Sara Bernard. Biography. Sarah Bernhardt (Sarah Bernhardt): biography and creative path of the actress (photo) Sarah Bernhardt personal life
The whole life of the brilliant Sarah Bernhardt can be called a series of roles played. And it's not just the theater stage. Sarah loved to play the roles of seductresses, rebels, brawlers. The public idolized her, accepting the actress in any guise. About the four main roles in the life of the great prima of the late XIX-early XX centuries - later in the review.
Role 1: courtesan's daughter 
Sarah Bernard with her mother Judith Bernard.
The future star of the theater was named Rosin by her mother at birth - like a cute dog that always gets in the way. And that's pretty much how it was. Judith Hart did not want to have children. Her daughter was born from a casual relationship between a courtesan and one of her many lovers.
Charming cutie from Rosin-Sara did not work. She gave a lot of trouble to her nannies. The girl was constantly ill, which is why she often acted up, expressively expressing her feelings. When the doctors said that Sarah might die soon, the girl begged her mother to buy her a coffin, because she was afraid that she would be buried in some ugly box. Then the coffin will become a kind of talisman for the actress, which she will carry everywhere with her, learning roles in it and posing for photographers. 
Sara Bernard. Marie Desire Bourgoin, 1869
When the girl grew up, her mother, wanting to get rid of her, sent her to a boarding school at the Grand Shan monastery. The nuns loved the eccentric and disobedient Sarah, but they could not endure her antics for a long time, fearing that the girl's behavior would have a detrimental effect on the other pupils.
Upon her daughter's return home, Judith decided to marry her off. Sarah immediately threw a tantrum, declaring that it was better to go to the monastery. The mother's lover, the Duke de Morny, who was watching this scene, burst out laughing and offered to send the girl to study acting.
Role 2: actress 
Sarah Bernard after her debut in the theater (1863).
Sarah Bernard dreamed of shining on the stage of the Comedie Francaise theater. As a graduate of the Paris Conservatoire and having good recommendations, she was invited to play one-time roles in the theater. At the agreed time, Sarah came to the director to discuss the details of the work. Her younger sister, Regina, came into the office with her. Sarah took care of her, remembering how she herself was deprived of maternal love. Somehow, a 6-year-old girl began to jump around the room, make noise and scatter paper. In an attempt to pacify the child, the director of the theater received an unexpected answer: “And about you, sir, if you pester me, I will tell everyone that you are a master of making empty promises. This is my aunt talking! 
Sarah Bernard as Grismond. Hood. Clarin Georg Jules Victor.
Sarah had to forget about the Comedie Francaise for a whole year. After a while, she nevertheless appeared on the stage of the theater. Her first performance did not make a splash. At that time, full-bodied actresses were in fashion, and Sarah Bernhardt did not fit these standards at all. The public immediately dubbed her "a well-polished skeleton." And only critic Francis Sarse wrote that this actress has a great future.
In the "Comedy Francaise" Sarah lasted only until the end of the contract. This was again "contributed" by the younger sister. Regina, as always, got under her feet and stepped on the train of the elderly prima of the theater. She pushed the child away, and the girl broke her face. In response, Sarah Bernhardt attacked the actress with her fists. She was not offered to stay after that. 
Sarah Bernhardt is a famous actress of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The next 4 years were difficult in the life of the actress. She changed theaters, countries, men. Not wanting to become a courtesan, the actress got a job in the second most popular theater in Paris, the Odeon. It was there that Sarah Bernhardt became a real star. Famous writers, sculptors, artists bowed before her. Wealthy officials showered Sarah with jewels.
After 10 years, the actress returned to the Comedie Francaise again. Now she played only leading dramatic roles. The audience was delighted. In addition, Sarah Bernhardt did everything to be talked about. Newspapers constantly carried news about the next trick of the outrageous star, whether it was buying a panther, traveling in a hot air balloon, or being interviewed in a coffin. 
Sarah Bernard is a French actress.
From fame and universal adoration, the behavior of Sarah Bernhardt became more and more unpredictable. The audience continued to storm the theater, wanting to see their favorite actress, but the management could no longer endure her antics. In the end, Sarah decides to leave the Comédie Francaise and opens her own theater.
Role 3: mistress 
Portrait of Sarah Bernhardt. Clarine Georg Jules Victor, 1871
Sarah Bernhardt literally drove men crazy with her acting. They wrote that the actress managed to seduce almost all the monarchs of Europe and even the Pope. Sarah herself loved to tell reporters about her next “victory”.
Truly Sarah Bernhardt fell in love with the Belgian prince Henri de Ligne. This feeling was mutual. The prince was even ready to give up his royal privileges in order to marry Sarah. He set her only one condition: his beloved must leave the stage. The actress was already ready to take this step, but she suddenly realized that the prince was giving up much more and in the future he might be disappointed in her. Sarah made a difficult decision and sent the prince away from her. A few months after parting with the prince, she gave birth to a son, Maurice. It was he who became the main love of her life. 
Sarah Bernard is a French actress.
Sarah Bernhardt had novels all the time, but she did not fall in love, but more flattered her pride, reveling in power over men. The star herself recalled the time when she lived with her courtesan mother: “My mother’s house was always full of men, and the more I saw them, the less I liked them.”
Role 4: aging prima 
Sarah Bernhardt as Pierrot.
