- Person
- Sarah Bernhardt
- Lived
- 1844–1923
- Field
- Theatre
- From
- French
The story
Sarah Bernhardt was born in Paris to Judith Bernard, a Dutch Jewish woman, and became the most celebrated actress of her time. In the 19th century, serious theatre was mostly something for people who lived in a few great capitals. Bernhardt changed that by taking her performances on the road, again and again, to audiences who had never seen anything like them.
Her first American tour began when she arrived in New York on 27 October 1880. Over the following months she gave 157 performances in 51 cities across the United States and Canada, including Montreal, Toronto, St Louis, New Orleans and Boston. A European tour followed in 1881 and 1882, taking in Italy, Greece, Hungary, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Austria and Russia.
Her ambitions kept growing. A world tour lasting about 15 months from 1886 to 1887 brought her to Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Peru, Panama, Cuba and Mexico, as well as Texas, New York, England, Ireland and Scotland. In 1888 she played in Italy, Egypt, Turkey, Sweden, Norway and Russia. Her most extensive tour, in 1891 and 1892, covered much of Europe, Russia, North and South America, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii and Samoa, with 15 productions in her repertoire.
Even serious injury did not stop her. In February 1915 her right leg was amputated after gangrene developed from an old injury. During the First World War she joined a troupe of famous French actors and travelled to the areas of the battles of Verdun and the Argonne, performing for soldiers who had just come from the fighting or were about to go into it. She then made a final tour of the United States from 1916 to 1918, performing with a wooden leg.
For millions of people in towns and cities far from Paris, Bernhardt's visits were their only chance to see one of the great performers of the age. She helped turn theatre into a truly international art and showed what touring companies could bring to audiences everywhere.
Why it matters
Bernhardt's tours helped create the idea of the international touring production, which still brings great performances to audiences far from the world's theatre capitals.
About Sarah Bernhardt
‘The Divine Sarah’, daughter of a Dutch-Jewish mother, who became the first international star of the stage, toured the world, ran her own Paris theatre and stood up for Dreyfus.
More about Sarah Bernhardt
Sources
- Sarah Bernhardt Wikipedia
- Bat hat, wooden leg, coffin bed: Sarah Bernhardt's wild life offstage The Local France
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