The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-07-25
BUSES ART CRITICISED.
JULES LE1rlITRE'R IMPRESSIONS
OF HER "OAMILLE.D

HbStV NM hNno OF the C0urffnnn-nfer
Transrormation OF the Role ana the Play
Compared with Bcrnhardt In mazda. ,,
Jules Lomaitre. member of tho Academic
Irancafso, has contributed TO the current num-
bor Of the Rerne des DeVE Mondes this criticiam
OF Mime. Dusc:
Sho has come to us, preceded by a European
ropntetion, the rival sister OF tho great Sarah
We Nave not been deceived, for Mime. Eleonor.
pa,o 10 n dramatic artist, original 10 the core.
AID OF the fret rank. We have been told sho
WAS beyond everything an astounding r6atistc;
hhat she lived her roles rather than played them,
and 1t was thus she took the public by storm,
And That statement doubtless Is exact. But
and l know not whyI expected her
Hcting would be by preference coarse and
extraordinarily ~brusquo and violent.
Yet, what seems to mo incontestably Mme.
Duso's, is her singular charm Of grace, sweet
mess, and ttnderness. For that reason her search
aor the truth, her solicitude to avoid the ex-
inhibition OF any a~rtifce, her realism, SO very
minute and very sincere, reach even to poetry.
hers Is the unique charm Of a matured woman,
inpasSione1- bruised. sickly, nervous. in whom,
however, survives a young and ingenious
grace. Almost that Of a young girl. of q strange
YOU'RE girl.
Let mo say that we have not yet seen Nine.
1nso In l. Femme de Claude but only in Lit
dame aux Camelias.' 'MaRda,' l. Locandiera,'
and 'Le Songe d'une Matinee de Printomps.'
a must confess that, although l can read Italian,
] Am not able. any more than the 900 Parisians,
TO catch 1t at the theatre, unless by scraps, or, at
bose, by which Is o voxation. Tho
best comedians express much and achieve great
effects with nothing but the light yet accurate
accent Of n significant word. These shades Of
diction, according as the actor pronounces them,
are revealed most often to him who does not
catch all OF the spoken words. The knowledge
ono may have OF the matter Of each scene,
or even of the general sense OF each coup
lot or each phrase, is not enough to
help an auditor ignorant Of a language to
appreciate fully the merit of the interpreter.
There are portions of her art, and very impor.
tant portions, of which we are not the Judge
while We listen to the carcssing Italienne. But
TO DO compelled. in this relation, to guess at her
talent is still interesting and precious for the
sort Of completely or DISQUALIFICATION ono
feels. However, IL we cannot conceive in its de-
tail the intelligence and nnessc of her utterance.
the sound of her voice remains and the emo
tional quality of her intonations. From these We
can grasp at least the relation with the general
sense of her language. Hor pantomime is there,
and we have her face.
"For my part, I find her pretty. But she is
Infinitely better than pretty. OF a deep pallor,
q very little olive; the forehead substantial
under the black tufts, serpentine eyebrows,
beautiful, merciful eyes; q mouth q little dis
tant from q short nose, irregular, but alive; the
mouth q little large. serious when still.
but incredibly mobile and plastic in the
exact sense Of the word. 1 have seen
no Coincidence who played so much with
her face, or whose physiognomy could unbend
to such q great number Of expressions so diverse
and 30 extreme. 1t is owing to this principally, I
judge, that Mime. Duse is such an extraordinary
artist. Her normal expression IL sad; but when
" revealed, there is nothing seen Of the vulgar
display Of theatrical dentition, framed in car
more secret; it is the contrast between the bril-.
ManSy Of those teeth, the pallor Of the lips, and
those dissonant but delicate tones in music that
charm us; while they are slightly disquieting
thin and supple; Nine. Duse has a fire.
SS oTsSeadF s and sem H5 pasfaie eF Walk ahfm i. e esdene esi
With slight halting, which undulates and
able machine Of sensations promptly trans
formed into sentiments. One suspects she is q
one who would 'vibrate about everything. per:
assis: 8 n sad m mo9Sfia iS SSs sftsn sss with aims q % %ith
aa lThss eS Si ! Myy nn.. ,,.. -,., .n.u.
aug oameiias is surprising enough ii one goes
by the exact text OF the piece; but It is charming
Il, aqt s's saat sne H. aa after seia al, t9s Efsi, snd fh "a ia MarG%s;
Sira Since Mime. DIse neglects to paint, and
thirty!nve eve! years 50 h awe Mingled nas Ed'' With ahf Ssr b hna;
locks, she cannot be wanting in bravado. I.
and that e' Would BE- acsepte MuS Without thou { too 90 much nMi
difficulty in the most of her roles. although
our eyes nave been SO accustomed q
features which the cruel Illumination Of the
auE Cumtiids. at least in the first two acts, Is u
dame who ought to paint professionally. In NOT
doing SO. Mime. Duse believes herself more true,
the impersonation, But, in fact, she does moi
conceive Marguerite as u courtesan. She makes
Of her. at the outset, a sweet and tenderly loving
what shall ! say Eqf ~grisette. extremely high,
Ioned. q little pre.Raphaelite; OF a ,~grisette OF
Instant with a hollow laugh At a a supper
soqid proclaim her condition. Almost immedi.
out missivings. without 1stonishment at finding
horself captivated, and captiyated in such a
sVen invented for it a tS%eautltal and nrd" sSynmjoliecaaii
gesture. an adorable action OF religious s~acrihcej
foreseen., In short, she plays the drst two acts
deij ESious sIt jqst az she .bU would ~ DIP Play Jatisit:
and ike JGtette. sans pFofession;S she is The
Duse In love. and that is all:
story Of %u Ia pS se,f 'G Gaat z ms Is afmost%d Is1s; iei
q that which, socially. Localities 4. t. Is The
and her little man. Des Rieur. pGrrflhe. Girag
Saint , GaTdens, are reduced d. to he he state Of in :,
the first act and the gambling OF the fourth arc
of the sort of good fellowship that comes along
with the truths and the brevity OF the comic
opera; The question of money, the former
Gated. merely enough SO that the plot should
not be quito boreft OF sense. That Is very
II tho play Of the Dame aux Cam6iias
appeared when first given profoundly origi
nal, and served to stamp an important date
in the history of the stage, 1t was due to ita
realism; to the abundance, then a novelty, oil
the familiar details which exactly classified the
woman, and painted her surroundings. And Il
10 just these qualities which have been elimi
mated from tho Italian-cosmopolitan version
Note also, at the same time. that the play is rid
OF moral significance. For tho moment we ar,
tempted to forget, or partially 30, the condition
and employment OF Marguerite. We forget also
the reasons which must appear, to gather
q which tho poor girl Is sacrificed; she sac
rldces herself. The play otherwise treated 1;
SSaiy the pathetic happening OF two most IN