When Sarah Bernhardt turned 60, her leg was amputated. As a child, Sarah jumped out of the window, begging her mother to take her away from the nanny. Then the girl injured her knee. The second time the actress fell from the scenery without insurance. After that, she endured excruciating pain and eventually begged the doctors to amputate her leg. But this did not stop the actress from continuing to perform.
At 65, Sarah Bernard played a 20-year-old boy in the play "Eaglet". It was already a plump woman with a terrible prosthesis, but the audience continued to applaud her. “I will continue to live the way I lived. Until I stop breathing, ”the aging actress said so. Even at 78, she managed to play the 13-year-old Juliet. 
Sarah Bernard in her coffin.
Anticipating her death, Sarah Bernhardt ordered that six of the most beautiful young actors in France be chosen to carry her coffin. When Sarah Bernard was sent on her last journey, the whole road was strewn with camellias, which the actress loved so much.
Bernard Sarah
(born in 1844 - died in 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, having accepted the challenge of her cousin, she tried to jump over the ditch, which none of the children could overcome. She broke her face, broke her arm, and was badly hurt, but, overcoming excruciating pain, she shouted: “I’ll do it anyway, you’ll see, no matter what, even if they try to tease me! And all my life I will do whatever I want!” This tirade said in the heat of the moment became the basis of her life and wild success, and the motto "By all means" became her lifeline and beacon. Perhaps it was thanks to this tragic event that the world received the “divine Sarah”, about whom V. Hugo said: “This is more than an actress, this is a woman ...” Bernard became a theater legend, a sign of an entire era. And like every legend, it had its beginnings and roots.
October 23, 1844, when Sarah was born, her mother Julie van Hard (Judith von Hard) was only sixteen. She was an unimaginably beautiful Dutch Jewess with golden long hair. This woman was made for love. And soon after arriving in Paris, she gave birth to a frail girl. Who was her father is not exactly established. 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 Hard turned into one of the most fashionable and highly paid kept women in Paris, "the lady of the demimonde". She had no time to take care of a child, she traveled with her lovers around Europe and shone at balls. Sarah lived with a wet nurse in Brittany. This glorious woman had no children, and she gave all her unspent tenderness to “her Penochka”. Mom, “like a Madonna,” appeared only when her daughter, who was in poor health, became seriously ill. But Sarah only dreamed to be near her. At the age of five, she jumped out of a window, broke her arm in two places, and severely injured 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 Mrs. Fressard's boarding school, which became for her, in her own words, "a comfortable children's prison." Then the privileged Catholic monastery of Grand Champ, located in Versailles, was her home. Sarah did not like to study, she did not differ in diligence, she was frail from the tuberculosis that gnawed at her lungs. Fever and fainting, accompanied by profuse hemoptysis, weakened the already weak body, but they arose more often not from colds, but as a result of outbursts of "wild anger" that could not be appeased. The nuns, in order to bring the girl to her senses, splashed a ladle of holy water on her head. However, Sarah was very resourceful and quickly calmed down. In her behavior, there was always some kind of anguish, 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 of highly paid courtesans. But the Duke de Morny, one of Madame Bernard's lovers, shocked by the grace of a wild cat and some outward theatricality of the actions of 15-year-old Sarah, recommended that she be sent to the Conservatory - an acting school and took the girl to the theater for the first time.
“When the curtain slowly began to rise, I thought I was going to faint. After all, it was the curtain rising over 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 did they still see a hidden talent in her. Her external data did not at all correspond to the standard of scenic beauty of that time: thin as a chip, 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-father compared her voice to "a crystal clear stream, murmuring and jumping on golden pebbles." But all this still had to be considered, and the first thing that caught my eye was the golden mass of fluffy hair and the incontinence of emotions. However, now Sarah studied diligently, did not miss a single lesson. Soon the teachers started talking seriously about her tragic and comedic gift. The only drawback of Sarah throughout her theatrical career was the fear of going on stage. Even crowned with laurels, she often took to the 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-father and the Duke de Morny, she was accepted into the famous Comedie Francaise troupe. The first performance of the 18-year-old debutante as Iphigenia in the performance of the same name went unnoticed. This, of course, upset her, she hoped for a triumph, but for herself Sarah “irrevocably decided to become a person at all costs”, as well as to stay in this theater forever. The last wish was not fulfilled. Unbridled feelings and the ability to create trouble for yourself were at the heart of her nature. At the ceremony to celebrate the birthday of Molière, Bernard, defending her sister, gave several ringing slaps to the fat prima donna. The debutante refused to apologize and left the theater.
Sarah worked a little in other troupes. Glory was in no hurry to her, but lovers began to appear, with whom, unlike her mother, she had never been supported. There were many of them, and Bernard remained on excellent terms with all her fans even after parting. The first (who is known) man in her life was the Comte de Katri - a young, handsome, elegant lieutenant, who later held high positions in the government.
First love found Sarah 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 announced 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 eminent families in Brussels! She was persuaded not to destroy the life of a loved one. She named her son, born a few months after the trip, Maurice. This was the only male representative whom she loved wholeheartedly and was faithfully faithful to him. Returning after the tour, Sarah always thought of only one thing: “My happiness is waiting for me there! My joy! My life! Everything, everything and even more!” Years later, Henri de Ligne invited his son to recognize him and give 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, under the patronage, she was accepted into a less prestigious, but famous for its traditions theater, which she later recalled: “Ah, Odeon! I loved this theatre. Yes, I could live there. Moreover, only there I felt really good. Life seemed to me an endless happiness.
