THE ART OF THE THEATRE was a poetic and dramatic narrative of Sarah Bernhardt. She was Chardonnay, a rite of passage, enigmatic, and while being a small woman, an icon of large magnitude. She was a complex woman who embodied art, especially the dramatic art. The theatre. I think she was a woman who carved her place within a man’s world. She was sharp, smart, and minced no words. She told it like it was, the good and bad, the truth. When asked why she would rather play Hamlet than Ophelia she countered with the fact that she liked playing male roles for their intelligence. When describing why she preferred playing the role of Hamlet rather than that of Ophila, she stated that his was the most original yet the most simple. He seemed complex but had only one idea which was to avenge his father. She may well have described herself with those very words.
The advice she shares on acting such as stage presence, appearance, tone of voice, pronunciation, enunciation, and physical attributes is honest and timeless. When she discusses the will or willpower, I think she really nails it. “Willpower is the fundamental condition of success.” An actor must abandon the whole ‘self’ and give the character a soul including heart, mind, and body. “A true actor realizes himself through passion and can’t be natural unless he has the power to project himself.”
I feel that Sarah Bernhardt is timeless and highly revered as an exquisite woman of the arts and taste. She’s the saint of all things dramatic. Saint Sarah. I don’t know how saintly she was but what I do know is that she knew her craft backwards, forwards and in between. While she was the most famous actress she was also the most beloved as can be shown by large crowds waiting to see her and waiting for her after a performance. I didn’t know she’d had a bit of stage fright. This was an insightful narrative/bio of Sarah Bernhardt’s notes and musings about what it takes to be an actor. This is a woman I would love to go back in time and meet. This is a fabulous audiobook that I would definitely recommend. It’s a matter of style and taste but I loved it and Kitty Hendrix’s performance made it all the more wonderful.
KITTY HENDRIX is the embodiment of Sarah in this story. Kitty reading Sarah is perfection. She took it to a whole other level of amazing while channeling Sarah herself. Kitty grasped everything this audiobook was about and projected it out into the world just as Sarah would have. This was a dramatic as well as impressive piece of work. She has a rich, even tone that adds sophistication to her work, making her a real stand out as a voice actor.
Audiobook received in exchange for an unbiased review