New-York tribune., 1895-10-30
THE DRAMA-MUSIC.
HENRY IRVING AND ELLEN TERRY
"MACBETH"

| both" There Is little need to dwell On the v.,
come that greeted them. Their place In the snec.
tion as well as In the judc!ous esteem OF this cop
munity was lons since gained and their coming h
that OF admired and cherished friends All persens
who know the contemporary stage aware that
the dramatic productions effected by Henry Iry,nr
are works of perfect art and OF the noblsst char.
acter To an intellect the most lucid. aspiring
and potential that the theatre has shown In this
age--or in any age-he Joins character the most
admirably poised and self-contained, an imasina.
ton of prodigious celerity. ardor and scope. usm-
ulous sensibility, pure taste, and exquisite re-
hnement With him Is associated Ellen Terry the
one actress of the present time best qualsnsd to
match his peculiar achievements and 70 enhance
their splendor-a woman OF rare beauty and Of that
mysterious charm which springs from exalted
spirituality OF condition and expression-that elusive
genius which. while II entrances the feelings. 10 .
baff,ing bewiIderment to the mind. combnatoa
an extraordinary and authoritative. reinforced with
an elaborate professional equipment, and welding
With competent experienced skill the varied and
spendd forces Of dramatic art, was, from the
outset predestinate to victory permanent success
bappens because 1t must happen. and IL Is nevss
denendent on chance. In the case OF these great
actors the sovereignty established long ago rema'ns
unbroken and the eager emotion and lons-con-
.n,ad niaudits that welcomed them last night only
ratified loyal regard that was gained by fascinae
ton and that lives by nature
At the height OF his career and In the plenitude
Of his powers Henry Irving has MADE wise
choice in reverting to Macbeth With, perhaps. the
single exception Of King Lear, II is.-of all the
characters In Shakespeare and therefore OF all the
characters in dramatic literature.-the most dim
cult OF representation; and 70 succeeh IN IL Is 70
wear unnre.t.oned the crown ofh.tronic supremacy.
Only great actor play Macbeth NOT only 40 the
situations that environ the character make pro
dig.ous draft upon the emotion, knowledge, skiI,
tive. the character itself is massive and %
complex that only the subtlest dramatic Intuition
can grasp it, and only the ampiest capacity ana
experience give Il authoritative expression irving
who has studied It all his life, and played u oiten.
brings to 1t many qualifications which are final
and supreme. No actor has appeared, IN our
time. who for one moment comparable with
Irving In the portrayal OF characters intrinsicaly
and essentially weird. Macready might, perhaps,
hav, We'd with him in this. snd also IN masnae
ton: but one attribute he abundantly possesses
that Macready did not equally possess,-the ten
der profound sensibility which. whether II be d.
rected toward the manifestation Of afflicted good
ness or the derious agony Of .nsurgent and con-
sc,ously foredoomed evil, Is the inspiration os
pathos Macbeth is man Of illinitabie imagine
ton far-reachlnK mental grasp and foresight. aod
a most sensitive poetic temperament and thus
constituted he hauntcd by evil spr.S ard ID
Hend-driven into crime and into terrible misery.
bine the dread fascination OF weird horror with the
sinister atmosphere Of danger and mystery, and
the heart breaking pathos Of unutterab.e grief TO
the attainment and manifestation Of precisely
those artistic results Irving has. again and again,
shown himself signally and exceptionally compe-
tent. The snguiarity OF his person the melancholy
grace OF his demeanor. the mournful beauty OF his
counten the melody OF his voice, his poetic &C.
stasy when ag.tated and aroused by high thoughts
and great emotions. the tremendous sincerity Of his
action: hs swift. propulslve movement; his pro-
pens.ty for darkly imaginative subjects, his emil
nenty pictorial style and his spontaneous bent
toward impersonation rather than elocution.-aH
those attributes fit him for Macbeth: and by vlr.
tue Of clear cogent and superb use OF all those
attributes his embodiment Of Macbeth,--with per-
haps. the qualification that II somewhat lacks VOL
and continuity of physical power,-is absor
lutely true TO nature and entirely great poetic
art
Upon this point there has been much difference Al
opinion and therefore it desirable that whatA
ever word Is said should be said explicitly. and In
manner to be understood. Irving first acted Mac
beth In 1875 repeated it in 1876 and reproduced 1t,
with extraordinary magnihcence. in 1883; and upon
all those occasions his presentmen OF Il was MADE
a theme of controversy.-par;ly because OF his
unique ideal OF the character. declared IN print.
and partly because OF pecuiarites In MS execution
OF IT, To the library-student OF Shakespeares con-
ception. Macbeth appears noble person fallen from
that haunt about this world to drive humanity into
sin To the actor-student, confronted with the
practical necessity OF giving physical body ana
definite symbo. to the poets thought. he seems
person originally and elementslly depraved,-the
sinister baleful deadly although specous and
pleasingiy guilefi exponent OF natural wickednesA
This discrepancy Irving remarked ana the con-
sderations that affected his judgment are such as
thinker will not ignore. Macbeth reasons ana
speaks in the highest strain of morality and In the
most splendid eoquence OF poetry,-anc ne aeS
like a fend His preliminary perception OF the
horrible treachery and cruelty OF the murder that
he has determined to commit.-and likewise OF the
terrific consequences which are TO ensue upon IT,
is as clear and searching as the light OF day. he
percelyes In advance the pteous aspect OF the deeo
and also that all will be SACRIFICED and nothing
really gained. Yet. aside from an impulse OF hesa-
tion quickly swept away by the ironical taunt OF
the woman into whose mind he has instiled his
wicked thought, he never devates from the hldeous
purpose TO murder a sleeping guest and to Wurp
crown. He suffers. IN vivid anticipation, the fierce
agonies of withering remorse. and he paints those
agonies In language Of immortal beauty; Out ne
goes straight on to the fulh.ment OF his design.
Such a man is a villain. and all the more villain
because OF mis- intellect and wisdom. In that way
the actor seems 10 have reasoned,-not taking into
the scheme as fully as other thinkers have done.
either the sefrevealing plea for ministry to dis
eased mind the influence OF the wife, or the m
spratlonal and compulsory relation Of the Weird
Sisters to conduct OF Macbeth, and therefore not
viewing him the reluctant. but rather as the
willing eager and sympathetic, instrument OF crime;
a man void Of morality unreal in all things except
the senses and. II sufferer at all not SUFFERER IN
the conscience but exclusively in the Imagination.
The distinction is subtle one. and 4 Is entitled
to all Its legitimate weight: but practically IN tns
acting of Macbeth. II makes no difference whether
| the anguish that he Is seen 10 suffer Is made !"
| proceed from the brain or from the heart. If the
effect OF affecting pathos be added 10 the eneet OF
gloom and terrible grandeur and desperate deiirium
| II matters not In the least from what mental
motive the actor proceeds or upon what nass OF
| theory the structure OF his art has beep reared.