Bernard worked hard on herself. On the stage, the “beautifully polished skeleton”, “a wand with a sponge at the end”, with hands like “toothpicks”, turned either into a mad baroness in the Marquise de Villiers, or into Zanetto’s minstrel in F. Coppe’s Passerby. Students admired her, gave her bouquets and dedicated long poems, but the wonderful ascent to Olympus was interrupted by the war with Germany. Sending the whole family away from hostilities, Sarah decided to stay in the besieged Paris. She turned the empty Odeon into a hospital, where she courageously played the role of a sister of mercy. Procurement of food and firewood for the wounded in the cold winter of 1870–1871. was a test of 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 traveled half the world on tour, Sarah carefully skirted Germany.
In October 1871, the Odeon opened a new theatrical season. Bernard "gave her dreams at a gallop" and expected the appearance of the Messiah. For her, it was V. Hugo and his play Ruy Blas. January 26, 1872 Sarah Bernhardt stepped from the role of the queen to the title of "star". The great playwright knelt before her talent. The success was resounding. “The foggy veil that had so far covered the future from me was sleeping, 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 can’t neglect me.
Bernard had no end to fans before, but now Gustave Dore, Victor Hugo, Edmond Rostand, Emile Zola have become her admirers. How far their relationship extended, history is silent. Sarah was not left indifferent to talented men. She was a passionate lover, but never wasted herself. Bernard had 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 excites the stronger sex. Contemporaries claimed that she had thousands of lovers. In one of the books, the bold statement was made that Bernard 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 of England Edward VII, and with the nephew of Napoleon I. It is possible that only for her unprecedented talent she was showered with jewels by the Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria, King Alfonso of Spain and King Umberto of Italy. The monarch of Denmark, Christian IX, gave her a yacht at her disposal, and Duke Frederik provided his family castle.
In the memoir "My Double Life", Sarah bypassed her personal life so as not to offend any of her fans. But human rumor is omnipotent. Contemporaries attributed Bernard to the lovers of all theatrical partners. Each such romance lasted until the performance left the stage, and then the beloved humbly migrated to the category of friends. The names of the excellent actors Philippe Garnier and Pierre Berton are most often mentioned. They wrote about Sarah and Pierre that they were so charged with their passion that they "could light up the streets of London" during the triumphant tour of the Comedie Francaise. 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 reckon with them.
Sarah was not only a passionate woman and a talented actress, but she was constantly led by her impulsive and unbridled ideas. Near her, even the air 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 irrevocably lost. But I also love what will be. The future attracts me with its mysterious obscurity. “Mademoiselle the Rebel” (as her contemporaries called the actress) in the midst of rehearsals for a new performance, she could get carried away with sculpture and not leave her workshop all night long, sculpting one sculpture after another with her characteristic ardor. The famous Rodin found her works somewhat archaic, but did not refuse her talent. The sculptural group "After the Storm" received an award at the exhibition in 1878 and was bought by the "king from Nice" for 10 thousand francs. By the way, the handsome sitter who served Rodin as a 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 fertile Menton, she left for Brittany, climbed mountains tirelessly and did not leave the sea with an easel for hours.
Curiosity and the pursuit of thrills led her one day to a balloon basket. Sarah flew at an altitude of 2600 m, completely forgetting that the audience was waiting for her. Dressed in work clothes, she ran through the scaffolding of a mansion being built for her in the center of Paris, along with builders and artists. She descended into an underground cave while on tour in the US to see eyeless fish. And from the famous Niagara Falls she slid down the ice on her own coat, dragging the whole troupe with her.
How could such a woman not attract men! The critic Sarsei called it "a miracle of miracles". Therefore, probably, Bernard was forgiven for all eccentricities. True, one of the lovers turned out to be very passionate and went too deeply into the role ... The magnificent Sarah and the brilliant tragic actor Jean Mounet-Sully were partners on stage and in bed for a long time. They were referred to simply as "the couple", without mentioning names. Jean was also one of the most beautiful artists of that time. Gentle and romantic, energetic and passionate, proud and independent - a man to the core. Their romance was enthusiastically followed by the entire "Paris-gossip". Jean was sincere in his feelings, and Sarah, as always, is fickle. Her betrayal hurt the actor's vanity, and in the final scene of Othello, he squeezed his Desdemona's throat so hard that Sarah felt the world drift away. The worried director was forced to lower the curtain a few minutes early so that the tragic ending of the Shakespearean drama would not become a reality.
Everything in Bernard's personal life and in her work was striking in eccentricity, but the actress herself never consciously worked for the public. Even the small stature and thinness of Sarah, whose waist was 43 cm, did not leave anyone indifferent. It has become the subject of countless cartoons and anecdotes. One of them sounded like this: “An empty carriage arrived at the Champs Elysees yesterday. Sarah Bernhardt came out of her. And her love affairs provided special food for gossip. The actress admitted: “This mess amused me terribly. I didn’t lift a finger to draw attention to myself, but my bizarre tastes, thinness and pallor, as well as my inherent manner of dressing, contempt for fashion and complete disregard for all the rules of decency made me an exceptional being.
