WORLD’S FIRST SUPERSTAR: SARAH BERNHARDT 100 years after her Death

By Xania Keane

Hailed as the greatest tragic actor of the 19th century, the inimitable Sarah Bernhardt was an eccentric genius beyond compare. She spoke only French onstage, but her talent transcended language and culture as she toured across the globe dozens of times during her career. She starred in La Dame aux Camélias over one thousand times, receiving countless standing ovations and giving an unprecedented twenty-seven curtain calls after her first performance in New York.

It was Jean Cocteau who coined the term “superstar” in reference to Sarah Bernhardt’s farreaching appeal. Off the stage, she was both hot-tempered and tender. She loved animals, was a vegetarian and single-handedly turned a theatre into a hospital during the FrancoPrussian war. She left a lasting mark on Monaco during the grand opening of the Opéra de Monte-Carlo and later created a masterful sculpture for the Salle Garnier. An accident onstage led to the loss of her leg and still, during WWI, she travelled to the Battle of Verdun to perform for soldiers and lift their spirits. She lived with fiery purpose and exuded theatrical drama on and off the stage. She famously kept a coffin in her bedroom, took on many lovers, dressed in drag for the lead role of Hamlet and was condemned as “immoral” by religious figures and the press, which only increased her ticket sales and her appeal.

Daughter Of A Courtesan

Born in Paris in 1844, Sarah Bernhardt was the illegitimate daughter of Judith Bernard, a Jewish courtesan with an upperclass clientele. Her father was a Dutch attorney, who paid for her education. Patrons and friends of Bernhardt’s mother included the Duke of Morny, half-brother of Emperor Napoleon III. He first proposed acting to Bernhardt and used his influence to schedule an audition for her at the Paris Conservatory, which she was accepted into at age 14. Two years later, she joined the Comédie-Française, the most prestigious theatre in Paris.

GETTING FIRED FROM THE COMÉDIE-FRANÇAISE AFTER SLAPPING AN ACTOR

When she was 18 years old, Bernhardt invited her sister, Regina, to an event commemorating the birthday of Molière. Regina accidentally stood on the train of Mademoiselle Nathalie’s gown, a lead actor for the ComédieFrançaise. Mademoiselle Nathalie pushed Re-

Accidentally Insulting Napoleon Iii

Bernhardt then joined the Gymnase Theatre, where she worked as an understudy for two lead actors and immediately caused another scandal. Along with other performers from the Gymnase, she was invited to recite a poem at an event hosted by Napoleon III and the Empress Eugenie. Bernhardt chose to recite two romantic poems by gina off the gown and caused her to fall and cut her forehead. Regina and Mademoiselle Nathalie argued until Bernhardt stepped into the fray and slapped Mademoiselle Nathalie across the face. When Bernhardt refused to apologize to the lead actor, she was asked to leave the company.

Victor Hugo, unaware that Hugo was a vehement critic of the emperor. Following the first poem, Napoleon III and the Empress walked out and were quickly followed by the court and all the guests. At that very moment, Bernhardt felt like she should quit acting altogether.

An Affair With A Prince

Bernhardt left the Gymnase, taking a short break from the arts so she could travel and take on lovers. She attended a masked ball in Brussels where she met Henri, Hereditary Prince de Ligne. The couple began having an affair, but it was cut short when Bernhardt received news that her mother had suffered a heart attack. She quickly returned to Paris, where her mother made a full recovery. Bernhardt then discovered that she was pregnant with the Prince’s child. She chose not to notify the Prince.

Because her mother did not want a fatherless child born under her roof, Bernhardt moved to a small apartment and gave birth to her first and only child, Maurice Bernhardt, when she was 20 years old. Two decades later, when Bernhardt was extraordinarily famous, the Prince’s family offered to formally recognize Maurice as his son. Maurice politely declined, explaining that he was completely satisfied to be the son of Sarah Bernhardt.

