Bernard Sarah

(b. 1844 - d. 1923)

The great French actress who said about herself: “I was one of the greatest mistresses of my century.”

The little girl was only nine years old when, accepting her cousin’s challenge, she tried to jump over a ditch that none of the children had been able to overcome. She smashed her face, broke her arm, was seriously hurt, but, overcoming the excruciating pain, she screamed: “I’ll do it anyway, you’ll see, no matter what, just let them try to tease me!” And all my life I will do whatever I want! This tirade, spoken in the heat of the moment, became the basis of her life and wild success, and the motto “At any cost” became her lifeline and beacon. Maybe it was thanks to this tragic event that the world received “ divine Sarah”, about which V. Hugo said: “This is more than an actress, this is a woman...” Bernard became a legend of the theater, a sign of an entire era. And like every legend, it had its own beginning and roots.

On October 23, 1844, when Sarah was born, her mother Julie van Hard (Judith von Hard) was only sixteen. She was an incredibly beautiful Dutch Jew with golden hair. long hair. This woman was created for love. And soon after arriving in Paris, she gave birth to a frail girl. It is not known exactly who her father was. Some biographers call Morel Bernard - an officer of the French navy, others say that his name was Edward and he was either a law student or an engineer. Sarah saw her father only a few times during her childhood; he died early under unclear circumstances. And Julie van Harde turned into one of the most fashionable and highly paid kept women in Paris, a “demi-monde lady.” She had no time to take care of her child; she traveled with her lovers around Europe and shone at balls. Sarah lived with a nurse in Brittany. This nice woman had no children, and she gave all her unspent tenderness to “her Penochka.” The “Madonna-like” mother appeared only when her daughter, who was in poor health, became seriously ill. But Sarah only dreamed of being next to her. At the age of five, she jumped out of a window, broke her arm in two places and severely damaged her kneecap in order to tie her mother to her. She succeeded: for two whole years Madame Bernard and her lovers took care of the girl.

At the age of seven, Sarah was sent to Madame Fressard’s boarding school, which became for her, in her own words, “a comfortable children’s prison.” Then her home was the privileged Catholic monastery of Grand-Champ, located in Versailles. Sarah did not like to study, was not diligent, and was frail due to the tuberculosis that was destroying her lungs. Fever and fainting, accompanied by profuse hemoptysis, weakened the already weak body, but they often arose not from colds, but as a result of outbursts of “wild anger” that could not be appeased. To bring the girl to her senses, the nuns threw a ladle of holy water on her head. However, Sarah was very easy-going and quickly calmed down. There was always some kind of strain in her behavior, an unconscious desire to stand out, a readiness for heroic actions. At the age of ten, she bravely pulled a four-year-old girl out of a pond overgrown with mud. She never thought about the consequences. Sarah's vivid imagination and heightened sensitivity, stuffed with Christian traditions, led her to the idea of ​​becoming a nun. The mother believed that she and her two other illegitimate daughters (Regina died young, Zhanna became an actress) were destined for a pleasant life as highly paid courtesans. But the Duke de Morny, one of Madame Bernard's lovers, shocked by the grace of the wild cat and some external theatricality of the actions of 15-year-old Sarah, recommended sending her to the Conservatory - an acting school and took the girl to the theater for the first time.

“When the curtain slowly started to rise, I thought I was going to faint. After all, this was the curtain rising on my life,” Bernard wrote in her memoirs. It is not clear what helped the completely unprepared Sarah to pass the selection for the Conservatory - the patronage of her mother’s friends, or whether they recognized a hidden talent in her. Her external characteristics did not at all correspond to the standard of stage beauty of that time: thin as a sliver, angular, of small stature. But she had a lively face, wonderful sea-green eyes - moods and feelings played and shimmered in them, and her hands and fingers echoed them. It turned out that her fragile body could sound like music, and Dumas the Father compared her voice to “a crystal clear brook, babbling and jumping over golden pebbles.” But all this still needed to be considered, and the first thing that caught the eye was the golden mass of fluffy hair and the lack of restraint of emotions. However, now Sarah studied diligently and did not miss a single lesson. Soon the teachers started talking seriously about her tragic and comedic gifts. Sarah's only drawback throughout her theatrical career was her fear of going on stage. Even crowned with laurels, she often appeared on stage in such an excited state that she played almost subconsciously, and after the performance she fainted.

Bernard graduated from the conservatory successfully. Under the patronage of Dumas the Father and the Duke de Morny, she was accepted into the famous Comedie Française troupe. The first performance of the 18-year-old debutante in the role of Iphigenia in the play of the same name went unnoticed. This, of course, upset her, she hoped for triumph, but for herself, Sarah “irrevocably decided to become an individual at all costs,” as well as to stay in this theater forever. The last wish could not be fulfilled. Unbridled feelings and the ability to create trouble for herself were at the core of her nature. At the ceremony celebrating Moliere's birthday, Bernard, defending her sister, gave several ringing slaps to the fat diva. The debutante refused to apologize and left the theater.

Sarah worked a little in other troupes. Fame was in no hurry to come to her, but lovers began to appear, who, unlike her mother, had never supported her. There were many of them, and Bernard remained on excellent terms with all her fans even after breaking up. The first (known) man in her life was the Comte de Catri - a young, handsome, elegant lieutenant, who later held high positions in the government.

Sarah found her first love in 1864. Dumas, who patronized the actress, gave her letters of recommendation for a trip to Belgium. At one of the costume balls she met Duke Henri de Ligne. The handsome prince was so fascinated by the actress that he declared his readiness to marry her, but on the condition that she leave the theater. Sarah was in love and agreed to everything. But how could they accept a rootless actress into one of the most famous families in Brussels! She was persuaded not to ruin the life of her loved one. She named her son, born a few months after the trip, Maurice. This was the only male representative whom she loved selflessly and was sacredly faithful to him. Returning from a tour, Sarah always thought of only one thing: “My happiness awaits me there! My joy! My life! Everything, everything and even more!” Years later, Henri de Ligne invited his son to recognize him and give him his name. Maurice refused. His loving mother gave him the loudest surname of the century - Bernard.

Sarah could not be sad for a long time... Now she had one goal in front of her - a career. And again, through patronage, she was accepted into a less prestigious theater, but famous for its traditions, about which she later recalled: “Ah, Odeon! I loved this theater more than others. Yes, I could live there. Moreover, it was only there that I felt truly good. Life seemed to me endless happiness.”

Bernard worked hard on herself. On stage, a “beautifully polished skeleton”, a “stick with a sponge at the end”, with hands like “toothpicks”, turned either into a mad baroness in “Marquise de Villiers”, or into the minstrel Zanetto in “Passerby” by F. Coppe. Students admired her, gave her bouquets and dedicated long poems, but her wonderful ascent to Olympus was interrupted by the war with Germany. Having sent the entire family away from hostilities, Sarah decided to remain in besieged Paris. She turned the empty Odeon into a hospital, where she courageously played the role of a nurse. Procurement of food and firewood for the wounded during the cold winter of 1870–1871. became a test for her strength of character. Bernard kept herself in control, did not faint - the lives of other people depended on her stamina. She became a real patriot. Later, having toured half the world, Sarah carefully skirted Germany.

In October 1871, the Odeon opened a new theater season. Bernard “galloped after dreams” and expected the appearance of the Messiah. For her, it was V. Hugo and his play “Ruy Blas”. On January 26, 1872, Sarah Bernhardt stepped from the role of queen to the title of “star.” The great playwright knelt before her talent. The success was deafening. “The foggy veil that had hitherto obscured my future fell away, and I felt that I was born for glory. Until now, I was only the favorite of the students, from now on I have become the Chosen One of the Public... You can argue about me, but you cannot neglect me.”

Bernard had a constant stream of admirers before, but now Gustave Doré, Victor Hugo, Edmond Rostand, and Emile Zola have become her admirers. How far their relationship extended, history is silent. Sarah was not left indifferent by talented men. She was a passionate lover, but she never spent herself completely. Bernard possessed a mixture of erotic and spiritual power over men and at the same time did not allow the slightest encroachment on her freedom. It was an explosive mixture that excited the stronger sex. Contemporaries claimed that she had thousands of lovers. One of the books made a bold statement that Bernard had seduced all the heads of state of Europe, including the Pope. Sarah neither confirmed nor denied anything. She really had a “special relationship” with the Prince of Wales, who later became King Edward VII of England, and with the nephew of Napoleon I. It is possible that only for her unprecedented talent she was showered with jewelry by the Emperor of Austria Franz Joseph, the King of Spain Alfonso and the King of Italy Umberto. The Danish monarch Christian IX gave her a yacht at her disposal, and Duke Frederik provided his ancestral castle.