And the actress Bernard was exceptional. The premiere of Phaedra was a real triumph for her. Each of her gestures, intonation were perfected and unique. Amazing success accompanied Sarah in the play "Foreigner" by Dumas son. In "Rome Conquered" by Parodi, the 32-year-old actress refused the role of a young vestal and demanded for herself the image of a 70-year-old Postumia - an old blind and noble Roman woman. Finally, Bernard won the hearts of the audience in 1877, playing Dona Sol in V. Hugo's Hernani. After the triumphant premiere, the author wrote: “You were charming in your grandeur ... When the touched and enchanted audience applauded you, I cried. I give you these tears that you have torn from my chest, and I bow before you. Attached to the letter was a chain bracelet with a drop-shaped diamond pendant.
Bernard has long become crowded within the same theater. After the unsuccessful production of "The Adventurer", she wrote to the director: "This is my first failure in the Comedy, it will also be the last." They tried to keep her, but, having paid a penalty of 100 thousand francs, in 1880 she left the theater, immediately signing a long contract for tours in 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 traveled to 50 cities and gave 156 performances. Her capacity for work and stamina seemed boundless.
There were no language barriers for Bernard. She would be understood even if she spoke Chinese. The best actress in France had to be protected from an enthusiastic public. Sarah went on tour in Australia, South America, nine times in the USA and three times in Russia (1881, 1892, 1908). Theatrical criticism took her refined manner of acting warily, and the audience was shocked by the depth of the splashing feelings. In St. Petersburg in 1881, Sarah met a diplomat of Greek origin, Aristidis (Jacques) Damala. This conqueror of women's hearts, according to the apt expression of his acquaintances, was a cross between Casanova and the Marquis de Sade. Sarah was captivated 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). Aristidis "for her sake" left the service and joined his wife's troupe. Stage data, except for external, he had zero, but Sarah believed in his genius. Her husband shamelessly cheated on her with young actresses, made huge gambling debts, which she resignedly paid, and then became addicted to drugs. Sarah stubbornly tried to save her lover and somehow, in a fit of anger, she even broke her umbrella on the head of an insatiable pharmacist who sold this potion. Everything was to no avail. After spending only a few months in marriage, Bernard carefully took care of her ex-husband until the end of his days - he died of cocaine and morphine in 1889. This unsuccessful marriage brought such mental discord into the life of the actress that she could only normalize her condition with work and, of course, new fans.
Now playwrights wrote plays to Bernard. The first was A. Dumas son with his famous "Lady of the Camellias". V. Sardu created for her "Fedora", "Tosca", "Sorceress", "Cleopatra"; Rostand - "Princess Dream", "Eaglet", "Samaritan". Sara willingly appeared on stage in male roles: Zanetto in Passerby, Lorenzaccio in the play of the same name by Musset. With her usual chic and elegance, she played Shakespeare's Hamlet, and at the age of 56 she appeared on stage as a twenty-year-old prince, the son of Napoleon in The Eaglet.
During foreign tours, the actress earned fabulous fees, but an extremely extravagant lifestyle and a sympathetic heart reduced her income to nothing. Social receptions, chic outfits (including stage ones), banquets with the most delicious dishes for guests (she herself ate very little) alternated with comradely help to distressed artists. In 1904, Sarah, 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 also extended to our smaller brothers. In one of the cold winters, Sarah bought two thousand francs of bread to feed the hungry sparrows of Paris.
Bernard loved animals immensely, there was a real zoo in the house and in the garden. Dumas, the son, recalled how once, instead of a mistress, a cougar met him and chewed on a straw hat, and then a large cockatoo parrot flew in, sat on his shoulder and began to peck buttons. From her first tour in England, Sarah returned with a "very funny cheetah", a snow-white wolfhound, six lizards and a chameleon. She really wanted to buy two lion cubs with the money received from the sale of her sculptures and paintings. But I had to be content with the cheetah. Considering that four dogs, a boa constrictor, falcons and a monkey lived in the house, tickets to this menagerie could be successfully sold. But Sarah was not mercantile - friends and neighbors got this pleasure for free.
The energy from the fragile body of the actress was in full swing. Her own troupe was not enough for her, she dreamed of her own theater. In 1898, the Theater of Sarah Bernhardt opened on Chatelet Square, which she headed until 1922. The years could not pacify her young 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 lover. Their relationship lasted four years, and Tellegen admitted that these were the "best years" of his life.
Bernard, despite her age, remained the same flirtatious, confident woman in her charm. In one play, her heroine was 38 years old, and her brother was over 40. Upon learning that the artist who played him turned 50, she exclaimed in horror: “My God, they will mistake him for my father.” Sarah herself has already turned no less than 76 years old. The great Bernard was young at heart and believed she looked the part. As a child, she was ill so often that the doctors said that the girl would not live long. Having heard 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 taught roles, took pictures, slept, and sometimes invited her fans to make love in this narrow nest. True, not everyone in such an environment managed to prove their masculine strength.
And Bernard had enough strength for everything. After flying in a hot air balloon, she wrote a charming novella Among the Clouds, then two manual novels for artists - The Little Idol and The Red Double, and four plays for the theater (Andrienne Lecouvreur, Confession, Man's Heart) , "Theater on the field of honor"). At 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 make-up gave away the years in close-up (it was not so visible from the stage), and the synchronous sound distorted her still marvelous voice beyond recognition. The next attempt - the adaptation of the play "Tosca" - was so terrible that Sarah, together with the playwright
V. Sardu got the film studio Film d’art not to show 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 card debts of her beloved son. Creditors kept her in the most severe grip until the end of her life. And she starred in The Lady of the Camellias and The Queen Elizabeth (both in 1912). After the worldwide success of these films with her participation, Andrienne Lecouvreur, French Mothers (1915) and His Best Business (1916) were released.
