The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1884-03-09
HENRY IRVING.
ny HENRY A. cLAPP.

n ~ intelIigently, is to state a vexa-
a az. truth With extreme moderation'
a w. leading English critics. AFTER
lDr of familiarity with his acting ,.e
=. .till puzzled by it. and fnd q OIL,
s s,i.v. which seems almost e1ac'iy
hCu norsioned to their acutenees anu
p 'OggC in analyzing it and IN az
c oaanuting for its effects. ana st ,e
COO,u u is complicated or appears n sh 70
Pr complicated, for Americans MS. W . iIs
be coduption of a peculiar factor; tnis
.ns uecessitv, immediately imposed
il tne ns by Mr.. Irving and his
tn!psuds. OF setting OF our kno" know. =
IL riI his slowly won success against any
Of DIS 0 dissatisfaction which may al
i l'e3y onr early impressions OF his per-
iena ouo His great success Is
iodesd not to be doubted; but the tine
inu o 1ies. knowledge on this head viii
: anP5 the facts that even IN Eng
lnO, I tbere are a small number OF per-
lSna u If a high intellectual order VINO
s sons e and abhor his playing, and that
aaVsrywbere in the best Engllsn soca,
s eve ..to admire him without reserve
ey h,o,d eccentric to the verge OF sf1ec'
= !" As for the deprecstion
mich, ~bicb is used by Mr.. Irving,s ADMIR-.
sr. to ouench the anticipated Viole E,o =
~ o NJ first displeasure. surely the nke
q 4u uas never before known in the
OH vs." "f an actor. ''Be patient with
G H. VmUsnnerisms" is the innocent ana
G,S nhrase employed: but this i,
ona.sntIy found to bear an a"lol
bnTSen Of meaning. We find that we
are asked to forgive, under the name
n mannerisms, sins which We nave
O u m~n accounted objectionable in :! q
fanatic artist. 1t is much, II
.aems at first blush, as If an amateur
NJ painting were to say: e! gu Will De
delighted with NJ. Blanks pictures.
He has some unpleasant mannerisms
n he sure-his coloring is poor and
bis drawing incorrect; but In spite Oh
these you ara sure to like bis WorK'
Or "a if an acquaintance we're 20 rec
ommend for confidential CLERK q
vonne man who was little weak on
the score of honesty and accuracy,
INIT ssiGe from these trihing manner
isms had every desirable qualihca>
don. The view which majority oil
~ Lvino,. American auditors ma
urslIy take, a: irst. of his most con-
snicuous faults is highly unfavorable.
nj, indeed the view which the more
critical portion Of his English audi
spces took when they were beginning
to make his acquaintance. Ano tne
iiHgence in the attitudes of the
French and the English nations to-
wards the art OF acting cannot be pct
9indicated than ia this: that Mr..
Irving, in spite of his faults. is to-day
accepted and recognized ss the great,
est actor of his land; while, If he hac
been q Frenchmsn, he and his man
nerisms would not have been tolerated
on the Partisan stage Tor month
and probably not for single per
formance.
The prime distinction of Mr.. Irv
ine's acting and the chief sources o
its effectiveness and charm are Its IN
tensity, its artistic propriety and 1t
intellectually; all these being, o
course, derived or reflected from thu
artists mind. By intensity | NEAR
here that quality which results from
the actors capacity of delivering
himself and all his forces and facul'
lies, without reservation. to the de-
msnds OF the character which 81
assumes. The sum OF MIR. Irving
powers is much less than that o
many other great players, but | have
never seen an aCtr- those absorption
in bis work was -srly complete
and unintermitteG as j. he never
trifes, never TO, gets hiLlself, neveI
wearies, never relaxes the grip which
he at once takes upon his part. L
may DO Hamlet or Matthias, Cbarle
l. or Louis XII, Lesurques or Du
bose; from the moment Of Mr.. Irv
ing's first appearance he gives up q
rs service 9Th. execution OF bis Wit
hands, heart" That this intensity i
accompanied by indications OF sell
consciousness in the actor. and tha
every such Indication impairs TIT
worth OF his work, is true; but tn
injury in this kind is much less thar
any one. upon q merely tneoretl
consideration of Mr.. Irving's art
would believe to be possible. His 50
solute sincerity OF purpose is indeei
The burdock which hesls most OF tn
wounds MAIDS by the uettle OF sels-coE
sciousness. The dramatic consequence
OF such high intensity is obviousl.
great, but the value OF the quality il
holding tae attention of til,
audiences is inestimable. Th,
spectator soon discovers that j
Will not do to skip any part of tb,
performance; that If he leaves Mr
Irving out OF sight or out OF mind 10,
single second, be may lose som,
highly significant look or action
The impeTsonation OF Matthias If
The Bells" beet illustrates this per.
haps, although any one of his a.
symptoms would serve almost eouall,
well. There are but two prominen
ideas in the part OF Matthias; remors,
for the commission Of murder, fea
Oh detection and punishment