The Washington herald., 1911-02-07
THE NEW NATIONAL.
Bernhard in .L'Aixlon." )"

Outshining her former triumphS, sur
passing her other endeavors. receiving "a
volume of applause that more than once
interrupted her performance in a critical
point. Mime. Sarah Bernhard once more
appeared at the National Theater last
evening as the Duke of Reichstadt in
| Il Aislon." the role which, probably
more than any other. has served to show
her genius to audiences of two hemi-
spheres.
| Bernhardt. sixty-seven. as the eaelet
| of twenty! The bare statement appears
| a paradox. a contradiction, an impossi-
bility! But ask those who packed the
playhouse last night If 1t is or is not. and
you will receive a negative answer, for
| they have seen and they know.
Bernhardt. Il great-grandmother. the
possessor of years which fall only three
| short of the allotted three score and ten,
played the young. sentimental. half
brave and half-fearing son Of Napoleon
with an art that would not be denied.
She visualized the character: she made
! Of him living. breathing creature-now
a prey to his Austrian ancestors. now
! the true son Of his father-in such a
manner that despite the handicap of it's
| meaSer knowledge Of French, the audi
| ence was fairly swept OF its feet and
responded with q volume Of applause
which has not been equaled here for
years.
Her entrance in the first act unob-
trusive as 1t was, became the signal for
round after round of applause and the
actress was forced to come out Of her
role and bow her Acknowledgements to
l hn inc fnv,t
Ceeded her art apparently improved. The
biting sarcasm. the bitter irony of the
'mais' speech; the fire and youthful
enthusiasm of the history lesson; the
helpleSsneSS Of the Cross of Honor in
cident: the boyishness of the sentimental
passages: the bitterly tragical detection
of the mirror scene: the poetic fantasy
of the battlefield act. and the pathetic
passing of the eaglet. each seemed to
surpass the other and to turn another
facet of the marvellous woman's art
to the eyes OF the audience.
1t was the same Bernhardt that Wash
ington has seen for the past three
decades-the same ability to arouse en-
thusiasm. the same faculty for produc-
ing tears. the same cleverness of 'busi-
ness and the same infinite capacity
for details. The captious may say that
the actress shows her age: that in some
of her movements and infections appear
the ravages of time; that she has lost
the spring and buoyancy which marked
her former appearances here, and that
her art is mere mechanics
Admitting this-for it is true, in part
at least-Bernhardt certainly deserves
even more credit for being able to meet.
fight, and overcome these obstacles as
she overcame them last night. and for
showing herself she was in the DAYS
of the second Napoleon. the queen Of the
French stage.
In the selection of her supporting COM
pany. Nine. Bernhard has not been as
fortunate as on other visits. One cannot
expect her to have Flambeau of the
genius of Coquelin on every visit but
one might ask for a better reading than
that of NJ. Deconeur or of NJ. Maxudian.
the Metternich Of the present company.
Taking the performance as whole
the play. the acting. the production. and
the audience-there was little more to be
desired.