The courage of this actress and woman is admirable. Even during the 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 taken away well above the knee. Sarah refused crutches, burned the prosthesis in the fireplace. She was carried to the stage in an elegant stretcher. Bernard played while sitting, and the viewer saw that there was no limit to her talent and vitality ... motionless body replaced by hands and expressive, as always, carefully made-up fingers. The voice flowed, bewitching with its timbre and rhythm. Sarah subconsciously speeded up, then slowed down the pace. The audience seemed to be breathing in time with her speech. This small, fragile heroic woman was worthy of the Order of the Legion of Honor (1914) more 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 the rehearsals. It seemed that all of Paris crowded around her house. And the unpredictable Bernard, anticipating 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 last journey. She arranged her departure from life with her usual eccentricity and chic. On March 26, 1923, at 8 o'clock in the evening, the doctor opened the window and announced: "Madame Sarah Bernhardt is dead..."
Shortly before the First World War, the writer Octave Mirbeau asked the actress when she would stop lighting her life with the flame of love. Sarah, without hesitation, replied that when she stops breathing. And what else could a woman who called herself "one of the greatest mistresses of her age" say?
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"Sarah" of Mansion McPike Henry Mikepike built the house that has been a source of excitement for paranormal enthusiasts and residents of Elton County, Illinois, since 1869. However, despite the fact that the building was to be guarded
SARAH MALCOLM The first signs of this success appeared already when the pictures were painted, and the engravings were just beginning to be cut. At that time, William Hogarth's relationship with Thornhill was still very uncertain, strained, and young Mrs. Hogarth, along with her
October 22, 1844, the legendary French actress Sarah Bernhardt was born. For half a century, her name did not leave the pages of newspapers and magazines around the world. Her life was very eventful. Here are some little-known facts from the biography of the actress
How did the career of an actress begin?
At one of the social events that her mother Judith van Hart gave, fifteen-year-old Sarah, wringing her hands, threw herself at her feet, begging to be let go to the monastery. This scene was attended by patron Judith Duke de Morny, half-brother of Emperor Napoleon III.
Yes, this girl is not going to the monastery, but straight to the stage! exclaimed de Morny.
That same evening, together with Alexandre Dumas, the father, they took Sarah to the Comédie Française, where they gave the Britannica. Racine shook her to tears. Under the patronage of de Morny and Alexandre Dumas, Father Sarah was admitted to the National Academy of Music and Recitation. After two years of study at the academy, Sarah received an engagement at the Comedy Française. Although at first her candidacy caused doubts among the director of the troupe.
She's over the top,” he said. - Too thin waist, too thick hair, overly expressive eyes!
In 1862, Bernard made her successful debut in the Comédie Française as Iphigenia in Racine's tragedy Iphigenia in Aulis.
Sarah Bernhardt and diamonds.
Sarah Bernard had a lot of diamonds. She loved jewelry and did not part with them even during travels and tours. And so that nothing happened to the stones, she took a pistol with her on the road.
Man is such a strange creature that this tiny and ridiculously useless thing seems to me a reliable defense, - Bernard explained her addiction to firearms.
Men in the life of Sarah Bernhardt.
Sarah's mother wanted to make a courtesan out of the girl, but Sarah refused this role. The actress knew her first intimacy at the age of 18 with the Count de Keratry, but she experienced true love with Prince Henri de Ligne. From this connection, Sarah had a son. Her admirers included Victor Hugo, Émile Zola, Oscar Wilde. The great actress magically attracted both men and women. The Sarah Bernhardt books boldly suggest that the actress seduced every head of state in Europe. There is evidence that she really had a close relationship with the Prince of Wales, the nephew of Napoleon I. Sarah Bernard was showered with magnificent gifts by the Emperor of Austria, the King of Spain, the King of Italy. The partners with whom she played in the theater were often her lovers, but many later became true friends.
In 1882, Sarah Bernard married for the first and only time in her life to Aristidis Jacques Damal, a Greek diplomat. He was 11 years younger than Sarah. Their marriage was extremely unsuccessful, and after a few months they divorced. At the age of 66, the actress met the American Lou Tellegen, who was more than 30 years younger than her. This love affair lasted four years.
Male roles and cinema.
Sarah Bernard played many male roles. A resounding success brought her the role of Napoleon's son in Rostand's play The Eaglet. In March 1900, when Sarah Bernard played the role of a twenty-year-old youth, she herself was already 56 years old. The audience liked her game so much that she called the actress for an encore 30 times. Sarah Bernhardt's list of male roles includes the Prince of Denmark in Shakespeare's Hamlet, Zanetto in Francois Coppé's play Passerby, Lorenzaccio in Musset's play of the same name. In addition, she became one of the pioneers of cinema. On account of Sarah Bernhardt participation in several films. The actress managed to embody the image of Marguerite Gauthier not only on the theater stage, but also on the movie screen. But after watching the film "Lady of the Camellias" Sarah Bernhardt decided not to get involved with cinema anymore. Close-up ruthlessly showed the true age of the actress. 70-year-old Sarah could play young Juliet on stage. But in the movies it's impossible.
War.
