port-Saint-Martin", "Odeon". In 1893, she acquired the Renaissance Theater, in 1898 the Nation Theater on Chatelet Square, which was named the Sarah Bernhardt Theater (now the French Théâtre de la Ville). Many prominent theater figures, such as K. S. Stanislavsky, considered the art of Bernard a model of technical perfection. However, virtuoso skill, sophisticated technique, artistic taste were combined in Bernard with deliberate showiness, some artificiality of the game.

Among the best roles: Dona Sol (“Hernani” by Hugo), Marguerite Gauthier (“Lady of the Camellias” by Dumas son), Theodora (the play of the same name by Sardou), Princess Greuze, Duke of Reichstadt (in the play of the same name and “The Eaglet (fr.)” by Rostand), Hamlet (the tragedy of the same name by Shakespeare), Lorenzaccio (the play of the same name by Musset). Since the 1880s Bernard has toured in many countries in Europe and America. She performed in Russia (1881, 1892, 1908-1909) within the walls of the Mikhailovsky Theater, in Moscow, as well as in Kyiv, Odessa and Kharkov.

During a 1905 tour in Rio de Janeiro, Sarah Bernhardt injured her right leg, which had to be amputated in 1915. But, despite the injury, Sarah Bernard did not leave the stage activity. During the First World War, she served at the front. In 1914 she was awarded the Order of the Legion of Honor. In 1922 she left the stage activity.

The actress died on March 26, 1923 in Paris at the age of 78 from uremia after kidney failure. She is buried in the Pere Lachaise cemetery.

The most famous roles on the theater stage:

1862 - Racine, Iphigenia
1862 - Eugene Scribe, Valérie
1862 - Molière, Learned Women
1864 - Eugene Labiche & Deland, Un mari qui lance sa femme
1866 - T & G Cognard, La Biche aux Bois
1866 - Racine, Phaedra (as Aricie)
1866 - Marivaux, The Game of Love and Chance (as Sylvia)
1867 - Molière, Learned Women (as Armande)
1867 - George Sand, Marquis de Vilmer
1867 - George Sand, François the Foundling (as Mariette)
1868 - Dumas father, Keane, genius and debauchery (as Anna Dumby)
1869 - Koppe, Passerby (in the role of the troubadour Zanetto); first big successful role
1870 - George Sand, L'Autre
1871 - André Thérier, Jeanne-Marie
1871 - Coppe, Fais ce que dois
1871 - Fussier and Edmond, Baroness
1872 - Bouyet, Mademoiselle Aissé
1872 - Victor Hugo, Ruy Blas (as Dona Maria of Neuburg, Queen of Spain)
1872 - Dumas father, Mademoiselle de Belle-Isle (as Gabrielle)
1872 - Racine, Britannicus (as Junie)
1872 - Beaumarchais, The Marriage of Figaro
1872 - Sando, Mademoiselle de la Seiglière
1873 Feyet, Delilah (as Princess Falconieri)
1873 - Ferrier, At the lawyer
1873 - Racine, Andromache
1873 - Racine, Phaedra (as Aricie)
1873 - Feyet, Sphinx
1874 - Voltaire, Zaire
1874 - Racine, Phaedra (as Phaedra)
1875 - Bornier, La Fille de Roland Dumas son, L "Étrangère (as Mrs. Clarkson)
1877 - Victor Hugo, Ernani (as dona Sol)
1879 - Racine, Phaedra (as Phaedra)
1880 - Ogier, Adventurer
1880 - Legouwe & Eugene Scribe, Adriana Lecouvreur
1880 - Meliac & Halévy, Froufrou
1880 - Dumas son, Lady of the Camellias (as Margarita)
1882 - Sardu, Theodora Sardu, Theodora (as Theodora)
1887 - Sardou, Tosca Dumas son, Princess Georges
1890 - Sardou, Cleopatra, as Cleopatra
1893 - Lemaitre, Kings
1894 - Sardou, Gismonda
1895 - Moliere, Amphitrion
1895 - Magda (translated from German by Suderman Heimat)
1896 - The Lady of the Camellias
1896 - Musset, Lorenzachio (as Lorenzino de "Medici)
1897 - Sardu, Spiritualism
1897 - Rostand the Samaritan
1897 - Mirbeau, Les Mauvais bergers
1898 - Catul Mendes Medea
1898 - Lady of the Camellias (as Margarita)
1898 - Auguste Barbier, Joan of Arc (as Joan of Arc)
1898 - Moran & Sylvester, Izéïl (as Iseil)
1898 - Shakespeare, King Lear (as Cordelia)
1899 - Shakespeare, Hamlet (as Hamlet)
1899 - Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra (as Cleopatra)
1899 - Shakespeare, Macbeth (as Lady Macbeth)
1899 Richpin, Pierrot Assassin (as Pierrot)
1900 - Rostan, Eaglet (as Eaglet)
1903 - Sardou, La Sorcière
1904 - Maeterlinck, Peléas and Melisande (as Peléas)
1906 - Ibsen, Woman from the Sea
1906 - C. Mendes, La Vierge d'Avila (as St. Teresa)
1911 - Moreau, Les Amours de la reine Élisabeth (as Queen Elizabeth)
1913 - Tristan Bernard, Jeanne Doré (as Jeanne Doré).

$mob_info$