In the memoirs “My double life“Sarah bypassed her personal life so as not to offend any of her fans. But word of mouth is omnipotent. Contemporaries considered Bernard to be the lover of all his theatrical partners. Each such romance lasted until the performance left the stage, and then the lover humbly migrated to the category of friends. The names most often mentioned are the wonderful actors Philippe Garnier and Pierre Berton. They wrote about Sarah and Pierre that they were so charged with their passion that they “could have lit up the streets of London” during the triumphant tour of the Comédie Française. Yes, ten years later Bernard returned to the theater where she started. Only now she was a star with whims, and the directors were forced to take them into account.

Sarah was not only passionate woman and a talented actress, but also constantly followed the lead of her impulsive and unbridled ideas. Even the air around her was electrified. “Whenever unforeseen circumstances invaded my life, I involuntarily step back... and then rush headlong into the unknown... In the blink of an eye, the momentary becomes the past for me, evoking in me a feeling of touching tenderness as something irretrievably lost. But I also adore what will happen. The future attracts me with its mysterious unknown.” “Mademoiselle the rebel” (as the actress was called by her contemporaries) in the midst of rehearsals for a new play could get carried away by sculpture and stay in her studio all night long, sculpting one sculpture after another with her characteristic fervor. The famous Rodin found her works somewhat archaic, but did not deny her talent. The sculptural group “After the Storm” received an award at the exhibition in 1878 and was purchased by the “king from Nice” for 10 thousand francs. By the way, the handsome sitter who served as Rodin’s model for “Eternal Spring” was at one time Sarah’s lover. Then she became interested in painting and, instead of the prescribed treatment for anemia in blessed Menton, she went to Brittany, climbed the mountains tirelessly and did not leave the sea for hours with an easel.

Curiosity and the pursuit of thrills once led her into the basket of a hot air balloon. Sarah flew at an altitude of 2600 m, completely forgetting that spectators were waiting for her. Dressed in work clothes, she ran along with the builders and artists through the scaffolding of the mansion being built for her in the center of Paris. She went down into an underground cave during a tour in the United States to see eyeless fish. And from the famous Niagara Falls she slid down the ice on her own coat, dragging the entire troupe with her.

How could such a woman not attract men? The critic Sarsay called it “a miracle of miracles.” Therefore, Bernard was probably forgiven for all his eccentricities. True, one of the lovers turned out to be very passionate and entered the role too deeply... The magnificent Sarah and the brilliant tragic actor Jean Mounet-Sully were partners on stage and in bed for a long time. They were simply called "the couple" without mentioning their names. Jean was also one of the most beautiful artists of that time. Tender and romantic, energetic and passionate, proud and independent - a man to the core. The entire “Paris Gossip” followed their romance with delight. Jean was sincere in his feelings, and Sarah, as always, was fickle. Her betrayal hurt the actor’s pride, and in the final scene of Othello he squeezed his Desdemona’s throat so tightly that Sarah felt the world float away. The worried director was forced to lower the curtain a few minutes earlier so that the tragic ending of Shakespeare's drama would not become reality.

Everything in Bernard’s personal life and in her work was strikingly eccentric, but the actress herself never consciously worked for the public. Even short stature and Sarah’s thinness, whose waist was 43 cm, left no one indifferent. This became the theme for countless cartoons and jokes. One of them sounded like this: “Yesterday an empty carriage arrived on the Champs Elysees. Sarah Bernhardt came out of it.” And her love affairs provided special food for gossip. The actress admitted: “This mess amused me terribly. I didn’t lift a finger to attract attention to myself, but my bizarre tastes, thinness and pallor, as well as my unique manner of dressing, contempt for fashion and complete disregard for all the rules of decency made me an exceptional being.”

And Bernard was an exceptional actress. The premiere of Phaedra was a real triumph for her. Her every gesture and intonation was polished and unique. Sarah had amazing success in the play “The Foreigner” by Dumas the Son. In Parodi's "Defeated Rome", the 32-year-old actress refused the role of a young vestal virgin and sought the image of 70-year-old Postumia - an old blind and noble Roman woman. Bernard finally won the hearts of the audience in 1877, playing Doña Sol in “Hernani” by V. Hugo. The author wrote after the triumphant premiere: “You were charming in your greatness... When the touched and enchanted spectators applauded you, I cried. I give you these tears that you pulled from my chest, and I bow before you.” Attached to the letter was a chain bracelet with a teardrop-shaped diamond pendant.

Bernard has long become cramped within the confines of one theater. After the unsuccessful production of “The Adventuress,” she wrote to the director: “This is my first failure at Comedy, and it will be my last.” They tried to keep her, but, having paid a penalty of 100 thousand francs, she left the theater in 1880, immediately entering into a long contract to tour the USA and Canada. Before leaving, Sarah tested her strength with the troupe, in which her sister Jeanne also played, touring England, Belgium and Denmark. The tour was dubbed “28 days of Sarah Bernhardt.” Success accompanied her in America. With nine performances, she visited 50 cities and gave 156 performances. Her performance and endurance seemed limitless.

There were no language barriers for Bernard. She would have been understood even if she spoke Chinese. The best actress in France had to be protected from an enthusiastic public. Sarah went on tour to Australia, South America, nine times in the USA and three times in Russia (1881, 1892, 1908). Theater critics were wary of her refined acting style, and the audience was shocked by the depth of the feelings spilling out. In St. Petersburg in 1881, Sarah met a diplomat of Greek origin, Aristidis (Jacques) Damala. This conqueror of women's hearts, as his acquaintances aptly put it, was a cross between Casanova and the Marquis de Sade. Sarah was captured by his charm. Damala was nine years younger than her, very handsome, capricious, self-confident and too corrupted by the attention of women. Bernard was so in love that she even married him (1882). Aristides “for her sake” left his service and joined his wife’s troupe. He had zero stage abilities, other than external ones, but Sarah believed in his genius. Her husband shamelessly cheated on her with young actresses, incurred huge gambling debts, which she meekly paid, and then became addicted to drugs. Sarah stubbornly tried to save her lover and somehow, in a fit of anger, even broke an umbrella on the head of the insatiable pharmacist who was selling this potion. Everything was to no avail. Having spent only a few months in marriage, Bernard carefully looked after ex-spouse until the end of his days - he died from cocaine and morphine in 1889. This unsuccessful marriage brought such mental discord into the actress’s life that she was able to normalize her condition only through work and, of course, new fans.

Now playwrights wrote plays under Bernard. The first was A. Dumas the son with his famous “Lady of the Camellias”. V. Sardou created for her “Fedora”, “Tosca”, “The Witch”, “Cleopatra”; Rostand - “Princess Dreaming”, “Eaglet”, “Samaritan Woman”. Sarah willingly appeared on stage in male roles: Zanetto in The Passerby, Lorenzaccio in Musset's play of the same name. With her characteristic chic and elegance, she played Shakespeare's Hamlet, and at the age of 56 she appeared on stage as the twenty-year-old prince, Napoleon's son in The Eaglet.

During foreign tours, the actress earned fabulous fees, but her extremely extravagant lifestyle and sympathetic heart reduced her income to nothing. Social receptions, chic outfits (including stage ones), banquets with the most exquisite dishes for guests (she herself ate very little) alternated with comradely help to distressed artists. In 1904, Sara, together with Enrico Caruso, gave a number of charity concerts to help Russian soldiers wounded during the war with Japan. During the First World War, Bernard, after amputation of her leg, performed at the front, and on the trip she was accompanied by the famous French general Ferdinand Foch. Her mercy extended to our smaller brothers. One cold winter, Sarah bought two thousand francs of bread to feed the hungry Parisian sparrows.

Bernard loved animals immensely; there was a real zoo in the house and garden. Dumas the son recalled how one day a puma met him instead of his mistress and chewed his straw hat, and then a large cockatoo parrot flew in, sat on his shoulder and began pecking at buttons. Sarah returned from her first tour in England with a “very funny cheetah,” a snow-white wolfhound, six lizards and a chameleon. She really wanted to use the money she received from selling her sculptures and paintings to buy two lion cubs. But I had to settle for the cheetah. Considering that the house was inhabited by four dogs, a boa constrictor, falcons and a monkey, this menagerie could successfully sell tickets. But Sarah was not mercantile - friends and neighbors received this pleasure for free.

The energy from the actress’s fragile body was in full swing. Her own troupe was not enough for her; she dreamed of her own theater. In 1898, the Sarah Bernhardt Theater opened on Place Chatelet, which she headed until 1922. The years could not pacify her youthful passion and thirst for life. During one tour of America, 66-year-old Sarah met an American of Dutch origin, Lou Tellegen. He was 35 years younger than his beloved. Their relationship lasted four years, and Tellegen admitted that it was “the most best years"in his life.

