Washington sentinel. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1853-1856, 1855-05-22

Rachel, might with proper opportunity success
fully introduce the example in this country.
Rachel.
Extract Of letter from Paris, 10 Dr. c.,
of Philadelphia:
PARIS, April 18th, 1855.
"Rachel was announced TO play in the even
ing, and had made every effort to obtain seat,
but had not succeeded Every place was engaged,
and must have submitted to disappointment,
had not friend met one of Rachel's admirers,
and persuaded him to sell his ticket for seat III
the third tier, for the of thirty francs Or six
dollars Here il was that sat with closed eyes,
anNiously awaiting the rise of the curtain; won
dering whether could recognize the celebrated
| Phedre among the gay personages OF the drama,
| who might, on her discovery, surround her, and
entering into covenant with myself To keep cool
and Judge her by her merits, not her ftme--to
| look on her as the heroine of the play, not the
| idol of an enthusiastic nation. The curtain arose
upon an apartment in the house Of the queen
| Phedre. This large room having an open
/ door on the centre and at the side, and the floor
but partially covered, not with carpet, but an
| old, worn out tioorcloth. This, with two large
arm-chairs on either side of the stage, comprised
the appointments of the Queens apartments, and
the scene on which the greatest living dramatic
artist was about to appear. have been partcu-
| lar in describing this scene, because il the
/ only one throughout the five acts. There was no
orchestra, nor any sound OF music heard during
| the evening The curtain never fell until the
performance closed, and the audience sat motion
less throughout. The only guide that stranger
! had to the ending OF an act was pause OF five
minutes during which Rachel appeared to receive
| the thanks of her auditors. What shall | say of
Rachels acting: Even now, (and some days
| have elapsed since | saw herr the memory of il
| appears like dream, which cannot realize
At the opening of the play, she is led down the
| stage by her woman, and trembling and tottering
4 to chair, she looks though she were about to
| represent scene in death rather than life Her
! favorte woman, observing the silent agony of her
mistress, dares, at length to inquire the cause.
/ Phedre reveals it. She loves Hippolyte, her
| husbands son. The manner in which she tells
this tale of sorrow, is admirable She is seated,
4 and during the moment of silence, which precedes
| the narrative, looking like statue, motionlcss
and with her eyes fixed, she speaks in a firm,
clear voice, which is music itself. As she pro-
crosses, it tremDes and, presently. is lost in emo
| ton. Then, if struggling to unbnrthen her
heart of its sad secret, she burst into whirlwind
of passion Her voice became, itwere, chaos
Of sound, can it be called chaos either, for
each syllable was distinct, and each sound was
sign of the passion it expressed-love, madness,
remorse and pain---all seemed TO have been set to
music by this wonderful woman. At the close
of her speech, she sank back into her chair, her
hollow gasp and shattered frame, strongly resem-
bling, to my mind, the cavng in of building
whose innerpart had been consumed by flame.
She appeared so feeble, and physically and men
tally disiointed, and that the only thought |
entertained for the moment, was how she could
quit the chair without being carried away. Pre-
sently her woman approached her, and she arose
like living monument of wretchedness, to leave
the stage the quiet that ensued, strangely con-
trasted with the violent passions that had Just
| been portrayed upon it. ! sat motionlcss and
stern, in defiance of thefrequent peals fapplausc
and EXPLANATIONS of praise, which burst from the
audience at different passages of the scene, and
which would have moved an lceburg to enthu-
siasm; but ] confess, with pleasure, that on her
exit, found my teeth SO firmly clenched that it
gave me pain to part them. During the four
acts, which followed, ] unmuzzled my admira-
tion and, amid the din and buzz that arose
| throughout the building, my voice not the
| least in truthful heartfelt praise
Rachel is great tragic actress-the greatest
have ever seen or can ever hope, again, to see
but her pre-eminent beauties will be lost on those
who do not understand her language. Moreover,
her style is purely the result of art, and will fail
| to reach the hearts Of the whole-souled people,
who will listen to her when in America. Even
her own people, whilst they admire, yes, almost
dolize her talents, seldom give her credit for the
possession of single other virtue. She is call
| ed in every sense of the word, Jew. She has
1 few friends in the profession, and few friendships
anywhere. In biography, lately published il
is said of her, that on the.occasion of a serious
Illness her father having failed in every effort TO
restore her TO health, bethought him, in despair,
of her jewel caskct, and placing it before her,
| her eyes begaR to sparkle, her face glowed with
| pleasure, her hands were thrust into its depths,
and the result her restoration to strength and
vigor. The same work states that a manager of
the Theatre Francois, anxious to learn the nature
\ of difference between her and certain young
Jewess, made inquiry of the latter, she answered.:
"The difference between Rachel and myself il
precisely this: am Jewess; and she is n Jew !"
| learn the interesting fact from this biography,
that Rachel's name originally Elizabeth, but
that entering the Royal Musical Academy,
/ Etienne Charon, the founder Of the school, and
| the man who first noticed Rachel singing in the
streets Of Paris, told her that she must change It
TO Eliza, as the "beth" did not sound we'll Sub
sequenty, entering the studio Of another
master, she was obliged to change it TO Rachel,
| because, her tutor observed, his cook was
named Eliza-and IL was consequently vulgar
name. / mention the fact 10 show what pains
are taken in France with the view to strike the
public ear at first sound. Who will now ask.
| ''What's in q name Truly Yours,
MATILDA Heron.