The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-02-06
YVETTEAUGRANDSERIEU
oHANsoNETTB SINGER oNTHEPRIE.
CIPLES OF HER ART.

Modern shakeapenrcs needed to Write Feurs
stanra Hamiets-she IL FiHhtinr 70 Force
tho Sorrows ortho Lowiy on tho Bourgeoiaie
Her Songs Repeat whnttho Papers tell.
Yvetto Guilbert, a little whilo ago, wrote an
interesting letter in defence Of hor art to an
Austrian lady who had befriended her, a part OF
which is printed In q recent number of the Vi
emma Freie Prcsse.
"HoSoREp FRIEND: Octave Mirbeau, the
author OF tho Manuals Bergors,' q play In
which Sarah Bernhard is now acting, has said
Of mo: For Yvette Guilbert we should have .
modern Shakespeare "A a delicate connois-
seur. in trying to give a special expression To
his admiration, he clearly intended to dis
tinguish the verses that I sing from that which
/ put into them through my art on tho stage.
that is lifc. Ho has. therefore. understood that
the manner in which present my songs 10 Of
moro Importance than the songs themselves.
and I am inexpressibly thankful to him for this,
because 1t proves TO mo that no has under.
stood me-. Yes. n modern Shakespeare Mod
ern enough TO influence tho masscs.
to create Hamlet again. Hamlet with his
gloomy internal struggles, Ophclia with her
sweet sorrow. the consCiencclcss Queen, that
woman without faith or shame, that mother
with no respect for tho memory of n dead man.
and to do 1t oil in four or five short stamina.
Our poets are but weak little Shakespeare.
bu lney arc nlOuCrn ] IDcy turn an npOth0-
cary's apprentice into their Hamlet. They make
him u slave to ether or morphine or u neuras.
thenic In order to explain the degcncracy of his
soul. Or for the Queen they take an emotional
lady. light OF brain, and represent her as .
mother. n widow. yearning for consolation and
not difficult to console. A husband stood in the
way; he was removed by poison or a bullet or any
other method, and everything is once more in
the faircst order. tho world is tho richer by Q
-llL- .-l L-..lI 49,.
as the newspapers like to call it. come be-
forc tho courts, an cxtenuating circumstance
will always DO found; namely. love. But when
one turns it into a couplet, my honored friend,
when one sets this tale of love to music and puts
1t on the cato chantnnt boards. then tho Philis-
tines cry out: 1t Is obscene You may read 10
daily in the news columns; you read IL In the
press OF all countries, but you may not sing it,
according to most people. And they turn away
Indignantly from the fortunes OF tho lowly,
which are. nevertheless. peculiar enough. h
You see. SO long as tho great majority. that
public which fines 1t hard to understand the
secret delicacies, tho last TOUGHEST; that public
which hears only the words. not the thoughts,
insists on closing its senses, and will only open
its ears, SO long shall l have to fight against
it. But does not your Nietzsche say that the
less one is understood by the crowd the more
does one rise above tho commonplace
hcTci IL an cAuiuiIlt U u inc LIMITATIONS OIL Ccrs
tain listeners. They have heard 'Manon.' they
lose their tempors over the unmanly tenderness
Of Desgrfeur they weep. poor things. over the
Inconsistency of Manon. But should l try to sing
the same story to them they find that it ia too
bold and the censorship would interfere.
ct is true my heroes belong to the streets. I
have really sung a lTanon; she WAS poor.
wretched, q prostitute outside the city walls,
and her lover was a Desgrieun from the dregu
- h. ~auNl. Clo noI1, l.- nd. -
like -Manon, for n trifing gift, for q nothing.
He loved her like a mailman in spite of all. Ho
stole for her, he became a robber. he murdered
for her and no was executed for her, and she
was present at the spectacle and was left behind
with the ineffaceable picture of the priest and
the falling knife of the guillotine. He died for
her. but this tragedy Of the passion Of lovers be-
longing to the lowest classes of society hardly
awakcns sympathy in the hearts of properly
brought up persons, and seldom docs the ragged
pack awaken humane or gentle thoughts. Bue
luxury. silk and satin. gold and pearls. they
arouse sympathy and move to tears.
Cor take another example, Tristan and
Isolde The vassal elopcs with the wife of his
king. 1t is a story met with daily in America. only
1t has a more modern sound: The coachman be-
comes the lover Of his mistress and fees with
her on a steamer to Monaco. cabin caha hue
din hop Ia That is the refrain of one of my
bOLBs II 10 Cdllcu Ii SHD. IL - somewhat OF u
parody. but no more audacious than that tale Of
Lady Isolde.
you must know, my honored friend, that 7
pay no heed to certain criticisms. On tho con.
trGry, they only umuse me am conscious that
/ have introduced q new note into my art, a low
note. but n pure one. and In it resounds some of
the suffering of mankind. Whether my heroes
belong to good society or the very worst. they
are human beings, and that is enough TO assure
them of my interest. That is reason enough for
me to sing their sorrows with whatever sensi-
tiveness there is in my soul. their joys. their
lower instincts, or whatever there Is in their
dreams that may lift them UP. Ny song is ct the
service OF all who suffer and weep and laugh,
and over even the NEST audacious words in my
songs my criticism watches. bitter but with the
compassion every one should have for tho poor
and wrotched. My songs arc satircs. and
whether they be good or bad ! am proud that
have obtained through them recognition and
friendship from very distinguished writer's.
You know that l sing the weaknesses OF man.
kind to make fun of them and its sorrows to
pity them. YyETTE GCILDERT,"