Bernard, despite her age, remained the same flirtatious woman, confident in her charm. In one play, her heroine was 38 years old, and her brother was over 40. When she learned that the actor playing him was 50, she exclaimed in horror: “My God, he will be mistaken for my father.” Sarah herself has already turned 76 years old. The great Bernard was young at heart and believed that she looked the part. She was sick so often as a child that doctors said the girl would not live long. After hearing the verdict, Sarah persuaded her mother to buy her a coffin so that she would not be put “in some freak.” This famous mahogany coffin accompanied her even on tour. In it, she learned roles, took pictures, slept, and sometimes invited her fans to make love in this narrow nest. True, not everyone in such a situation was able to prove their masculine strength.

And Bernard had enough strength for everything. After the hot air balloon flight, she wrote a charming short story “Among the Clouds”, then two novels for artists - “The Little Idol” and “The Red Double” and four plays for the theater (“Andrienne Lecouvreur”, “Confession”, “The Heart of a Man” , “Theater on the Field of Honor”). At the age of 54, Bernard became the first great actress who dared to appear on the screens of Paris in the scene of Hamlet's Duel. She didn't like the way she looked on screen. Even skillfully applied makeup in close-up revealed her years (it was not so visible from the stage), and the synchronized sound distorted her still marvelous voice beyond recognition. The next attempt - a film adaptation of the play "Tosca" - was so terrible that Sarah, together with the playwright

V. Sardou got the Film d’art film studio to stop showing the film. After the first failures, Bernard did not want to act in films. But she was forced to do this in order to pay the gambling debts of her beloved son. Creditors kept her in a cruel grip for the rest of her life. And she starred in The Lady of the Camellias and Queen Elizabeth (both 1912). After the worldwide success of these films with her participation, Andrienne Lecouvreur, The French Mothers (1915) and His Best Deed (1916) were released.

The courage of this actress and woman is admirable. While still on tour in 1905, she injured her knee, which was already injured in childhood. The pain tormented her. In 1915, she begs her doctor to amputate her leg: “...If you refuse, I will shoot myself in the knee and then I will force you to do it.” The operation was difficult. The leg was amputated well above the knee. Sarah refused crutches and burned her prosthesis in the fireplace. She was carried onto the stage in an elegant stretcher. Bernard played while sitting, and the viewer saw that there were no limits to her talent and vitality... The motionless body was replaced by hands and expressive, as always, carefully made-up fingers. The voice flowed, captivating with its timbre and rhythm. Sarah subconsciously either speeded up or slowed down the pace. It seemed that the audience was breathing in time with her speech. This small, fragile heroic woman was more worthy of the Legion of Honor (1914) than any man. It has become the national pride of France and its symbol, like the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe.

In 1923, Sarah agreed to play in the film “The Seer,” but a severe attack of uremia interrupted rehearsals. It seemed as if all of Paris had crowded around her house. And the unpredictable Bernard, sensing the approach of death, which doctors predicted for her almost from birth, in her last hours on earth was busy selecting six young beautiful artists. They had to accompany this eternally young, passionate and uniquely talented woman on her final journey. She arranged her departure from life with her characteristic eccentricity and chic. On March 26, 1923, at 8 o’clock in the evening, the doctor opened the window and announced: “Madame Sarah Bernhardt has died…”

Shortly before the First World War, the writer Octave Mirbeau asked the actress when she would stop illuminating her life with the flame of love. Sarah, without hesitation, answered that when she stops breathing. What else could a woman who called herself “one of the greatest mistresses of her century” say?

This text is an introductory fragment.

SARAH We are approaching an era replete with harsh lessons and painful memories. Nicolas is no longer the first dancer of Auxerre, the favorite of Madame Parangon, the beloved of eleven thousand virgins and - to one degree or another - martyrs called Jeannette Rousseau, Marguerite Paris,

Sarah Bernhardt. The goddess blinded by love Sarah Bernhardt was born into a poor Jewish family. Her mother, the beautiful Judith von Hard, fled from Rotterdam, where she lived with her family, to Paris. The woman did not take any savings with her, thinking that it was great

BERNARD, MY COMRADE Camp IV. April 30. Today, as usual, we wake up at 6 o’clock. We take turns getting dressed. Breakfast is perhaps more substantial, to the extent that we can swallow something other than liquids. Radio communication at 8 o'clock, departure scheduled for 8 o'clock 30 minutes. On our shoulders

Henri Bernard Duclos Chekhov, whom his compatriots consider one of the most Russian among Russian writers, seems to us, the French, the closest, the most Western of them. A sense of dignity without a shadow of arrogance, a courageous acceptance of life without a shadow of nihilism,

CHAPTER 2. MARINA AND SARAH BERNARD. TRANSLATOR OF HERACLITUS NILENDER. MEETING WITH ANDREY BELY. MARINA'S LETTER. GOLENISHCHEV'S EGYPTIAN COLLECTION. MARINA AND DAD I studied at home. I don’t remember the teacher in school subjects; an elderly French woman gave me literature lessons: I got carried away

Friend Bernard “You need to meet my friend from the Sorbonne,” Florence Malraux told François Nurisier, whom she met in propaedeutics classes. In 1951, when he was twenty-three, he published his first novel, Gray Water, titled

2006/09/16 Saint Bernard In the Church of Saint Louis, I try to sit so as not to catch the eye of the statue of Bernard of Clairvaux. But I still get caught. Wherever I sit, Saint Bernard finds me everywhere and begins to glare at me from under his brows, squinting slightly

2007/05/04 Saint Bernard - And who is this guy next to the king? Is this his grandfather? Vladka likes to go to church with me. I don’t know what attracts her more - the abundance of children with whom she can meet after the service; the quiet, festive solemnity reigning inside, humbling

Bernard Sarah (b. 1844 - d. 1923) The great French actress who said about herself: “I was one of the greatest mistresses of my century.” The little girl was only nine years old when she, having accepted the challenge of her cousin, tried to jump over a ditch that no one could overcome

Gilbert Sarah Sarah Gilbert plays Dr. Leslie Winkle, an optical physicist and Sheldon's punishment woman who had affairs with both Leonard and Howard. Sarah Gilbert herself has been maintaining for many years romantic relationship with series creator Chuck Lorre, with whom she started

“Sarah” of the McPike Mansion was built by Henry McPike, a house that from 1869 to this day continues to excite lovers of paranormal phenomena and all residents of Alton, Illinois. However, despite the fact that the building was supposed to be guarded

SARAH MALCOLM The first signs of this success appeared when the paintings were painted and the engravings were just beginning to be cut. At that time, William Hogarth's relationship with Thornhill remained very uncertain and strained, and young Mrs. Hogarth, along with her

Great actress wrote an autobiographical book “My Double Life” (1907), but hid a lot in it and did not finish finishing it, especially in the area of ​​her personal life. This book only thickened the mystery around the Sarah Bernhardt phenomenon.

What is known for certain? Sarah Bernhardt was born on October 22, 1844 in Paris. Her mother is Dutch Jewish Judith Hart, a musician who actually led the life of a beautiful kept woman. Sarah's father is listed as engineer Edouard Bernard, although some researchers believe that the father was a certain Morel, an officer in the French navy. However, Sarah Bernhardt, having become a mother herself, carefully hid from whom she gave birth to her son Maurice.

Sarah received her upbringing in a monastery, but never mastered obedience: she grew up hot-tempered, stubborn, a real imp. But when the time came to go beyond the fence, Sarah felt as if she had been thrown into the sea. And she can't swim...

The girl's fate was determined by her mother's next employer, Count de Morny: he decided to send Sarah to the conservatory. So “Mop” (nickname of Sarah Bernhardt) appeared in public, became, to put it modern language, a public person. Well, and then the theater, which she had long dreamed of. The director of the Comédie Française expressed doubt: “She’s too skinny to become an actress!” Nevertheless, Sarah Bernhardt was accepted, and at the age of 18 she made her debut in Racine’s tragedy “Iphigenie in Aulis”. This happened on September 1, 1862.

“When the curtain slowly began to rise, I thought I was going to faint,” Bernard recalled. Regarding her first appearance, the critics’ opinion was as follows: “The young actress was as beautiful as she was just as inexpressive...” Everyone was captivated only by the golden mass of fluffy hair.

An unsuccessful debut did not break Sarah; it was not for nothing that her motto was the words: “At any cost.” She had a steely character and extraordinary courage. She left the House of Molière and played at the Gymnaz, Port Saint-Martin, and Odeon theaters to return to the Comédie Française as a prima donna in all the splendor of acting. She wonderfully played young heroines in the classical repertoire - Phaedra, Andromache, Desdemona, Zaire, and then began to shine in plays by modern playwrights. One of the best roles of Sarah Bernhardt is Marguerite Gautier (“The Lady of the Camellias” by Alexandre Dumas the Son).

