New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-01-19
BERNHARDT AS JOAN OF ARC
REVIVAL OF THE HISTORICAL DRAMA BY
BARBER AND GOUNOD.

revival at the Porte st. Martin theatre VI
jean of Arc" played by Sarah Bernhardt' ana
according to the libretto Of Barber ana tne
music Of Gounod. This work was orISlhaiiS
composed at the suggestion OF MIS- ueorgnl"
Weldon, who was to have played ana sung the
part of the Maid Of Orleans. That LADY had APP
peared here at a special representation al the
Opera Comique as "Gallia," just after the war
II was then thought in France that Great Britain,
and certainly her Queen, had shown partiality
for the German invaders, and prevented the other
neutral Powers from interfering to hold them
back This idea was uppermost in the minds
of the musical and theatrical critics. Mrs
Weldon had beauty, delicious manners, me
voice. and was just then GounOd's fount OF IN
spiraton. Nevertheless she found little favor IN
the eyes Of those whose mission it then was ID
draw the public to the theatres. 1t seemed to
him shocking that subject OF the Germanophiie
Victoria should personate "Gallia,' and there
was protest against her ever being gwen
chance TO appear as the Maid of Orleans, which
was to lie brought out at the Gazette Theatre, OF
which. oddly enough OIcnbach was the manager
Nothing was sacred in Onenbachs eyes. THIS he
showed by his way of dealing with gods, god
desses grand duchesses, military glory and rose
queens But he was German jew and re-
spcctpd market values. The patriotic fibre hav-
ing been greatly excited in 1873, he saw that
u rood business might be done through the
glorfcation of the Maid who delivered France
from the English II was stipulated by HIM
that Mrs. Weldon was to be cut by GOunod.
To have Joan represented by an Englishwoman
would have Jared on French feeling and on the
Partisan sense of fitness How GOunod behaved
to Mrs Weldon she told an English jury. Tier
treat mistake was to take his ill-treatment OF
her to heart With her beauty, her voice ana
her high breeding she might have left no room
in tie United States for Mrs Langtry, If instead
Of worrying about the past she had gone on the
maxim that there are good fish In the sea
as ever were caught
Leah Felix, the sister of Rachel was assigned
the part of the Maid, and appeared in IT Tor nty
nights The piece was modified to suit her, she
having no voice for musical purposes and hoarSe
voice for defamation. 1t was arranged that her
talk was to he a kind of reciative, to which an
orchestra that the first night Gounod was TO
lead was to serve accompaniment. The
stage accessories were inferior to those with which
the piece is revived at the Porte st. Martin.
WAS present nj the fll-dress rehearsal Of Joan
Of Are at the Gazette, and at the supper given by
Oncnbach to the chief performers. Madame Ohen-
bach was an English ,JcwcsS; Leah Felix was
Swiss JcwcsS born in ArgOyie Ohenbach was n
Rhinclandcr jew: and save Barber and Gounod
there was no French element to speak of In the
supper party, at which good English and good
German and very bad French were spoken by the
majority Of he guests. | thought the verses
weak and inst good enough (but no more for an
opera comiquc librctto. The breath OF true patri-
otism was wanting. and there was nothing at all
i'm il of a grand historical tragedy. Barber Dor
rowcd from Schiller in bringing in love episode
4 series of episodes with suitable tableaus would
have been more effective than the achrymose ut
tcrauccs Of young Thbault, who is enamored of
the Maid. and the amorous relations of King
Charles VII and too galante young lady named
Yseult
The score of Joan of Arc" is in the mystic
feeling which pcrvadcs SO many of Gounods COM
positions There are pages of rare beauty, which,
as he said were to be to the heroine what the ilu-
minated borders Of antique mis,as were TO tie
text IN which lay the soul Of these sacred books
If the verses are old-laShioued though but eSh-
teen years have elapsed since they were wrlttca
the music is perennial The finale of the first act
with the appar ton and the voices of the slintes
and the stanza " Dieu le Vcut7 the cEonaton
march and the funeral march, were fresh and
delightful as ever. The latter was of poignant
sadness It. went with a choral sung during the
burning of Joan.
Though the composition is scarcely altered now,
il is served with different sauce A good deal
Of archaeological research has been brought TO bear
on the scenery and other stage accessories
and on tie dresses The cottage in which
Joan was born is alrcaIE antique, it having some
Gallo.Roman features. 1t faces desolate and
dcSolatcd champagne country. on which the set
/ l.. -.
Bcrnhardt is before the house, consoling refugees
from Neutchatc and has just saved her sister
from rufan by breaking his sword with a
blow of a reaping hook with which she is armed
She refuses to marry Thibault, to whom her father
bctrothcd her. and at length yields 10 the ce-
lcstial voices and TO the apparitons of Saints
Marguerite and Catherine in forsaking the pa
tcrnal house TO go to Chnon on her mission 10
the King of France. The apparitionS were visible
TO the public when Leah Felix played Joan of
Are. Sarah Bcrnhardt at first insisted that they
should DE only visible To herself She should
tell in her countcnancc and by-play that she was
i'll their presence and they present to her This
would concentrate the attention of the audience
upon her But at the full dress rehearsal she was
Judged incapable OF conveying what she was sup
posed to feel She was far from filling the stage
Critics yaWned when she Stimulating ecstacy.
Hence her anger and the delay in the first per-
Torrance. which was to have come of four nights
before. However she was talked round
to see the advantages Of spirits Wis
iblc TO all. Her success was great Joan
was regarded 10y her III the light of modern
science She was at once under the possession
Of mental suggestion, patriotic excitement and
religious emotion Sarah's conception of the
character that Joan should be chiefly strong
in faith. 1t was astonishing how one who has
So battered about the world as Sarah Bcrnhardt
could simulate the artcss candor and village
simplicity Of Joan. | think she had in her head
certain studies made by Basten Lepagc for his
famous painting Of Jeanne dare But she
only applied them in the facial expression. In