Cleveland daily leader. [volume] ([Cleveland, Ohio]) 1865-1873, 1865-11-25

thoroughness. He looked first at the per
tv son of the novice, to see if there was any
,a thing engaging about it, and if there wa
nothing engaging, whether the actor coulC
put on any attractions for, as he remark
Is ed, the life of an actor is perpetual de-
IS nial of his own personality-a perpetual
assumption of a strange mask; and an
actor who cannot put on the mask of at
u tractiveness when he wishes to be favor
e ably judged by stranger, can have very
/ little talent When this question of the
exterior was settled, Goethe turned to the
voice
DRILLING ACTORS.
, He made the actor read to him; gave
him some grand passages to estimate his
power of ffeeling-sOmething passionate to
test his power of expression. In this way
he gradually put him through the whole
range of characters noticing the weakness
T which he betrayed, and all the parts in
which he excelled. If he had any pro-
vincial dialect, the expressions of it were
noted, and a means recommended him for
their cure. If he could not fence and
dance he was handed over to the fencing
and dancing masters; and if he came out
satisfactorily from all these trials, Goethe
is deficiencies. If he was too fiery, he
was put in phlegmatic parts; if he was
tame he was given impetuous characters
so that he might put off himself and be-
come new person.
In his Conversations with Ecder-
mann" Goethe says that his interest in the
theatre was practical. His delight was to |
raise the theatre to higher rank, and he |
only entered the theatre to see that the
actors played their parts rightly. If he |
noticed any faults, he sent a line next |
morning to the regisseltr, and the fault
was sure to be avoided the next evening.
At the rehersals, on the other hand Goethe
acted, not as critic but as an animating
spirit. He was extremely punctual
though, in this respect, he was eclipsed by
Herr GOttharai, who slipped into the house
entrance and took up his place in a dark
corner an hour before the time appointed,
Till Goethe came the stage was generally
in commotion the actors were walking up
and down, the regiSseitr was making his
arrangements there were q thousand lit
tie things to be done, and everybody was
doing them.
EFFECT OF GoETHE's PRESENCE.
But the moment Goethe came in there
was a sudden silence. The strictest order !
was observed; there was no gabbling ,
through parts with hands in pockets, hats +
on and clOaks to give an excuse for the
absence of gesticulation. Nor did the {
slightest fault pass unnoticed. If a SEN Il
tenee was delivered too quickly, the actor d
was stopped and made to repeat it slower. c
At a rehearsal of "RomeO and Juliet C
which Herr Gotthardi witnessed, there
were several of these interruptions
Goethe told the Nurse not to move her :,
hands so much, and not to wear such :,
constant simper. He paid particular at :,
tention to the ball-scene, which had to be
several times before he was sat
SIZED. He would not allow too many of L
The guests to enter at once by the same tC
1oor, or to follow each other too quickly; fo
he would not have the masks too far for bi
ward or too close together. The fight be-
.ween Mercattio aud 7ybdl had to be re- vi
Oeated till the combatants were cunning
n fence, for Goethe had already declared
n "Wilhelm Meister" that in such scenes
t was not enough to thrust about awk-
vardly, as was mostly done on the stage Il
all these censures were deliv- 81
,red with the utmost calmness and the
classical repOse of the Phidian Zeus. 1t o.
vas but seldom that Goethe was excited, bo
wen by the greatest blunders. Once, in
Iced, when he was present at a rehearsal
# "Egmont,p the actor who personaUed
Orange spoke in such low tones as to be da
naudible on the further side of the thea as
re. Goethe bore it for some time, nut at
asst his patience failed him, and quietly,
hough loudly enough to be heard through TO
,ut the building, he said II should be r
Had to hear the piece l wrote thirty years &c
Igo." But another time he was not con- H
ented with such remark. In the per- III
ormance of Schiller's "Turandot," march
Ollowed close on pathetic speech of the w.
heroine, and the musician charged with Ii,
his interlude broke in upon the speech A
everal times, and at last reduced the cI
leroine to despairing silence. Goethe,
Who was in the ducal box, and was furious
It the interruption, thundered out at last,
Out of my sight with the pig-dog" tn
Such was the respect felt by all the act q
RS for their distinguished ruler, that be
leither his habitual rigOr nor his occasion
i expressions were at all resented. One
hing he imposed on them to which play
rs in some other countries would never T..
ave consented; the greatest actors in %
Veimer had to take the smallest parts.
Thus the role of two insignificant Sena- =
ors in Mozarts opera of " Titus was of
onfned to Graft and Malkolmi, of whom ST.
Veimar was justly proud and the first 10,
f these actors had to appear as one of
arastro's dancing slaves after Papagenos
arillon, in the "ZauberhOte." Some act
rs would resist this mandate as an in in
ignity; but it was forced upon the Wei
ler corps partly by the desire of perfec- no
ion, partly by economical necessities.
GERMAN ECONOMY. fo,
On this account, the personnel of the Fl
tage was reduced to the lowest possible lea
mits, and the pinching and pairing which
marked the theatrical wardrobe would
ave done credit to a frugal housewife. sal
When the:play of Count Essex" was to un
e given, Goethe sanctioned the purchase
f new mantle, if it was absolutely
ecessary, but could not allow a new dress
8 well. Could not the lady wear Mary ~
tuart's white satin dress part of which D.
ad done for Queen Elizabeth Similar :,
conomy confined the representative of ,h
Vallenstein to an old cloak (which had -
cen patched and mended till it was
carcely presentable. The ducal family
id its best to aid the theatre by the gift
f cast-off clothes; otherwise VIC should RET
hink the players would have been reduced Ge
o the state of those new Partisan pieces, MI
7here no clothing is required. ioi
POPULATIONS AND PUNIsHMENTs FOR 'U
ACTORS.
Fines, and even arrest, in the guard to
ouse for obst nate men, in their own all
hamber for disobedient ladies, were not M
Infrequent punishments in the Weimer at