Madam! “You were charming in your greatness,” said Victor Hugo. - You have excited me, an old fighter. I started crying. I give you the tear that you pulled from my chest, and I bow before you.

The tear was not figurative, but diamond, and it was crowned with a chain bracelet. By the way, there were quite a few diamonds given to Sarah Bernhardt. She loved jewelry and did not part with it during her travels and tours. And to protect the jewelry, she took a pistol with her on the road. "Man is such strange creature“that this tiny and absurdly useless thing seems to me to be reliable protection,” the actress once explained her passion for firearms.

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It's interesting that few actresses have played so many male roles as Sarah Bernhardt - Werther, Zanetto, Lorenzaccio, Hamlet, Little Eaglet... In the role of Hamlet, Sarah Bernhardt captivated Stanislavsky himself. And the actress played the 20-year-old Eaglet, the unfortunate son of Napoleon Bonaparte, when she was 56! The premiere of Edmond Rostand's heroic drama took place in March 1900 with resounding success - 30 encores!..

Stanislavsky considered Sarah Bernhardt an example of technical perfection: a beautiful voice, polished diction, plasticity, artistic taste. Theater connoisseur Prince Sergei Volkonsky highly appreciated Sarah Bernhardt's stagecraft: “She perfectly mastered the polarity of experiences - from joy to grief, from happiness to horror, from affection to rage - the finest nuance of human feelings. And then - “the famous talk, the famous whisper, the famous growl, the famous “golden voice” - la voix d’or,” Volkonsky noted. - The last stage of skill is her explosions... How she knew how to lower herself in order to jump up, gather herself in order to rush; how she knew how to take aim, crawl up to burst. The same thing is in her facial expressions: what a skill from barely noticeable inception to the highest scope..."

Newspaper articles describing Sarah Bernhardt's tour of America and Europe sometimes resembled reports from the theater of war. Advances and sieges. Triumphs and defeats. Delights and lamentations. The name of Sarah Bernhardt in the world news often replaced economic and government crises. First Sarah Bernhardt, and only then conflicts, disasters and other incidents of the day. On her trips, she was invariably accompanied by a retinue of reporters. Public and religious organizations treated her differently: some sang her glory, and some blasphemed her. Many in America considered her visit “an invasion of a damned snake, a fiend of French Babylon, arriving with the goal of pouring poison into pure American morals.”

In Russia, they were waiting with interest for the “new Napoleon in a skirt,” who had already conquered all of America and Europe and was heading straight to Moscow. “Moskovskie Vedomosti” wrote: “The greats of the world showered this fairy-tale princess with honors that neither Michelangelo nor Beethoven probably ever dreamed of…” Why be surprised? Sarah Bernhardt was essentially the world's first superstar.

Sarah Bernhardt visited Russia three times - in 1881, 1898 and 1908. It was a huge success, although there were critics, including Turgenev. In a letter to Polonskaya in December 1881, he wrote: “I cannot say how angry I am with all the madness being committed about Sarah Bernhardt, this arrogant and distorted poufist, this mediocrity, who only has a lovely voice. Is it really possible that no one will tell her the truth in print?..”

What can I say about this? Turgenev's heart was completely captivated by Pauline Viardot, and there was not even a tiny corner left for Sarah Bernhardt. However, Ivan Sergeevich’s negative emotions could not overshadow Bernard’s glory. Great - she is great, even if someone does not think so.

But the stage is one thing, and life outside it is something else. Sergei Volkonsky believed that Sarah Bernhardt, outside the theater, “is an antics, she is all artificial... A tuft of red hair in front, a tuft of red hair in the back, unnaturally red lips, a powdered face, all lined up like a mask; amazing flexibility of figure, dressed like no one else - she was all “in her own way”, she herself was Sarah, and everything on her, around her smacked of Sarah. She created more than just roles - she created herself, her image, her silhouette, her type...”

She was the first superstar, hence the advertising of her name: perfume, soap, gloves, powder - “Sarah Bernhardt”. She had two husbands: one was a prince from an ancient French family, the second was an actor from Greece, unusually handsome man. But Sarah Bernhardt's main passion was theater. She lived by it, was inspired by it. She didn't want to be a thing, a toy in her hands powerful of the world This - she was engaged in painting, sculpture, and wrote funny novels and funny plays. She ventured into the sky in Giffard’s balloon, where at an altitude of 2,300 meters the daredevils “had a hearty dinner of goose liver, fresh bread and oranges. The champagne cork saluted the sky with a muffled noise..."

Sarah Bernhardt was often compared to Joan of Arc. Considered a witch. It was she who prompted Emile Zola to stand up for poor Captain Dreyfus. Her apartment was in chaos: carpets, blankets, ottomans, trinkets and other items were scattered everywhere. Dogs, monkeys and even snakes were spinning under our feet. There were skeletons in the actress’s bedroom, and she herself liked to learn some roles, reclining in a coffin upholstered in white crepe. Shocking? Without a doubt. She loved scandals and showed the world her special charms. She wrote about herself like this: “I really love it when people visit me, but I hate visiting. I love receiving letters, reading them, commenting on them; but I don’t like answering them. I hate places where people walk and love deserted roads and secluded corners. I like to give advice and I really don’t like it when they give it to me.”

Jules Renard noted: “Sarah has a rule: never think about tomorrow. Tomorrow - come what may, even death. She takes advantage of every moment... She swallows life. What an unpleasant gluttony!..”

The word “gluttony” clearly conveys envy of Sarah Bernhardt’s success. Yes she lived life to the fullest, excitedly, and even after her leg was amputated in 1914. Dejection was never her lot. Sarah Bernhardt died on March 26, 1923, at the age of 79. Almost all of Paris came to the funeral of the “queen of the theater.” Tens of thousands of admirers of her talent followed the rosewood coffin across the city - from Malesherbes Boulevard to the Père Lachaise cemetery. Sarah Bernhardt's final journey was literally strewn with camellias - her favorite flowers.

“Sarah Bernhardt, an actress of almost legendary fame and fame, has died. There were many exaggerations in judgments about Sarah Bernhardt - in one direction and in the other, - one of the best Russian critics, Alexander Kugel, wrote in his obituary. - Of the thousand theatrical dreams, more or less rapturous, that I have had, the dream of Sarah Bernhardt -

one of the most original and complexly entertaining.”

With the words “By all means,” she, together with one of her friends who came to her aid, dragged the half-dead old woman from the burning house. In a semi-fainting state, finishing the last scenes of Racine's Phèdre, she took flights in a hot air balloon or descended into Brittany along a steep cliff, skinning her elbows and touching her feet to the raging sea.

“Life always puts a period, and I change it to a comma”

Sarah Bernhardt

„And Moscow reared up...“Antosha Chekhonte wrote in 1881 in a feuilleton about Sarah Bernhardt’s first visit to Russia. There is a lot of open banter, but little truth. So what if he's a classic! He has his own, very characteristic, vector set and reasons to dislike women, but that’s not what we’re talking about today.

At that time, no one in Russia saw actress Sarah Bernhardt on stage, with the exception of a couple of Russian aristocrats and accredited diplomats. Moreover, Mr. Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev, who traveled around after his beloved Pauline Viardot, but never decided, anally, to take bolder actions, spoke impartially about the French actress in a letter to Polonskaya: “ I can’t tell you how angry I am with all the madness being committed about Sarah Bernhardt, this arrogant and twisted poufist, this mediocrity, who only has a lovely voice. Is it really possible that no one will tell her the truth in print?..»

It’s funny that Mr. Turgenev himself could not tell the “truth in print” - did he not want to or was he afraid? Was he afraid that the French wouldn’t forgive him for this? After all, he himself spent half his life abroad and even wrote in a Western style, using a large number of verbs in the passive form. Didn't you pay attention? Read more carefully.

It is not proper for a nobleman or a writer to speak about a woman in such terms. He, of course, has all of Pauline Viardot White light eclipsed: pure, respectable, with maternal instincts, etc.

Yes, it is understandable why our Russian writers have such an attitude towards a free, uninhibited and free woman, like Sarah Bernhardt. It will give them 100 points ahead both in matters of creativity and independent behavior. Actress Sarah Bernhardt was also an artist, sculptor, designed and created costumes, wrote short stories and... remained free.

Surprisingly, the urethral actress was drawn to. She had some special relationship with this distant, cold country. Later, every 10 years she came there on tour and, who knows, if the Russian Revolution had not happened, she would have visited Moscow, St. Petersburg, Odessa... again. What attracted her to Russia? The breadth of the Russian steppes, the Russian open space? After all, she wrote in her memoirs that she loves large open spaces and the sea, but forests and mountains overwhelm her and make her feel short of air.

If you look at the biography of Sarah Bernhardt through the prism of system-vector psychology, you will notice that every action is absolutely justified by the characteristics of her natural vectors.