PERFORMING AT THE OPÉRA DE MONTECARLO’S GRAND OPENING

Sarah Bernhardt first visited Monaco when she was invited to perform during a historic night: the grand opening of the Opéra de Monte-Carlo. Eight-hundred

“On 25 April 1879, in the evening, at the inauguration of the new Théâtre du Casino de Monte-Carlo … we are waiting for the great, the sublime, the unique Sarah Bernhardt in Jean Aicard’s Prologue. A slender silhouette, a delicate body topped with an extravagant mane of blond hair, fascinating with her grey-green eyes that sometimes sparkle with dreadful glints of black, at thirty-five, Sarah Bernhardt reigns supreme over the theatre.” guests from across Europe came to watch her and attend the opening in the presence of Prince Charles III and the Opéra’s architect, Charles Garnier. In a book titled ‘Sarah Bernhardt et Monaco’ author Raoul Mille describes her first performance in the Principality:

The Principality was immediately captivated by her performance and she was invited back regularly for the rest of her life. She notably performed ‘La Dame aux Camélias ’, ‘La Tosca ’ and ‘L’Aiglon’ in Monaco. After performing the lead role in ‘ Fédora ’, she was received at the palace by Prince Albert I. Bernhardt also gave a private performance for Queen Victoria while she was on holiday in Nice.

In 1882, Sarah Bernhardt famously marched into Monaco with a bag full of 100,000 francs to bail out her husband, a young, handsome and extremely narcissistic actor who had racked up a huge gambling debt at the casino. After paying his debt, she dragged her inebriated husband out through one of the service doors. The couple parted ways soon after.

Aside from acting, the Principality was quick to recognize Bernhardt’s talent as a sculptor, something which she was attacked in the press for pursuing. Newspapers at the time deemed sculpting an inappropriate pursuit for an actress. She was defended by French novelist Émile Zola, who wrote:

“How droll! Not content with finding her thin, or declaring her mad, they want to regulate her daily activities … Let a law be passed immediately to prevent the accumulation of talent!”

MONACO’S LASTING LOVE FOR SARAH BERNHARDT

Bernhardt’s talent as a sculptor was publicly recognized when the Société des Bains de Mer adorned the Salle Garnier with one of her pieces, titled ‘Le Chant ’. The sculpture of an angelic musician playing a harp remains an irreplaceable part of the hall to this day (although it is currently hidden by renovation works).

Other tributes to the actor include a play about her life, performed at the Princess Grace Theatre in 2019. Monaco also released a stamp featuring a portrait of the actor to commemorate the 150th anniversary of her birth, in 1994.

Bernhardt was one of the very first actors to star in moving pictures. In 1900, the cameraperson for the Lumiere brothers, Clément Maurice, asked Bernhardt if he could film a scene from her production of Hamlet, which she famously played in a direct, natural and feminine way. Maurice’s completed twominute film, ‘ Le Duel d’Hamlet, ’ was pre - sented to the public at the Paris Universal Expo and is one of the first examples of film with sound. Her third film, ‘ La Dame aux Camelias ’, was a success in the United States and France. At the time, Jean Coc- teau wrote, “What actor can play a lover better than she does in this film? No one!”

Dying In The Arms Of Her Son

Sarah Bernhardt’s final show in Monaco was in 1920 at the Hôtel de Paris. As an amputee with only one leg, she gave an incredible performance without the use of crutches. At this time, her preferred mode of transport was being carried around in a lavishly decorated palanquin she designed herself, which was supported by two long shafts and carried by two men.

In 1922, on the night of a dress rehearsal for an upcoming play, Bernhardt collapsed and fell into a coma for one hour. When she woke up, her first words were, “When do I go on?” One year later, at the age of 79, she collapsed again and never recovered. On 26 March 1923, she died peacefully in the arms of her son. Thirtythousand people attended her funeral and a monumental crowd followed her casket to the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.

She was a sensation, an artist like no other, a favourite amongst royalty and the working class alike. Her temper sometimes got her into trouble, but her tenderness and authenticity captivated the hearts of audiences the world over. Today, an entire century after her death, Sarah Bernhardt’s influence, legacy and ferocious passion for the theatre still has the power to bring any audience to its feet.