Rise of the Star in 19th Century Theater in Europe - Essay Example

December 10, 2008 RISE OF THE STAR IN 19th CENTURY THEATER IN EUROPE The history of theater worldwide necessitates not only the spectacle of the drama itself but also, and more importantly, that of the performer in his or her capacity to play a role. A dramatic performance in turn, requires a venue or a place to gather. We now popularly refer to this as a theater, a specific area where an audience can gather together and assemble to view a performance. The 19th century witnessed a fast increase in theater history. The development of urban areas eventually brought about the development and the expansion of the railroad system. Entertainment in these early times involved travelling productions. With the rise however of very popular stars and the clamor of audiences to see their performances as often as they possibly could, the stage theaters started to be strongly patronized. This also marked the beginning of the single play with long-running stage productions. Significantly thereafter, the theater started to become one of the oldest forms of entertainment, and this, even long before the televisions and the cinemas were born. This paper will particularly focus on the following key points: realism, the resurgence of new melodrama and that of political censorship, with the end in view of not only discovering the correlations between the aforementioned key points and the rise of the stars, but that of their linkage as well, to the future growth of theater itself. REALISM Famous playwrights like Emile Zola (France), Henrik Ibsen (Scandinavia) and George Bernard Shaw (England) and also well-known directors like Andrei Antoine (Paris), Otto Brahm (Germany) and Konstantin Stranislavsky (Moscow) advocated realism, the true depictions of life. Eventually, this soon became the dominant mode in most of the theatrical productions not only in Europe but also in the West (www.wsu.edu/brians/hum_303/naturalism.html). Most of the playwrights and production directors centered on the lives of shining stars like French stage actress Sarah Bernhardt (1844 -1923) and Italian stage player Eleonora Duse (1858 -1924). The renowned Sarah with the reputation of being a very serious dramatic actress then was referred to as "the most famous actress in the history of the world". She would later in this artistic profession earn the nickname of "The Divine Sarah" (Wikipedia). Injuring her right leg in 1905, an amputation was done in 1915, but this did not stop the ambivalent Sarah from continuing to tour and perform. She succumbed to a lingering ailment and made her final goodbye in 1923 while filming La Voyante (www.who2.com/sarahbernhardt.html). Eleonora Duse, on the other hand, was considered as the greatest Italian player of her age, marking her American debut in 1893. With nineteen years hiatus, she made her farewell tour in 1923 (Fuse). Both Sarah and Eleonora had beautiful golden voices and each shared their respective abilities to breathe their emotional lives into the classic roles that they performed. Consequently, in their own respective rights, they would each further the movement toward the bringing about of remarkable realistic acting. Their professional careers became major successes despite of the fact that both their real lives were wrought and harrowed by the characters that they played. This fusion of realism and drama that are seen in turn in both these dramatic performers ushered in many changes in scenic and costume design, acting styles and staging. Similarly, in real life, both of them from frequent bouts of physical ailments, most of the time some financial difficulties, and the common problem of having countless love affairs. In any event, together, the two great stage actresses were most instrumental to making the concept of realism, the most dominant mode in the history of playwriting and theatrical productions during the 19th century. RESURGENCE OF NEW MELODRAMA "Melodrama was the primary form of theater during the 19th century, and despite the other influences, becoming the most popular by 1840. Melodrama is still with us today. In the early 1800's, most were romantic, exotic or supernatural. In the 1800's, became more popular in settings and characters. In the 1830's, became more elevated: 'gentlemanly' melodrama" (novaonline.nv.cc.va.us/eli/spd130et/melodrama.htm). While there were other popular theatrical forms like pantomimes, vaudevilles, revivals, comical operas or even special acts, melodrama transformed itself to the modern form of theaters because it may have in effect shattered the old myth of Christendom, the freedom from the reliance on Kings and so too the dissolution of what we call as hierarchic society. This may have been a radical transformation, but the audience must have welcomed the change to rid their minds of old archaic figures and visions and at the same time, they must have found an appealing enjoyment to the ordinary plots which related to their day to day experiences. The height of melodrama reached its peak with the highly sensual performances of both Sarah Bernhardt and Eleonora Duse in many of their famous stage various performances both in Europe and in the United States and also in their continuing travel