In 1870, the Franco-Prussian War began. Sarah Bernard sent her relatives away from Paris, taking care of their safety, but she herself remained in the besieged capital. At the Odeon Theater, Sarah Bernard equipped a hospital for the wounded. Using her connections, she got everything necessary for the hospital: food, linen, clothes, medicines, firewood for heating. They did not hesitate to help the wounded. Somewhat later, in 1904, at the height of Russo-Japanese War Together with the famous Italian tenor Enrico Caruso, Sarah Bernhardt gave charity concerts. The money earned was sent to the wounded Russian soldiers. By the way, Sarah Bernhardt has always had mutual love with the Russian public. Three times she came on tour to our country: in 1881, 1898 and 1908.
Outrageous love.
The famous actress has always been distinguished by eccentric behavior. What is worth only one mahogany coffin, which accompanied her on all trips. Even in childhood, when the doctors made the girl a terrible diagnosis: consumption, she begged her mother to buy her a coffin so that she would not be put in some ugly one. In the coffin, Sarah Bernhardt rested, read, memorized new roles. In it, she posed for photographers. There were even rumors in Paris that Sarah Bernard indulged in love pleasures in her coffin.
Sarah Bernard loved to shock the audience, and not only on stage. Even her home she designed very extraordinary. She “decorated” the apartment with stuffed birds holding skulls in their beaks. As for pets, in addition to traditional cats and dogs, the actress got a monkey, a cheetah, a white Irish wolfhound and chameleons lived in her garden.
Fears.
Sarah Bernhardt, despite her fearlessness, had one phobia - a panic fear of heights. But in 1878, during the Paris Exhibition, Sarah Bernhardt tried to overcome it by rising in a balloon to a height of two thousand meters. High in the air, a champagne dinner was held in pleasant company. In any case, for Bernard, this entertainment was a real test. Even Sarah Bernard managed to curb her nervousness: at the beginning of her acting career, she was afraid to go on stage, it even came to fainting.
Death.
The great actress even reacted unusually to her own death. When she was dying at the age of 78, she ordered that six of the most beautiful young actors be chosen to carry her coffin. On her last journey - spectacularly and elegantly - she set off on March 26, 1923. Tens of thousands of admirers of Sarah Bernard's talent followed the coffin through the whole city - from Malserbe Boulevard to the Pere Lachaise cemetery. The road was strewn with camellias, her favorite flowers.
April 17, 2012, 13:27The great French actress Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923) always surrounded herself with secrets. Even in her memoirs there are so many unsaid that the real life story of the famous actress, who, in fact, became the first superstar, can be traced with great difficulty. Sarah Bernhardt was satisfied with this situation, it was not for nothing that she even said: “I don’t know everything about myself.” During the period of her stage fame, and it was extremely long, performances with the participation of Sarah Bernhardt were always sold out. Sarah Bernhardt was the idol of the audience, the queen of the theater and a recognized master of shocking. According to the memoirs of contemporaries, a kind of bohemian chaos reigned in the apartment of Sarah Bernhardt. The actress approached the interior design of her home in an extraordinary way. She “decorated” her apartment with stuffed birds holding skulls in their beaks. Even in the choice of pets, it was ambiguous: in addition to traditional cats and dogs, the actress got a monkey, a cheetah, a white Irish wolfhound and chameleons lived in the garden. In the bedroom of Sarah Bernhardt, a real coffin was kept with a thick mattress made of love letters. The story of this "interior detail" is "... Sarah Bernard's mother was a courtesan and prepared her daughter for this profession, but the girl refused this role, although she considered it very profitable. Little Sarah was given a terrible verdict by doctors - tuberculosis. Then the girl persuaded her mother to buy her a beautiful coffin so that she would not be put in some “freak.” It was this coffin that accompanied her, already an adult woman, on all trips. 
However, despite the pessimistic forecasts of doctors, Sarah lived a very long and eventful life. In the coffin, Sarah Bernhardt rested, read, memorized new roles. In this coffin, she posed for photographers, releasing ominous jokes during the photo shoot. 
There were rumors in Paris that Sarah Bernard indulged in love pleasures in her coffin. It was rumored that not all of her lovers were satisfied with such a strange bed. When her sister stayed with her, Sarah gave her her bed, and she herself moved to the coffin for the night. As the actress explained, two beds in her bedroom would still not fit. Of course, the sinister bed became an occasion for gossip. Seeing the actress in the coffin, her manicurist ran out of the room in horror. Another episode related to the coffin, the actress called “tragicomic.” After the death of her sister, the coffin with the deceased stood in the bedroom until the undertakers arrived. When they finally appeared and saw two coffins, they were embarrassed and were about to send for a second hearse, but Sarah, who at that moment brought her mother to her senses, overtook them and defended her beloved deathbed. Her eccentric antics were the enduring "topics of the day." During the 1878 World's Fair, Sarah ventured on a hot air balloon flight, having breakfast at an altitude of 2300 m goose pate and champagne. This is how cartoonists captured her flight - Sarah Bernhardt reclines in a languid pose in the famous coffin, which replaces the hot air balloon basket. It was said that Bernard seduced almost all the heads of European states. Among her admirers were the heir to the English throne, who later became King Edward VII, Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, King Alfonso of Spain, King Umberto of Italy, King Christian IX of Denmark. And when they asked who the father of her son Maurice was, she answered carelessly: "Who knows, maybe Hugo, or maybe Mirbeau." 
