New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-11-19
MJ1SIC AND THE DRAMA.
BERNHARDT.
BEIlN ffANDI
rp0Ii-CAM ILLE-DONh SOL.

not anpcar TO have been studied at ali. Inc
ohes Of light and OF color are laid on with snch
- ease and unconscious grace that thcy oi'eh
up,oticcd at the moment OF their occurrence
Pu senss of details being swallowed up
:. the satisfying and grateful delight
g svmmetry-and only in remlnlsccnc'
"a. the spectator realize how eHquiSlte
- were fdriennc's mournful murmur of na fc"rS,
c,1ert,s brushing of the kiss of Louise from her
- CoolHfs eloquent PLAY of feature as she
"a, the 1esentful letter of armand Dardi, ana her
-, nc she gaze iuto the mirror when The incers
I've left her alone the felicity OF her acting oil tAe
We with old Dural standing and III motion;
mana SoPs transit from eCstacy 10 horror N the
.o,oent of her lovers mysterious ana fateful sum
these. and a thousand beauties like to these.
20 Tins first actually realized IN the back
~s,d glance; and they are the admirable
on,ward denotcments Of a hlstrionc ma
.~ro so beautifully constituted that it can
" moro help an absolutely right express
90 If all fhat it can understand and feel,
,hor the brook can help making music as II blckcrs
,ncupder the summer bOughs But perhaps the
sorformance of Camille will be found the most i'm
,tont when viewed as a revelation of the doeps
- Nile Bernhardt's nature. OF D0nd sol there Is
rerv little and that little so far as passion Is con-
ornsd sets in much the same direction aS Cam"F
p,,np the two together the observer at last sees,
With perfect distnctnesS precisely wherein Nile
p..nbacdt greatly exccls and precisely what II is
r., sho can hest accomplish. Her domain IS thai
.ffouipinc passion; and in that domain she reigns
9TH stre,s Of intellectual character and an mpe-
nal intelligence that have not becn even app roN-
mated by any other emotional acrrSS
Of the age. In that other realm
% o,t-highcr and broader, calmer, sweeter.
more celestial and more permancnt-whlch NAV DC
namod d,s,,nctively the domain of poetic feeling,
,hoi. INT little more than stranger >dppho. but
80, ruo shines out of that intense face Gaiaccec'
hut NOT hrissd. speaks IN tins ravishlng voice.
p,o,or "a Theresa. Seebach as M0y Stuart the late
,del,ido Nelson as Inogca and isdbclla-each
- ,opcb = chord that Sarah Bernhard, with all
Sarh,vild.rng and surprising originality does not
,rla Their field was the heart; hers as We have
said is the passions.
II say that as Camille. she offers the image
NJ woman who is absolutely enhancing and
adorable vet whom your eyes look at through
mist of sorrow is perhaps "a nearly rs possible To
describe or at least to suggest, what manner
Of ideal it Is that the actress has created.
The persons in this strange world who suffer
the most bitterly are those like Obrrmann. Tor eX-
ample. or like Byron) whose natures aie based upon
sch exquisite goodness and spiritual refinement
that they i've IN perpetual and hopeless IcnoiSe !o
the fiery passion and sensuOus talnt when IS lhc
baser part If them. This idca nav not he CON
,c;onslv nre.ent IN Mile. Bernhaydis dc.igl Of
Camille but 1t certainly pcryades her eXecutIo" Of
il Ike 4 spirit. Tie physical purity OF the woman
hood. beneath all the sin. is such as truly may he
said-ln its effect upon magination-to blend the
child and the saint; and yet there Is a certain s'n-
suousuess aud mourniul blight over It, which just
sufficiently mars the whole personality and max
il prcclc for pity aud for tears not less than Tor
the teuderesi protective interest. IL IS the white
rose. Just touched with the staining hngT
of decay il is the last glow OF summer tWlH'ht'
lust fading into gloom while tie wind OF evening
murmurs in the leaves that everlasting wall OF soE-
row winch brclthes round all tie world. 30 ran'
however stern his moral scLsc, could be so hard
hearted as utterly to condemn and repudlaic the
ideal If woman that Is thus embodied; Yet no IIgh-
minded nrn could do otherwise than pity and de
plnre her awinl rum aud acoazing desoaiion, even
amidst his natural enhancement with bel sup 's-
no feminine charm Nile. Bcrnhardt's shad"wIrg
forth OF tins ideal may be the UNCONSCIOUS prompt
iD, Of inspiration: or 1t may br,-as surmI,e 1t
is-he iipe result Of asjudlcd art. IL cithcI case
it is marvellous piece of truthful tcsti-
mopv 10 what III the civilization Of a
luxurious age, womahs nature may be
come under the stress of ungOyernabc pas
SONS and without the safeguard Of Tlght principles
and a yirtnous heart. Well might the great mogai-
ist excla MAS he contemplated the irremediaDie
ills and entanglcmentS thai spring out OF ancestral
bias, uutoward circumstance mistaken impulse,
and irrctrieyable errors Of conduct" what should
we do without fire and deaih'
Those peysons. however vino would ascertain he
permanent signiGcatlon of al this achievement
pause in their observation OF tie surfaces OF NE 10
inquire what ali this amounts 10 when 1t Is done
NAV chance to fad Themselves confronted with a
mystery not likely to he solved. Inc most thai we
ever could see in the play of Camille" is that it
presents several most distressing SITUATIONS !;
that II painfully ani cts the feelings that
in ITS tendency to appeal to the sensuous Instincts
and proclvites rather than TO settled
pripcples of right, it more or less clouds
the moral sense; and that the environments
OF lis subject are offensive to refinement II not 10
decency Dissection of this piece, though, were an
old story which surely no one would care 10 heai
again The fact always remains that IL gives a
wide scope for emotional acting. All through II
runs one sympathetic theme, which. no matter VINO
enacts the victim is ever sure passport 10 inc pop
ular heart That theme is the best OF beauty IN
the worst of distress woman, whose natural sphere
is the sanctuary Of home, in tie sweet and gentle
atmosphere of affection cast forth from that sale
haven and dashed to pieces the rocks OF Sin and
sorrowl Mile. Bernhardfs dramatic art has made
this as real as IT could have been Inade by any
human beng; and over this bewiching and dcplora-
bic personality she has cast soft ustre Of refinement
and through it she has projected a cOnsummate and
beautiful thOrOughness of execution, winch nj the
WORK ont of all comparison with other STANDARDS.
and make il exclusively her own. The passion OF
this CGmNfs greeting OF armand, IN the dcath-
scene and the final ecstacy of dissolution are among
the most astonishing and memorable thlhg' tha'
have ever been accomplished on the stage.
In DoRa sol we have the same feminine fascina-
ton and the same scOrching passion without the
feyorish faint or the decay or the undcr-tone OF
desolaton. The DOad Sol does not indeed contain
so much variety, much volume OF ANYTHING
as the Camille except of absolute beauty. In IN 3