performances. Most popular for Sarah Bernhardt were the plays Ruy Blas (1872) and Phedre (1874) (www.answers.com/topic/sarah-bernhardt) and for Eleonora Duse, La Dame Aux Camelias (1893) and Le Demi-Monde (1916), and the portrayal of course of Juliet in the play Romeo and Juliet when at the very young age of fourteen (www.amazon.com/Duse-Biography-Eleonora-William-Weaver/dp/0500013411), among many others. POLITICAL CENSORSHIP It is amazing how the fascinating details of myriad political events in every country could influence the different the types and the so-called depth and characterization of theatrical productions. The political concerns of the Church, the nobility, the court, notwithstanding, the complexities of the socio-cultural traditions of every nation have greatly influenced the form and content of the theatre. Productions of play, repertories and the like have to contend both with the forces of audience preferences as against that of political censorship. The censorship as gleamed in this new century, seems to be considered as a break-away from the monarchical to the democratic state. The intensity of political censorship in the end succumbed to the clamors of the growing urban audience rather than the bourgeois audiences. Another marked development is viewed in this quoted thoughts from a known critique, Goldstein, "In 19th century Europe the ruling elite viewed the theater as a form of communication which had enormous importance. The theater provided the most significant form of mass entertainment and was the only arena aside from the church in which regular mass gatherings were possible. Therefore, drama censorship occupied a great deal of the ruling class's time and energy, with particular focus on proposed scripts that potentially threatened the existing political, legal and social order". All these innovations eventually revolutionized the world theater practice and brought about a variety of more aural dimensions of theater arts and expressionistic styles of acting. Obviously as history tells us, this frightful stage was not to last forever. Grateful to this particular theatrical control, it paved the way to comprehensive statutes that seriously considered the loss of hierarchic hypocrisies and the gain of more dynamic and democratic principles. Likewise, it became instrumental to the birth of a national theater tradition. "Because of the harsh strictures on the leading professional theaters, the marginal theaters (of the urban fairgrounds and pleasure gardens, the street shows and cabarets, the amateur theatricals of drawing rooms and salons and the minor theaters in the provinces) which were less closely watched by the secret police played an important role in the development of a national theater tradition. This tradition was a source of inspiration for the avant-garde theater of the early twentieth century" (rutheater.home.att.net/chronology2.htm.). Moreover, it could also be said that this particular political turbulence was greatly reflected in theatrical life. Some plays were banned, fears of prosecution put a pause to the continuance of the works of art by writers, dramatists and caricaturists and other artists. Such suppression did not save the famed actresses in the persons of Sarah Bernhardt and Eleonora Duse from suffering the same fates. Obviously as history tells us, this frightful stage was not to last forever. Grateful to this particular theatrical control, it positively paved the way to comprehensive statutes that seriously considered the eventual loss of rigid hierarchic hypocrisies and the relevant gain of more dynamic and democratic principles. Likewise, it became instrumental to the birth of a national theater tradition. "Because of the harsh strictures on the leading professional theaters, the marginal theaters (of the urban fairgrounds and pleasure gardens, the street shows and cabarets, the amateur theatricals of drawing rooms and salons and the minor theaters in the provinces) which were less closely watched by the secret police played an important role in the development of a national theater tradition. This tradition was a source of inspiration for the avant-garde theater of the early twentieth century" (rutheater.home.att.net/chronology2.htm.). A RECAP Most of the available literature on the nineteenth century theater arts consider this era as the 'Performing Century'. A broad array of performance genres depict this period, notably of course were the two rising stars in the persons of Sarah Bernhardt and Eleonora Duse. The theater industry in the nineteenth century Europe, specifically in France, played a special part in the role of organized popular entertainment in stage plays, dramas, and the like. Soon thereafter, the theater became an important industry were both men and women can have gainful employment, both in stage or in the backstage. An industry and a profession were clearly in the making, and hand in hand with them came the eventual rise of the stars, notable performers who became famous for all their superb acting capabilities and were internationally renowned and admired by people from all walks of life. Audiences came to witness their superb performances. Playwrights became busy writing for all these stage actors and actresses, some actually getting