Restless disposition, lack of fear of danger, internal determination to achieve goals "Through thick and thin" helped her survive many times. When, under bullets on the battlefield, she picked up wounded French soldiers, delivering them to the Odeon theater, which she turned into a hospital, in Paris besieged by the Germans. Few of the men then decided to stay in the shelled and occupied city. But not 26-year-old Sarah Bernhardt, for whom, as for “the urethral leader, the integrity of the pack was above her own life” and all the sorrows of war - hunger, devastation, shelling, losses of loved ones, friends, she shared with ordinary Parisians, without wanting to many of her friends, fellow actors and relatives had to evacuate.

But thanks to them, she received medicine, food and clothing for the wounded from different regions of France and Holland. Her great love for humanity did not allow her to leave a wounded man on the threshold of the theater-hospital. German soldier. After surviving the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871. she became a pacifist and hated any manifestations of militarism.

With the words “By all means,” she, together with one of her friends who came to her aid, dragged the half-dead old woman from the burning house.

“By all means,” in a half-fainting state, finishing the last scenes of Racine’s “Phaedre,” she took flights in a hot air balloon or descended into Brittany along a steep cliff, skinning her elbows and touching her feet to the raging sea.

Like all urethral children, she grew up with so many fractures and injuries that one can only be surprised at the strength of vitality that seethed in this frail girl.

Her thin, frail body, exhausted by endless childhood illnesses, demanded more and more new sensations, not only of a physical nature, but also emotional swings in fear, combined with fearlessness. Like any urethral individual, Sarah's natural sense of pack unity has manifested itself since childhood - from helping the girls living with her in the monastery to rescuing a drowning friend. “This girl is the best we have,” the abbess of the monastery, to whom Sarah caused a lot of trouble, said about her.

Later, her generosity was expressed in supporting young actors, artists, writers and poets, which Primas rarely do, fearing competition.

The combination of the urethral vector and made itself felt in some special form: either mysticism and timidity, or flirting with God. She challenges the most important thing - Him, Our Lord, whom she loved so much in her youth and whose bride, if the “home council” had not intervened in time, she was going to become.

In her youth, Sarah believed so much that she was preparing to become a nun, and if not for a severe cold and severe stress, due to which she was taken from the monastery, the world could have lost the Great Actress.

The fear for her health instilled in her from early childhood led to one of the strange habits of sleeping in a coffin upholstered in white crepe. Throughout Europe, not without the help of the journalistic fraternity, rumors spread that the coffin had become her usual abode, in which she indulged in sexual pleasures and crowds of curious people flocked to her performances, wanting to take at least one look at the exalted lady. A star always has two categories of fans. Some are interested in her work, others - in her personal life. Sarah was no exception. One day, a manicurist who came to see Bernard saw her in a coffin, working on a role, and called all of Paris about it.

The newspapermen took advantage of the actress’s extravagant prank, and her envious colleagues from the Comedy Française added poison to it, adding a couple more piquant details that are not alien to the actor’s imagination. As a result, the news was inflated to a global scale, reaching Russia and America. There are many similar curiosities in the biography of Sarah Bernhardt. In reality, everything was simpler.

After the already mentioned fire started by the maid, in which all her things were destroyed - furniture, books, paintings, clothes, but, by the way, her son Maurice and the old woman were saved by her, Sarah moved into a small apartment with a tiny bedroom, the entire space of which was occupied a large bed. She lost it to her younger sister, who was sick with consumption and died six months later. The apartment was so tiny that there was no room for a second bed, so the small, fragile actress slept in a coffin.

It is possible that in childhood, being an impressionable and mystical-minded girl, she decided for herself that a pre-prepared coffin would be a kind of guarantee of longevity for her. Visual people, in their fears, are able to come up with the most incredible rituals, amulets, and talismans. In general, due to poor health, the actress spent a lot of time in bed, that is, in a coffin, reading and working on some roles.

“Some roles”, but not all! Now no one will say which ones exactly, but most likely, for these “certain roles” Sarah Bernhardt needed her emotional overwhelms, which were described above, “driving” her into a state of fear. Actress Sarah Bernhardt performed in, perhaps, all the most famous tragedies, rewritten by French classics from ancient stories.

Her heroines were sacrificed, burned at the stake, and they left, taking their own lives. Such roles require an actor's vision, extreme mental tension, when the nerves are stretched like a string.

As a skin-visual person, she could not deny herself the pleasure and professional necessity of rocking. She needed jumps in emotional amplitudes, because they formed the inner flexibility of the actress. Genuine emotional states, into which the actor enters when he finds himself on stage, help him immerse himself in the given proposed circumstances during rehearsals and at performances. When this is successful, they say about the performer: “He’s on fire today.”

A unique acting technique that gives the performer the opportunity to enter the desired state and strike the right note for the role.

Knipper-Chekhova had her own way. Before the start of the play “Three Sisters,” in which she played Masha, Olga Leonardovna soaked a handkerchief with perfume given to her by Anton Pavlovich. The flooding memories of her deceased playwright husband tuned her to the exact wave of the role. Such tricks are known to any actor from his student days. Stanislavsky called this method “decoys” and taught actors to use them.

For Sarah Bernhardt, they were somewhat sacred in nature.

The ability to correctly sense these states, form them, accurately direct them and give the desired message, verbalizing them in the words of a playwright, is usually called natural talent.

It is believed that you either have talent or you don’t. Sometimes they say: “This actress is of average talent.” This is fundamentally wrong. If we consider such an acting nature, based on the knowledge of system-vector psychology of Yuri Burlan, we can say that an actress of this kind is “hampered” by other natural vectors that slow down her emotional surges. They seem to calm down these passions, transferring them to the level of the mind, allowing her to play the role judiciously, with restraint, in the absence of emotional outbursts. In art this is called individuality, style.

Alla Demidova is one of these actresses; she herself admitted that even as a student, teachers called her “buttoned up.” This does not mean that this category of actresses is not talented, they are just different, they have their own fans and their own repertoire. These actresses and actors can leave someone indifferent and indifferent. It is customary to understand them with the head, and not with the heart, sincerely empathizing with them on stage and in life.

There were no indifferent people towards Sarah Bernhardt. Her whole life was spent at the highest emotional level. She created inconvenience to everyone who was nearby with her explosive rebellious character: and when, in a fit of rage, as a very little girl, she thrashed, scratched and bit a nun with her hands and feet, who carelessly, with bitterness, reacted to combing Sarah’s unruly curls, causing her severe pain; and later, having become a famous actress, in a fit of no less rage, she lashed with a whip, given to her by the Marshal of France (wow gifts for ladies!), a failed actress-scribbler, who allowed herself to publish a vile book about the personal life of the Great Bernard, who tried at least in this way to become famous and bask in the rays of someone else's glory.

Despite the complexity of her character, as a child Sarah was loved by the adults around her. Not knowing the real reasons for her hyperactivity, as it is customary today to define this special temperament of the urethral four-dimensional libido, her parents and educators tried to protect her, noticing that the girl’s outbursts of anger only occur when someone tries to forbid her to do something, thereby “lowering her, the little leader, in rank.” For people with a urethral vector, there are no prohibitions or restrictions in behavior and thinking.

“For the flags” is about them, about the urethral ones. This is when a wolf who has left a limited space, becoming a loner, lives his life at the very peak of obsession with freedom, because he knows that a pack of dogs is following him. Sarah had the same thing. Her passionate nature did not fit into the usual framework of the bourgeois world, and her dogs were theatrical “well-wishers” and eternal newspapermen, who inflated a real behemoth out of the most innocent gossip-fly.

In fact, and in her memoirs she confirms this, from a very early age the girl had a skin-visual strong need for love, that is, which she tried to find with her mother, but she left her with her nurse, traveling throughout Europe. And if she showed feelings for Sarah, it was only during her illness. Who knows, maybe that’s why the girl was sick so much, so that at least in this way she could keep her mother near her. Impressive skin-visual children do this well.

In moments of absence of parental care, when it was transferred to the shoulders of educators and nuns, this need for emotional connection passed on to plants and animals. Later, when she had already become a famous actress, in her house, according to contemporaries, “dogs, monkeys, lion cubs and even snakes were spinning under her feet.”

But the plants died, the animals found owners, the girl friends left with their parents, leaving boarding houses and monasteries, but the Son of God was always here. He could be approached through prayer and this was encouraged rather than punished. This is how Sarah’s emotional connection with Christ developed.

The urethral vector, whose main characteristic is reckless courage, does not feel danger when a small child’s body breaks from the hands of a nanny and plops onto the stone pavement, breaking the child’s fragile bones, or, having climbed out of a high chair, rolls straight into the fireplace, receiving serious burns.