What kind of poisoned arrows did the rumor not send her! What is the rumor, I.S. Turgenev wrote about her: “I can’t say how angry I am with all the madness that is being committed about Sarah Bernhardt, this impudent and distorted poofist, this mediocrity, which only has that lovely voice. Really, no one in the press will tell her the truth? .. ”Sarah Bernard generally toured a lot. Only in the USA it was 9 times. There was no language barrier for her. American journalists wrote that if Bernard had played in Chinese, the audience would still have burst into her performances. 
before Sarah's performance... It is said that when she met Theodore Roosevelt (she dined with him while on tour in America in 1892), Sarah summed up: "Oh, this man and I could perfectly manage the world!" And she was not far from the truth, because she never followed the accepted laws - she established them. Sarah Bernhardt visited Russia three times. The audience greeted her enthusiastically. The actress was invited to the Winter Palace. After the performance, she was introduced to Alexander III. Sarah Bernhardt was about to curtsy. The king stopped her: - It is I, madam, who must bow before your high art. She was independent, ambitious and absolutely fearless. She didn't care about the opinions of those around her. For everything “impossible” of her time, she asked the only question: “Why?”. Sarah claimed that if she were a man, she would constantly fight duels. She was an accurate shot with a pistol, a good fencer and a great horse rider. 
The huge earnings that Sarah Bernard brought foreign tours gave her the opportunity to lead a chic lifestyle. Banquets and social receptions went literally one after another. The guests were treated to exquisite and, accordingly, expensive food. Sarah Bernard severely punished cooks for the slightest omission. And the cooks did not stay with her. Got it and the servants. At the maid who did not please her, Sarah could launch the first thing that came to her hand. However, she was outgoing. And, having calmed down, she compensated for moral, and even physical damage with a valuable gift. Sarah Bernhardt was a multi-talented and enthusiastic person. She wrote novels, short stories, plays, critical articles. Engaged in painting and sculpture. Her sculptures were exhibited at the annual Paris Salon. The audience was delighted. True, the great Rodin called the sculptural works of Sarah Bernhardt outright hack-work. And the public is stupid. Sarah Bernhardt was not offended. In everything else that did not concern the theater, she considered herself an amateur. She just did what she liked. No more. 
She visited an anatomist, worked at the construction site of her own house, tamed a tiger, put herself to sleep with chloroform, personally looked after the wounded in her hospital ... “I have to survive this. By all means,” Sarah repeated her catchphrase. Sarah Bernhardt was not inclined to hide anything. Including years. She believed that even advanced age did not prevent her from looking young. They say that in one of the plays, Sarah was supposed to play a woman of 38 years old. A fifty-year-old actor was invited to play the role of her brother. - They can take him for my father, - 76-year-old Sarah was sincerely indignant. When the actress was in her eighties, her leg was amputated due to an injury while on tour in Rio de Janeiro. But the very next year, she again went on tour in the United States. On the posters, at her request, it was written: "Come see the oldest woman in the world!". Sarah Bernard not only rehearsed her funeral in detail in advance, but also informed the press about all the preparations. When the great actress was dying (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, Bernard replied: "When I stop breathing." On her last journey, spectacularly and elegantly, she set off on March 26, 1923. Tens of thousands of admirers of Sarah Bernhardt's talent followed her famous pink coffin through the whole city - from Malserbe Boulevard to the Pere Lachaise cemetery. 
The French said that they have three attractions in their country - the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower and Sarah Bernhardt.
The great actress wrote the autobiographical book “My Double Life” (1907), but she hid a lot in it, did not finish, especially from the area of personal life. This book only deepened the mystery around the phenomenon of Sarah Bernhardt.
What is known for sure? 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 the engineer Edouard Bernard, although some researchers believe that the father was a certain Morel, an officer in the French navy. However, Sarah Bernard, herself becoming a mother, carefully concealed from whom she gave birth to a son, Maurice.
Sarah received her upbringing in a monastery, but she never mastered obedience: she grew up hot-tempered, stubborn, a real demon. But when it came time to go beyond the fence, Sarah felt as if she had been thrown into the sea. And she can't swim...
The fate of the girl was determined by the next owner of her mother, the 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, then the theater, which she had long dreamed of. The director of the Comédie Francaise expressed doubt: "She's too skinny to be an actress!" Nevertheless, Sarah Bernard was accepted, and at the age of 18 she made her debut in Racine's tragedy Iphigenia in Aulis. This happened on September 1, 1862.
“When the curtain slowly began to rise, I thought I would faint,” Bernard recalled. Regarding her first exit, the opinion of critics was as follows: “The young actress was how beautiful, just as inexpressive ...” Only the golden mass of fluffy hair conquered everyone.
The unsuccessful debut did not break Sarah, it was not for nothing that her motto was the words: "By all means." She had a steel character and extraordinary courage. She left the House of Molière and played in the theaters Gymnasium, Porte Saint-Martin, Odeon, to return to the Comédie Française as a prima donna in all the brilliance of acting. She wonderfully played young heroines in the classical repertoire - Phaedra, Andromache, Desdemona, Zaire, and then began to shine in the plays of modern playwrights. One of the best roles of Sarah Bernhardt is Marguerite Gauthier ("Lady of the Camellias" by Alexandre Dumas son).
Madam! You were charming in your grandeur, - said Victor Hugo. - You excited me, old fighter. I cried. I give you a tear that you vomited from my chest, and I bow before you.