involved in their true to life stories. It is noteworthy to observe that a lot of factors in history richly influenced the growth and the development of the theater, not only due to it becoming a notable industry but also for the very simple reason that many people craved to see the performers who rose to become stars, who became the 'talk of the town', and that their lives in reality, became intertwined with the day to day experience of the audience or what we theoretically refer to as realism and melodrama. The stage became the actual stage of life, were the audience can easily relate and emphatize with the role-acting and even the entirety of the story in itself. Needless to say, the theater slowly became a regular part of life when it comes to entertainment. This is a reality, then, and even to this day. To watch a performance gives one a wondrous feeling of a journey, with the excitement in the story, enhanced by the beauty of the performer, as well as the incredible creativity of both the playwright and the producer, and the art form in itself. Integral to the dimension of the history of the theater in the nineteenth century is the effects on it too of the new beginnings of the industrial world. Both Sarah Bernhardt and Eleonora Duse were travelling performers who commuted from one place to another to make a performance. The intensive expansion of the railway system then paved the way for all their travels to become easier and possible, until the start of long-running stage productions. It was the audience clamor to see their favorite rising stars that initiated the idea of the long-term single plays. At present, such performances are still very popular in the busy metropolis like London, Paris, New York and Las Vegas, just to name a few. It is not surprising that these shows are most of the time with close to having a hundred percent audience with tickets most of the time being all sold out to the viewing public. As a finis, the three focal or key points in this paper namely: realism, resurgence of melodrama and political censorship, can be truly said to have largely given a great impact to the many changes and great important development of theater history. Realism on one hand had offered the bringing about of true to life experiences on stage. The audience have shown much interest in this for after all, a person can relate to the drama before her eyes as it involves a story no different from one's day to day life experiences. The resurgence of melodrama, to reiterate, brought about a variation of the romantic, the exotic and the supernatural. Anything new can be both sensual and exciting and this has kept the continued amazement and interest of people in the theater arts. Finally, political censorship, with its many effects on almost all facets of the performing arts, the stars , the playwrights, the producers, and even the audiences themselves brought about the most complexities. Such theatrical control however, which gratefully didn't last became a turning point from the old hierarchical old school thoughts and initialized a break-away from the monarchical regime to the modern day democracy, where freedom of expression in the arts can be both appreciated and respected. The dimensions of theater history is indeed a fascinating study, the theoretical key points interlink with each other clearly providing the making of history in the theater. Notably however, and in the final analysis, the personal glimpses in the lives of the then rising stars like Sarah Bernhardt and Eleonora Duse makes the explorative experience even more colorful, stimulating and interesting. Works Cited Amazon.com: Duse : A Biography : Eleonora Duse: William Weaver: Books ... legend of Italian actress Eleanor Duse, one of the greatest actresses in the ... www.amazon.com/Duse-Biography-Eleonora-William-Weaver/dp/0500013411 Berghahn Books, Political Censorship of the Theater in Nineteenth-Century Europe ... examination of nineteenth-century political theater censorship at a time, ... www.berghahnbooks.com/title.phprowtag=GoldsteinFrightful French stage star Sarah Bernhardt, most famous actress of the 19th century. ... Name at birth: Henriette-Rosine Bernhard ... www.who2.com/sarahbernhardt.html Gold, Arthur and Fizdale, Robert. The Divine Sarah: A Life of Sarah Bernhardt. New York : Knopf : Distributed by Random House, c1991. Introduction to Theatre -- 19th-Century Melodrama, 19th Century Melodrama. Resource: Wilson/Goldfarb, Chapter 13 ... The Primary 19th Century Theatrical Form. Characteristics of novaonline.nv.cc.va.us/eli/spd130et/melodrama.htm Realism and Naturalism... in terms of visual art, music, and literature during the 19th century. ... intellectual and artistic movements 19th-Century Realism and Naturalism are both ... www.wsu.edu/brians/hum_303/naturalism.html Russian Theater to the Twentieth Century... of subsidies and directors of theaters, free of state censorship but mindful ... greatest Russian plays were written in the second quarter of the 19thc rutheater.home.att.net/chronology2.htm Sarah Bernhardt: Biography from Answers.com... charismatic, sensual and highly melodramatic performances in classical plays ... Bernhardt excelled in emotionally overwrought roles www.answers.com/topic/sarah-bernhardt Read More