A severe bruise that the actress, while on tour in South America, received due to a careless stagehand during a performance, jumping from a 4-meter height of the scenery into the “painted Tiber”, after 10 years of treatment in all imaginable and inconceivable ways, led to amputation legs. But this is not a reason to leave the stage or abandon love relationships with men whose age she was old enough to be their mother.

Many believed and still believe that the extraordinary behavior of the urethral-cutaneous-visual actress was an expression of shocking behavior. Who was she supposed to shock? In front of an audience that adored her? In front of the men who sought her favor and whom she herself chose?

She had no equal and she had no competitors, because no one could compare with her or copy her on stage and in life.

Shocking is the merit of those who are afraid of losing the viewer and with all their might and the most unpredictable actions strive to attract attention to themselves and keep it.

Sarah, presumably, had a special relationship with Russia. She went on tour to St. Petersburg three times, and during the Russo-Japanese War, together with Enrico Caruso, she held a number of charity concerts, the proceeds from which were sent to help wounded Russian soldiers.

In Russia, Sarah Bernhardt met her future first husband. He served as a Greek diplomat and was 11 years younger than her. The marriage was short. She learned much later that her dissolute husband was a gambler and drug addict. But despite the divorce, Sarah continued to take care of him, especially in the last months of his life, dying from morphine and cocaine.

The second, unofficial husband of Sarah Bernhardt was the Belgian Prince Henri de Ligne. He was going to marry her on the condition that she leave the stage, but, firstly, conditions cannot be set on a urethral woman, and secondly, “neighbor-kings came running here,” the scandal was hushed up, and then 20-year-old Sarah had a son, Maurice . Later, Prince Henri wanted to give him his name, but now his son refuses to become an aristocrat.

Urethral women, just like men, are leaders by nature, as shown by the system-vector psychology of Yuri Burlan. Under certain conditions for the formation of urethral girls, they begin to imitate the behavior of male urethral individuals. This manifests itself in wearing men's clothing and hairstyle. With a “suppressed” urethral vector, i.e., a girl beaten in childhood by her anal father enters into a lesbian relationship with the skin-visual, thereby once again confirming his rank and natural leadership.

Women with a normally developed urethral vector enter into relationships with skin-visual men, as a rule, much younger than themselves. There are many such examples in history: Catherine II, Georges Sand and Chopin; on Russian stage and in world cinema: - Kirkorov - Galkin, Lolita, Babkina, Alla Bayanova, Galina Brezhneva, Angelina Jolie - Brad Pitt, Madonna...

This also includes Sarah Bernhardt, who played on stage and even in cinema, which was at the dawn of its development, a number of male roles: Werther, Zanetto, Lorenzaccio, Eaglet... In the role of Hamlet, the actress captivated Stanislavsky himself.

The actress “had no” age - she played Margarita in “The Lady of the Camellias” at 68 years old, just as she played a very old woman at 28. Her mastery of transformation was so great that there were legends about it.

The entire life of actress Sarah Bernhardt was shrouded in legends, as befits a person who is extraordinarily talented, free, and has her own independent civic position, which, oddly enough, both Turgenev and Chekhov forgot to mention, fixating on gossip and slander gleaned from the foreign tabloid press. greedy for sensations.

If you are interested in systemic psychological analysis famous personalities, you can master the skills for independent analysis of the properties of any person at the training on System-Vector Psychology by Yuri Burlan. You can register for free online lectures using the link:

The article was written based on training materials “ System-vector psychology»

Sarah Bernhardt, a phenomenal actress, the first superstar in history, who illuminated countries and continents around the world for several decades, was born in Paris on October 22, 1844. Sarah's mother, Jewish Judith (according to other sources, Judith), grew up in the family of Moritz Baruch Bernardt and Sarah Hirsch. As for the father of the great actress, it is not possible to reliably trace his name and origin.

Sarah Bernhardt, whose biography contains pages of very different kinds, grew up under the supervision of governesses, since her mother did not have a profession and was forced to exist at the expense of rich admirers of female beauty. The life of a beautiful kept woman usually involves long trips. A woman does not belong to herself, as she is obliged to fulfill the terms of an unspoken contract. Thus, little Sarah remained in the care of slovenly nannies and grew up in an atmosphere of relative prosperity, but without

Troubled childhood

One day a misfortune happened to a girl. The next nanny did not follow, Sarah came too close to the burning fireplace, and her dress caught fire. The neighbors came running to the child’s screams, and everything worked out, although the girl was scared to death. Judith, having learned about what had happened, decided not to leave her daughter anymore. Since then, Sarah lived with her mother. Fortunately, during that period Judith had a constant admirer, Count De Morny, who was a sincere person. He sincerely loved the courtesan and therefore began to take part in the fate of her daughter.

"Comédie Française"

When Sarah was 9 years old, she was sent to the private privileged school Grandchamps. De Morny made sure that the girl received an education and did not need for anything. The life of the future actress began to take on quite definite outlines. She completed her studies and decided to achieve her cherished dream - to become an artist. And again she was helped in this by a family friend, Count De Morny, who took eighteen-year-old Sarah Bernhardt to the director of the Comédie Française theater. He was somewhat puzzled: “Too thin for the stage,” he said. However, Sarah Bernhardt, whose biography then opened a new page, was accepted into the troupe, and this became a great happiness for the girl.

Theatrical debut

Sarah Bernhardt's theatrical debut took place on September 1, 1862 in a play by playwright Jean Baptiste Racine. Before going on stage, the actress was nervous. As the curtain began to slowly rise, Sarah almost fainted. The girl was literally shaking with excitement, and it is not surprising that critics unanimously praised the actress for her beautiful appearance and gave her a “D” for her acting skills. “From now on, the theatrical public of Paris can come to admire Sarah Bernhardt’s voluminous golden hair, but nothing more,” the newspapers wrote.

Popularity

However, negative reviews are also reviews. In addition, theater critics did not take into account the iron character of the aspiring actress. After some time, Sarah left the Comedy Française and began playing first roles in other theaters. These were "Odeon", "Gymnasium", "Port Saint-Martin". Each performance in which the actress participated became a masterpiece of stage art. The public flocked to Sarah Bernhardt, and the director of the Comedy Française, however, having played almost all the classic roles, Zaire, Desdemona, Phaedra, Andromache and many others, Bernard returned to the House of Moliere as a prima donna, where she was received with open arms.

Sarah Bernhardt and diamonds

Actress in Once again shocked the theater audience by playing Marguerite Gautier in the play “Lady of the Camellias” by Alexandre Dumas the Son. Writer Victor Hugo, shocked by Sarah Bernhardt's sincerity, gave her tear-shaped diamonds on a gold chain. “These are the tears of my soul,” he said. The actress kept the necklace for a long time as the most expensive gift, as an invaluable recognition of her talent. Sarah Bernhardt loved jewelry as a true woman loves it; she worshiped diamonds. The actress’s admirers knew this and shamelessly took advantage of Sarah’s weakness, showering her with gifts of fabulous prices.

Bernard never left her jewelry at home when she had to go on tour. All diamonds were packed in a durable case and followed their owner everywhere. At the same time, Sarah Bernhardt did not feel peace of mind; she was afraid of attack and robbery. And in order to resist robbers, this weak woman always carried a small ladies' revolver with her. A little later, in the twentieth century, Sarah Bernhardt had a follower. It was the world-famous and beloved Consuela Velazquez, the author of the song “Besame mucho”, over which time has no power. Consuela took with her all over the world both jewelry and money, and there was a lot of it.

Male roles

The revolver in Sarah Bernhardt's travel bag indirectly spoke of her strong masculine character. These signs of gender, in in a good way, were reflected in the actress’s work. She played many male roles, including Hamlet, Little Eaglet, Werther, Lorenzaccio, Zanetto.

It must be said that Hamlet, performed by Bernard, captivated Stanislavsky himself, who at that time was still a very young man, but already understood a lot about Konstantin Sergeevich, who would also probably have given the actress diamonds if he had them.

Later, Stanislavsky more than once noted Sarah Bernhardt as the standard of perfection, her naturally trained voice, impeccable diction, internal culture and, most importantly, deep understanding of the character.

And indeed, the actress possessed the widest palette of human feelings; there was no such manifestation of the female soul (and sometimes the male one) that Bernard could not embody in the image of her character. Organic transitions from grief to joy, from tenderness to rage - this is the true skill of the artist. Actress Sarah Bernhardt played in such a way that Stanislavsky could only say his famous “I believe...”

