The Christmas kalends of Provence and some other . esetting was not an imitation, but the realthing. The palace from which the sistershad come forth rose stately behind the stage, the branches of the fig-treewaved lightly in the breeze. In the goldenglow of the footlights and against the goldenbackground the two white-robed figures—their loose vestments, swayed by the wind,falling each moment into fresh lines of loveli-ness—moved with an exquisite grace. Andall this visible beauty reinforced with a mov-ing fervour the penetrating beauty of Antig-ones avowal of her love for her dead
The Christmas kalends of Provence and some other . esetting was not an imitation, but the realthing. The palace from which the sistershad come forth rose stately behind the stage, the branches of the fig-treewaved lightly in the breeze. In the goldenglow of the footlights and against the goldenbackground the two white-robed figures—their loose vestments, swayed by the wind,falling each moment into fresh lines of loveli-ness—moved with an exquisite grace. Andall this visible beauty reinforced with a mov-ing fervour the penetrating beauty of Antig-ones avowal of her love for her dead brother—tender, human, natural — and of her pur-pose, born of that love, so resolute that toaccomplish it she would give her life. Again, the utter absence of conventionalscenery was a benefit rather than a disadvan-tage. When Creon entered upon the upperplane, attended by his gorgeous guard, andat the same moment the entrance of the chorusfilled the lower plane with colour less brilliantbut not less strong, the stage was full, not of256. CDe Com^dle Trancaise at Orange things, but of people, and was wholly eye was not distracted by painted scenery—in the ordinary theatre a mechanical neces-sity, and partly excusable because it also sup-plies warmth and richness of tone—but was en-tirely at the service of the mind in following thedramatic action of the play. The setting beinga reality, there w^as no need for mechanismto conceal a seamy side; and the colour-effects were produced by the actors them-selves : whose draperies made a superb colour-scheme of strong hues perfectlj^ harmonized,of gleaming white, of glittering golden em-broideries—which constantly w^as rearrangedbj^ the shifting of the groups and single fig-ures into fresh combinations; to which everypuff of w4nd and every gesture gave fresheffects of light and shade; and over w^hichthe golden light shed always its warm radi-ance. Of all those beautiful groupings, the onewhich most completely ful
Size: 1265px × 1975px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, bookpublishernewyo, bookyear1902
