The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-11-02
DUSE AND D'ANNUNZI0.
WY DOEScSHE GIVE rs MS
PLAYS AND HIS ONLY"
Her Art Devoted "a the Man Who Betrayed
Her Soul to the World Ana IT'S More
brilliant aud Just Ms subtle ~ the
YcarS Roll on-Hpr Present Tour.

brilliant and Just Ms subtle as the
Years Roll on-Hrr Present Tour.
tleonora Duse---.
When this extraordinary woman first
came TO New York. in January 1899, she
attrsct cd a small band Of admirable luna.
tics who uncritically cav her a a symbol,
rather than az an actress Some Of us
We, 10 fantastic lengths in our devotion.
She Was Our Lady of Evil one Of Daude-
lsire's enignaiic women; Mater Malorium, ="
= figure out OF De Quincey's opium stained
dreams: she was not only superior to
Sarah of the Sardpu reg ma, but the true
successor 70 Rachel This selni-at surd
junbing Of Poe. ,wnburne, Baudelare
and the Elizahathans-wh a tremendous
Dlchess Of Ndif We fancied Duse would
rnake,-vas not altogether the fabric of
fantasy. Her personality was the strong
est asset in her art She had suffered
academic training she had practised when
young all the scales Of thumh-rule theatre
calism; she had PLAYED Cosehe when n
child and even knew Electra The sppreu-
tioeship then had been exhnlsting. the
thirty-six situations she had by heart:
long race Of play actors determined her
vocation: and vet she ross superior TO all
'ne~p Things. 10 experiences lHul "OuNl
have either crushed or made mechanical
The average artist. Life with it, di-iiiu-
sionnents was the sculptor that finally
wrought tho something precious and
strange we recognize in Eleonora Duse
Without especial comc,inesa. without the
golden. ductile voic" Of Bernhard Duse 20
drilled her bodily organs that her gestures,
angular II executed by another. become
potent instruments: her voice once athcr
thin, siccsnt now gives a soft surprised
sIe~ch: and her face is the mirror Of her aot,
Across II fit the agon'es, the Joys Of the
modern az Rmic. overwrougr woman. She
eIcels IN the delinration Of !istles- nervous,
hysterical and haf-nad souls, She passes
easily from the passionate creatures of
Dumas and Sardou 70 the chilier booded
women ~ Ihspn and Sldormann. unhal-
anced and out of tune with their sur
rounding. Shall we Over forget her read
ing of Nladnir's letter in 4Frdora"y And
vet her assumpt ion Of the Russian was
tour de force of technique temperament
ally the roe belongs 10 the hotter-,o ngued
B.rnhardt. With !Sdn'c1Id. "A primitive
nature, she accomplished wonders That
miserable. deserted girl, in Lowry Sclisn
nausea her hunted looks here WAS Verga',
heroine stripped OF all Miscignts rustlinx
crude music, the so,il showing clear and
naked agains, the sordd background Of
'Cavalleria Rusiicara-
The Sinking ierocity Of Cssorine's en-
trance into her husbands ateler; the
scene with Anfor,Hc: the interview Of
Camille with ArmGnd's father, he gracious
gayety of GCldonis ia Locandiera", that
hideous battle of an eXdsperated man and
woman before the closed doors in Fer
nande-: Nodgd's wonderful blush as she
meets Keller. the cold-hearted prig who
ruined her-all these stale situations and
we'll worn types .hugda being an honorable
exception Duse literally reCreatpd. In
them We felt the power of her intellect
the magic of the woman. And she slapped
tradition in the face by refusing To make
up" unconcealing her own hair and doing
nothing 10 restrict the Elasticity Of her figure.
Now she wears wigs. uses rouge discTe,ty
for her hair is gray and her face mora
matured. But her art is broader, though
losing none Of its former subjlety. There
Il more weight. more brlliancy in her
action and gesture. and that doubtless
prompted Boston critics last week 10 COM
pare her to Sarah Bernhard Bu' she is
still Eleonora Du,e the woman with the
imagination, the glance and the beautiful
hands.
The wisdom Of her choice in selecting
only teammates DIR; mas for this tour is
10, altogether apparent, she will listen
70 no advice; perhaps she is here on mis-.
sion; perhaps she wishes TO make known
the genius OF her young country man, and
TO go back with the means TO raise upon the
border of Lake Albano, a great indepeuden NJ
theatre. the poets dream of aramat il
Bayreuth. The D'Annun2io plays ire not
Of the sort that appeal to The larger public
For the student Of contemporary drama
they are Of surprising interest in Weir
freedom from conventional stage trick"ry
and characterization. La CiCconda la
Citta Morta"-the plays for this wock--ore
masterpieces In little. though mi; ny viii
Shudder al the themes a. their bold develop.
ment ard treatment, II IL easy 10 fore
zee the critical slaughter. Even ST hetic
Boston rehellcd al the subject matter OF
.The Dead City" VIE n foa,ed on the wings
OF Richard Wagner mighty music in
Die Walhure." tho incest uous loves OF
Siesr,und and Sieahnde are appIauded;
prose, be il as polished and as sonorous as
D'Aununzo's has not the same privilege az
music. SO the motto Of Catullc Nende
for a playhouse has point: abandon
all reality We who would enter here" And
D'Annunzio never talters before harsl,
reality. az those who have read his rolnarccs
veil know. In each Of displays we nseist
o. the gillette Of "a womau's soul.