This woman’s “talk,” her “whisper,” her ability to “stoop down to rush,” “crawl to burst out”—this was not just the talent of a great actress, it was a tremendous gift from God. Sarah Bernhardt, whose photos never left the pages of newspapers and magazines, could not take a step; she was besieged by fans from all sides. Articles in newspapers dedicated to tours around European countries, and later across America, were similar to messages from the front during the war, the same style, the same terms - “The theater is under siege,” “This is a victory, the critics are disgraced,” “Napoleon did not know such a triumph.” Often, materials about the famous theater diva replaced government messages and important economic reports. Sarah Bernhardt, an actress and popular favorite, was always surrounded by reporters, in a tight ring of the writing fraternity, and she could not get used to it.

Fans

Advertising contracts took up a lot of the superstar’s time. Perfume and soap, gloves and powder - all expensive perfume items bore the name of Sarah Bernhardt. But what is characteristic is that she was never an idol. She was idolized, revered, loved and extolled in every possible way, but there was no idolatry. People felt the open soul of the actress, her friendliness and responded to her in kind. Unlike her mother, Sarah distanced herself from wealthy men who would like to get closer to her.

Sarah Bernhardt, short biography which contains several pages devoted to her home life, she led a kind of double existence. Returning from the theater and crossing the threshold of her apartment, the actress left the great art outside and plunged into her personal space.

home furnishings

The actress created her own little world at home. She painted pictures, sculpted sculptures, wrote short stories and funny plays. Sarah Bernhardt's house was full of all kinds of living creatures, dogs and cats got underfoot, snakes crawled everywhere. One day she bought a real coffin, upholstered in snow-white silk, and almost began to live in it. Lying in a coffin, I learned my roles and drank coffee. And, as the actress said, she felt great in it. Such antics could be called shocking, but the fact is that Sarah Bernhardt did not try to impress for the sake of impression. She really felt comfortable in the coffin, but she considered it immoral to step on the tails of cats lying everywhere and tried to avoid them.

Actress about herself

The actress once realized her penchant for extreme sports by taking to the skies in a balloon in the company of close friends. The wind pretty much battered the air travelers, many had already begun to pray for forgiveness, and Sarah Bernhardt drank champagne and leaned out waist-deep overboard. “I love it when guests come to me,” said the actress, “but I don’t like to visit myself. I love receiving letters, but no force will force me to write an answer. I really like to give advice, but I hate it when people advise me about something.” . She never thought about what would happen tomorrow and forgot about what happened yesterday. If tomorrow you are destined to die - so what? Just think...

Juliet

Time has not been kind to the famous actress, but in her old age she still looked like the girl Sarah. Modern critics admired the brilliant Bernard; there was a joke: “Sarah Bernhardt is Juliet Capulet. If a 70-year-old actress plays Shakespeare’s 13-year-old heroine, the entire theater world will believe and cry.” And this is not a joke, this could very well happen and happen.

Sarah Bernhardt, whose quotes from her sayings, roles and interviews have been alive for many decades, is unforgettable. The actress's grave at the Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris is always strewn with flowers. Parisians and admirers of the great actress, coming from all over the world, approach the memorial in complete silence to pay their debt to memory.

Sarah Bernhardt's mother was a courtesan and prepared her daughter for this profession, but the girl refused this role, although she considered it very profitable. Doctors gave little Sarah a terrible verdict - tuberculosis. Then the girl persuaded her mother to buy her a mahogany coffin so that she would not be put in some kind of “freak”. This coffin accompanied her, already an adult woman, on all trips. Sometimes she slept in this coffin, posed for photographers in it, and sometimes made love, which, however, rarely encouraged men; there were failures.

Perhaps this fear of death forced her to give her all to every role, sometimes when the curtain fell, Sarah fainted. Maybe this fear initiated a frantic thirst for life, this desire for eternal sex.

Her mother’s fans provided her with an acting education and career; the Duke de Morny enrolled the girl in a conservatory; the author of “The Three Musketeers” himself prepared the girl for the exams. However, despite all efforts, the debut was not successful. Sarah was short and thin, with small breasts and flat hips. Detractors called her a “finely polished skeleton.” But the wonderful sea-green eyes, the unique timbre of the voice and complete dedication in each role won the hearts of the audience.

When she was 20 years old, during a tour in Belgium, one of the main meetings in her life took place. The young Duke Henri de Ligne fell in love at first sight and went to Paris for her. And although Sarah’s love experience at that time was more theoretical, her previous lover, Count de Quératry, was more interested in himself, but natural ardor and practical observations in the house of her courtesan mother helped Sarah open up herself and reveal her beloved. The romance was so stormy and impetuous that the Duke was even ready to get married, but on one condition - Sarah must leave the theater forever.

At this time, a scandal was brewing in Henri's family in Brussels. An unknown actress from a courtesan family bewitched their son, the Duke. Henri was given a condition - either you stay with your actress, or a complete break with the family and disinheritance. This did not frighten Henri himself, but Sarah understood that sooner or later this would break her beloved. She musters all her will to break up with her beloved, for his own good. At this turning point in her life, she sacrificed not only her love, but also the name of her son, who was born a few months after the breakup - on December 22, 1864. “The Lady of the Camellias” becomes life embodied on stage. And personal tragedy makes Sarah Bernhardt a great actress. In any case, according to the chronology, this is exactly how it turns out. Success follows success. A few years later, Sarah Bernhardt was recognized as a star of the first magnitude.

Sarah's theatrical partners usually became her lovers, but these affairs lasted only until the end of the production of a particular play. Sarah was a passionate lover, she could flare up with passion at any time and anywhere, but she never gave herself completely without reserve. Mother's school. She gave all of herself only to the role. There were many roles, many men who remained true friends even after the production. It so happened that fate brought Sarah and Pierre Barton together in two performances - “Theodora” and “Tosca”. And they were so illuminated by the feeling that gripped them that “they could have illuminated the streets of London.” But her best partner on stage, and therefore in life, was Jean-Mounet Sully - half a dozen plays. They were simply called a “couple”, without even naming their names, and the appearance of a “couple” on a theater playbill guaranteed a full house and success. The public is always happy to see the sincere performance of actors, which, it seems, is no longer a game.

Sarah Bernhardt was exotic, provocative, shocking. She had a quick temperament, but just as she emphasized her thinness with clothes, so, armed with a whip, it happened that she brought her wildness to the point of frenzied grace. Crowds of men were in love with her intelligence and exotic aura.

There is evidence that Sarah had a very close relationship with the Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VII) and the nephew of Emperor Napoleon; she was showered with gifts by the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph, the King of Spain Alfonso, the Russian Emperor Alexander III and the King of Italy Umberto, the Danish King gave her his yacht at her full disposal, and Duke Frederick gave her the family castle. Sarah herself modestly wrote about herself that she was “one of the greatest mistresses of her time.”

She loved to take risks and enjoyed it. So, during the Paris exhibition of 1878, Bernard rose into the air every day in Mr. Giffard’s tethered balloon. Then, together with the scientist, she made an air trip; the balloon rose to a height of 2600 meters from the ground.

In 1882, in St. Petersburg, Sarah experienced the most ardent love story, which finally ended in her marriage. The object of Sarah's passion was the Greek diplomat, the handsome Aristides Jacques Damalla, who was 11 years younger than her. He left his service, his career, his homeland and joined the troupe of his favorite actress. Sarah, who was in love, considered him a genius. Aristides took on the proposed role, but achieved nothing other than success with young actresses. To assert himself, he boasted to Sarah about his victories on the intimate front and received great satisfaction if he managed to publicly humiliate the great actress. In general, something between Casanova and the Marquis de Sade. The man is not very smart, he got carried away and became a drug addict and gambler. And this is no longer acting work. There are bigger stakes here. They divorced, but when Arstidis was dying from morphine, in the last months Sarah carefully looked after her ex-husband and already worthless lover.

In general, she loved both people and animals very much. One cold winter, Sarah spent her last two thousand francs buying bread for the city sparrows. And during the Franco-Prussian War, she turned her theater into a hospital, which she both directed and served as a nurse.

Sarah with her granddaughter

Sarah Bernhardt also played many male roles. The role of Napoleon's son in Rostand's play "The Eaglet" brought her resounding success. In March 1900, when Sarah Bernhardt played the role of a twenty-year-old youth, she herself was already 56 years old. The actress’s performance was so brilliant that the enthusiastic audience called Sarah Bernhardt for an encore 30 (!) times.

She chose roles that did not suit her age or gender - and played them with incredible success. She played Hamlet - unprecedented courage!

At the age of 66, during a tour of America, Sarah Bernhardt met Lou Tellegen, who was 35 years younger than her. Their love affair lasted more than four years. In his old age, this man admitted that the years with Sarah Bernhardt were the best years of his life.

Lou Tellegen, Sarah Bernhardt's last lover

Her son Maurice became addicted to gambling and lost considerable sums - they say that Bernard stayed on stage for so many years because she constantly needed money.