The tear was not figurative, but diamond, and it crowned the bracelet chain. By the way, there were a lot of diamonds donated to Sarah Bernhardt. She loved jewelry and did not part with them during travels and tours. And for the protection of jewelry, she took a pistol with her on the road. “Man is such a strange creature that this tiny and absurdly useless thing seems to me a reliable defense,” the actress once explained her addiction to firearms.
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Interestingly, few actresses played as many male roles as Sarah Bernhardt - Werther, Zanetto, Lorenzaccio, Hamlet, Eaglet ... In the role of Hamlet, Sarah Bernhardt conquered Stanislavsky himself. And the 20-year-old Eaglet, the unfortunate son of Napoleon Bonaparte, the actress played when she was 56 years old! The premiere of the heroic drama by Edmond Rostand took place in March 1900 with a resounding success - 30 encores! ..
Stanislavsky considered Sarah Bernhardt an example of technical perfection: a beautiful voice, perfect diction, plasticity, artistic taste. The connoisseur of the theater, Prince Sergei Volkonsky, highly appreciated the stage skills of Sarah Bernhardt: “She perfectly mastered the polarity of emotions - from joy to grief, from happiness to horror, from affection to rage - the subtlest nuance of human feelings. And then - “the famous talker, the famous whisper, the famous growl, the famous“ golden voice ”- la voix d’or,” Volkonsky noted. - The last stage of skill - her explosions ... How she knew how to lower herself in order to jump up, to gather herself in order to rush; how she knew how to aim, to crawl up to burst. The same thing in her facial expressions: what a skill from a 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. Attacks and sieges. Triumphs and defeats. Raptures and lamentations. The name of Sarah Bernard in the news of the world often replaced economic and government crises. First, Sarah Bernhardt, and only then conflicts, disasters and other incidents of the day. On trips, she was invariably accompanied by a retinue of reporters. Public and religious organizations treated her differently: who sang glory to her, and who betrayed her blasphemy. Many in America considered her visit "an invasion of the accursed snake, the offspring of the French Babylon, who arrived to pour poison into pure American mores."
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 moving straight to Moscow. Moskovskie Vedomosti wrote: “The greats of the world showered this fabulous princess with honors, which, probably, neither Michelangelo nor Beethoven dreamed of in a dream ...” Why be surprised? Sarah Bernhardt was essentially the world's first superstar.
Sarah Bernard visited Russia three times - in 1881, 1898 and 1908. The success was huge, although there were critics, including Turgenev. In a letter to Polonskaya in December 1881, he wrote: “I can’t say how angry I am with all the madness that is being committed about Sarah Bernhardt, this impudent and distorted poofist, this mediocrity, which only has that lovely voice. Surely no one in the press will tell her the truth? .. "
What to say about this? Turgenev's heart was completely filled with Pauline Viardot, and there was not even a tiny corner left for Sarah Bernhardt. However, the negative emotions of Ivan Sergeevich could not overshadow the glory of Bernard. Great - she is great, even if someone does not think so.
But the stage is one thing, and life outside of it is already something else. Sergei Volkonsky believed that Sarah Bernhardt, outside the theater, was “an ugly person, she is all artificial ... Red tuft in front, red tuft in the back, unnaturally red lips, powdered face, all summed up like a mask; amazing flexibility of the camp, dressed like no one else - she was all “in her own way”, she herself was Sarah, and everything on her, around her gave off Sarah. She created not only 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 Bernard". She had two husbands: one - a prince from an ancient French family, the second - an actor from Greece, unusually handsome man. But the main passion of Sarah Bernhardt was the theater. She lived by them, she was inspired by them. She did not want to be a thing, a toy in the hands of the powerful of this world - she was engaged in painting, sculpture, composed funny novels and funny plays. She ventured into the sky in the Giffard balloon, where, at an altitude of 2300 meters, the daredevils “dined heartily on goose liver, fresh bread and oranges. The champagne cork saluted the sky with a muffled noise...
Sarah Bernhardt has often been compared to Joan of Arc. Considered a witch. It was she who prompted Emile Zola to stand up for the poor Captain Dreyfus. Chaos reigned in her apartment: carpets, rugs, ottomans, trinkets and other items were scattered everywhere. Dogs, monkeys and even snakes spun under their feet. There were skeletons in the actress's bedroom, and she herself liked to teach some roles, reclining in a coffin upholstered in white crepe. Outrageous? Undoubtedly. She loved scandals and demonstrated her special charms to the world. She wrote about herself like this: “I love it very much when people visit me, but I hate visiting. I love receiving letters, reading them, commenting; but I don't like answering them. I hate places of human walks and adore deserted roads, secluded corners. I love giving 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 enjoys every moment... She swallows life. What an unpleasant gluttony! .. "
The word "gluttony" is clearly felt envy of the successes of Sarah Bernhardt. Yes, she lived a full life, excitedly, and even after her leg was amputated in 1914. Despondency was never her lot. Sarah Bernard 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 through the whole city - from Malserbe Boulevard to the Pere Lachaise cemetery. The last path of Sarah Bernhardt was literally strewn with camellias - her favorite flowers.
“Sarah Bernhardt, an actress of almost legendary fame and fame, has died. There was a lot of exaggeration in judgments about Sarah Bernhardt - in one direction and the other, - Alexander Kugel, one of the best Russian critics, wrote in an obituary. - Of the thousand theatrical dreams, more or less intoxicating, that I dreamed, the dream of Sarah Bernhardt -
one of the most original and complex-entertaining.