She wore her makeup in a very unique way. It was from her that French actresses adopted the habit of heavily painting their ears to highlight the pallor of their faces. She made up a lot of things that were not customary to make up, like the tips of her fingers, which she painted, and then the play of her fingers acquired a special picturesque quality.

Sarah Bernhardt played 13-year-old Juliet at 70 years old.

On January 8, 1914, Sarah Bernhardt was awarded the Legion of Honor for her service at the front during the First World War. And with a serious leg injury! In 1905, while on tour in Rio de Janeiro, Sarah had a bad fall and injured her leg. On February 23, 1915, the leg had to be amputated. Having become disabled, Bernard did not leave the theater. Her repertoire included short one-act plays and individual scenes in which she could act while standing in one place, or in which she was carried onto the stage on a special stretcher, as in the role of Queen Atalia. Yes... there were actresses in their time!!!

Left with one leg, she, contrary to all expectations, did not retire: Bernard gave up her crutches, burned her prosthesis in the fireplace - and continued to play on stage! Of course, she could only sit on stage, but the expressiveness of her face, her hands, and her fantastic voice made up for the lack of mobility. Even crippled, plump and old, Sarah Bernhardt remained the greatest actress.

Sarah in last years

When the Great Actress and Lover died, she was 78 years old, her last order was to choose the six most beautiful young actors who would carry her coffin. When asked when she was going to stop lighting her life with the flame of love, Sarah Bernhardt answered: when I stop breathing. What could be more reasonable? On March 26, 1923, Sarah Bernhardt died of uremia after kidney failure.

Funeral of Sarah Bernhardt

This is such eccentricity, until the very end of life.

Filmography

Year		Russian name	original name	Role
	f	Hamlet's Duel	Le duel d'Hamlet	Hamlet
	f	Queen Elizabeth	Les Amours de la reine Elisabeth	Queen Elizabeth I
	f	Lady with camellias	La Dame aux camelias	Marguerite Gautier
	f	Adriana Lecouvreur	Adrienne Lecouvreur	Adriana Lecouvreur
	f	Jeanne Doré	Jeanne Doré	Jeanne Doré
	f	French mothers	Mères françaises
	f	La voyante	La voyant

M. Orazi Sarah Bernhardt

Jules Bastien-Lepage Sarah Bernhardt 1879

Clarine D. Sarah Bernhardt

Clarine D. Sarah Bernhardt ("Queen of the Ruy Blas")

Clarine D. Sarah Bernhardt ("Theodora")

Georg Klaren

Georg Klaren

G. Claren Sarah Bernard in anger

Giovanni Boldini Sarah Bernhardt

Georges Jules Victor Clairin Sarah Bernhardt ,1876

Portrait of Sarah Bernhardt, artist Louise Abbema, 1875

"Ophelia in the Thistle", Georges Clairin, (1843 - 1919). Sarah Bernhardt posed

Louis Abbema

Georges-Jules-Victor Clairin Sarah Bernhardt dans l"Etrangère

Louise Abbéma Portrait of Sarah Bernhardt en tenue de ville

Alphonse Mucha
"Sarah Bernhardt"
1903

The incomparable Sarah Bernhardt... It was she who opened the path to fame for Alphonse Mucha. In 1894, the artist received an order for a poster of “Gismonda” for the performance of this talented actress and one of the most beautiful women in Paris. He really liked the poster, and a 6-year contract was signed with him for cooperation with the Sarah Bernhardt Theater.

Posters for Sarah Bernhardt "Gismonda", "Hamlet", "Lorenzaccio", "Lady of the Camellias", "Samaritan", "Medea"

Art Nouveau jewelry

July 24 is the birthday of the famous Czech artist, one of the founders of the Art Nouveau style, Alphonse Mucha. It was he who became the founder of “modern” jewelry. We offer you 6 of the best jewelry created according to the sketches of Alphonse Mucha both during his lifetime and in our days.

Alphonse Mucha was born in 1860 in the Czech Republic, but his fame as an artist and decorator came to him in Paris. Here he worked at the theater of the great Sarah Bernhardt from 1894 to 1901, creating sketches of scenery and posters. Falling in love with the theater and the inimitable actress pushed Alphonse Mucha to work on jewelry. The artist himself, of course, was not a jeweler. The jewelry was made according to his sketches by the famous Parisian jeweler Georges Fouquet.

1. Bracelet "Rose hands"

The play "Medea" caused a lot of noise in Paris. Some applauded the great Sarah Bernhardt, others considered it unacceptable to appear on stage as main character female child killers. Alphonse Mucha's set design and decorations for this performance evoked no less controversial responses. The public found Medea's bracelet and ring especially ominous - a snake wrapped around the forearm and turning into a ring with a sting. The materials used were gold, opals, rubies, diamonds, and enamel. The artist was reproached for excessive naturalism. But true art connoisseurs understood: the “Rose Hand” bracelet is one of the peaks of Alphonse Mucha’s creativity.

2. Brooch "Orchid"

For the performances “Hamlet” and “Lorenzaccio” Sarah Bernhardt demanded from her artist complete immersion in the atmosphere of the Middle Ages. She needed jewelry from that era - massive, majestic, maybe a little gloomy. Thus, among other things, the “Orchid” brooch was created. Critics of that time argued that it was kitsch - everything was too much in this brooch: the stones were too large, the brooch itself was too flashy. They would be surprised to know that in a hundred years the world's largest museums and private collectors will be fighting for the Orchid.

3. Comb "Butterfly"

Perhaps, one of the few pieces of jewelry, the sketch of which was created not by Alphonse Mucha, the decorator of the Sarah Bernhardt Theater, but by Alphonse Mucha, one of the amazing artists of the Art Nouveau era. The “Butterfly” comb is made in the so-called “floral” style (from the French word floral). Alphonse Mucha admired the beauty of nature, while striving to make it even more beautiful. His butterfly is perfect, his flowers are beautiful. And again, contemporaries reproached the artist for being too “beautiful” and mannered. And the “Butterfly” comb went down in history.

4. Corsage decoration “Winged serpent”

The “Winged Serpent” corsage decoration was created under the influence of Sarah Bernhardt’s ideas about what a medieval woman’s jewelry should look like. The critics were shocked: it was too heavy, the stones - oh, horror! - irregular shape. The list of complaints grew and multiplied, and the prices for jewelry made according to Alphonse Mucha’s sketches grew and grew. Especially after the World Exhibition held in Paris in 1900. There, these decorations created a real sensation. People unfamiliar with the theater and not interested in art in general learned who Alphonse Mucha was thanks to jewelry.

5. FREY WILLE "Sarah Bernhardt"

Alphonse Mucha died in 1939. When we say today that jewelry created according to his sketches has no price, this is not an exaggeration. Almost all of them are in the largest museums and private collections in the world and are not for sale. But in 1951, the Viennese artist Michaela Frey opened her Vienna Manufactory. After Michaela's death, her brainchild became known as FREY WILLE. Today, jewelry created by this brand is known all over the world. They have a very realistic, although not cheap, price. FREY WILLE bracelets, rings, pendants, and earrings are produced in personalized collections dedicated to outstanding artists. Two of them are dedicated to Alphonse Mucha.

The Sarah Bernhardt collection pays tribute to the relationship that connected two great creators - the actress and the artist. It is made in two color ranges: aquamarine with the addition of blue and blue flowers and Burgundy wine with raspberry and pink shades.

6. FREY WILLE "Libushe"

This collection is named after the mythical Czech princess who, according to legend, founded Prague. On a black background there are bright red poppy petals outlined with thin golden lines. On the one hand, this is a tribute to Alphonse Mucha’s passion for the “floral” style, on the other, it is a memory of Slavic motifs in the artist’s work.

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Sarah Bernhardt bracelet. Designer Alfred Mucha

For his works, René Lalique (1860-1945) used simple materials: glass, enamel, silver, ivory, horn, coral, pearls, and occasionally gems. He did not place diamonds on the throne, since he loved stones not for their cost, but for their artistic value. The daring decorations were not immediately accepted by the oversaturated public. Women-dragonflies, butterflies, flowers, snakes, swans...even simple plant seeds and insects inspired the jeweler. In 1884, his work was noticed by the jeweler Fouquet, and in 1890 he began collaborating (there is no other way to put it) with actress Sarah Bernhardt. She became his favorite client and inspiration, ordering jewelry not only for performances, but also for her jewelry box. Theatrical images of Sarah (in the role of either Salome or Cleopatra) in the exquisite silhouettes of his jewelry. Lalique’s most famous work is the “Dragonfly Woman” brooch, which belonged to Bernard. It contains the idea of ​​a dangerous female temptress with wings and golden claws.

ANDY WARHOL.Sarah Bernhardt

J.-L. Jerome Bust of Sarah Bernhardt

One of the most beautiful and fragrant varieties of peonies is named in honor of Sarah Bernhardt.