Helena Modrzejewska (; born Jadwiga Benda; 12 October 1840 – 8 April 1909), known professionally as Helena Modjeska, was a Polish actress who specialized in
Shakespearean
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
and tragic roles. She was successful first on the Polish stage. After emigrating to the United States (and despite her poor command of English), she also succeeded on stage in America and London. She is regarded as the greatest actress in the
history of theatre in Poland.
Early life
Helena Modjeska was born in
Kraków, Poland, on 12 October 1840. Her birth name was recorded as Jadwiga Benda, but she was later baptized Helena Opid, under her godfather's surname.
![Helena Modrzejewska 1865 Kraków](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/Helena_Modrzejewska_1865_Krak%C3%B3w.jpg)
Modjeska's parentage is unclear. Her mother was Józefa (Misel) Benda, the widow of a prosperous Kraków merchant, Szymon Benda. In her autobiography, Modjeska claimed that her father was a musician named Michael Opid. The Benda family did employ a music teacher named Michal Opid, who later stood as Helena's godfather, however Opid did not father Józefa Benda's two youngest children.
There is evidence to suggest that Helena and her older brother Adolf were the results of an affair between Józefa and Prince
Władysław Hieronim Sanguszko, a wealthy and influential Polish nobleman. Helena also had a younger sister, Josephine, and several half-brothers from Józefa's first marriage. Helena and Josephine were primarily raised by their great-aunt Teresa.
Also glossed over in Modjeska's autobiography were the details concerning her first marriage, to her former guardian, Gustave Sinnmayer (Polish: Gustaw Zimajer). Gustave was an actor and the director of a second-rate provincial theater troupe. The date of Modjeska's marriage to Gustave is uncertain. She discovered many years later that they had not been legally married, because he was still married to his first wife when they wed. Together the couple had two children, a son Rudolf (later renamed
Ralph Modjeski
Ralph Modjeski (born Rudolf Modrzejewski; January 27, 1861 – June 26, 1940) was a Polish-American civil engineer who achieved prominence as "America's greatest bridge builder."
Life
He was born in Bochnia, called Galicia at the time, on Janua ...
), and a daughter Marylka, who died in infancy.
Gustaw Zimajer used the stage name "Gustaw Modrzejewski." It was the feminine form of this name that Modjeska adopted when she made her stage debut in 1861 as Helena Modrzejewska. Later, when acting abroad, she simplified her name to "Modjeska", which was easier for English-speaking audiences to pronounce.
In her early Polish acting career, Modrzejewska played at
Bochnia
Bochnia (german: Salzberg) is a town on the river Raba in southern Poland. The town lies approximately halfway between Tarnów (east) and the regional capital Kraków (west). Bochnia is most noted for its salt mine, the oldest functioning in Eu ...
,
Nowy Sącz
Nowy Sącz (; hu, Újszandec; yi, Tzanz, צאַנז; sk, Nový Sonč; german: Neu-Sandez) is a city in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship of southern Poland. It is the district capital of Nowy Sącz County as a separate administrative unit. It has ...
,
Przemyśl
Przemyśl (; yi, פשעמישל, Pshemishl; uk, Перемишль, Peremyshl; german: Premissel) is a city in southeastern Poland with 58,721 inhabitants, as of December 2021. In 1999, it became part of the Subcarpathian Voivodeship; it was pr ...
,
Rzeszów
Rzeszów ( , ; la, Resovia; yi, ריישא ''Raisha'')) is the largest city in southeastern Poland. It is located on both sides of the Wisłok River in the heartland of the Sandomierz Basin. Rzeszów has been the capital of the Subcarpathian Vo ...
and
Brzeżany
Berezhany ( uk, Бережани, ; pl, Brzeżany; yi, ברעזשאַן, Brezhan; he, בּז'יז'אני/בּז'ז'ני ''Bzhezhani''/''Bzhizhani'') is a city in Ternopil Raion, Ternopil Oblast (province) of western Ukraine. It lies about fr ...
. In 1862 she appeared for the first time in
Lwów
Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...
, playing in her first Romantic drama, as "Skierka" in
Juliusz Słowacki
Juliusz Słowacki (; french: Jules Slowacki; 4 September 1809 – 3 April 1849) was a Polish Romantic poet. He is considered one of the "Three Bards" of Polish literature — a major figure in the Polish Romantic period, and the father of mode ...
's ''
Balladyna''. From 1863 she appeared at
Stanisławów and
Czerniowce
Chernivtsi ( uk, Чернівці́}, ; ro, Cernăuți, ; see also other names) is a city in the historical region of Bukovina, which is now divided along the borders of Romania and Ukraine, including this city, which is situated on the upp ...
, in plays by Słowacki.
In 1865 Zimajer tried to get her a contract with
Viennese Viennese may refer to:
* Vienna, the capital of Austria
* Viennese people, List of people from Vienna
* Viennese German, the German dialect spoken in Vienna
* Music of Vienna, musical styles in the city
* Viennese Waltz, genre of ballroom dance
* V ...
theaters, but the plan came to naught due to her poor knowledge of the
German language
German ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and Official language, official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Ita ...
. Later that year Helena left Zimajer, taking their son Rudolf, and returning to Kraków. Once there she accepted a four-year theatrical engagement. In 1868 she began appearing in
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
; during her eight years there, she consolidated her status as a theater star. Her half-brothers Józef and Feliks Benda were also well-regarded actors in Poland.
One incident illustrates the restrictions of nineteenth century Polish society. At one of Modrzejewska's Warsaw performances, seventeen secondary-school pupils presented her with a bouquet of flowers tied with a ribbon in the red-and-white Polish national colors. The pupils were accused by the
Russian Imperial
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. The ...
authorities of conducting a
patriotic
Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and sense of attachment to one's country. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings, language relating to one's own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or histor ...
demonstration. They were expelled from their school and banned from admission to any other school. One of the pupils, Ignacy Neufeld, subsequently shot himself; Modrzejewska attended his funeral.
Chłapowski
On September 12, 1868, Modjeska married a Polish nobleman, Karol Bożenta Chłapowski. Best known in America as "Count Bozenta," he was not a
count
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
. His family belonged to the untitled landed gentry (''
ziemiaństwo
Polish landed gentry ( pl, ziemiaństwo, ziemianie, from '' ziemia'', "land") was a social group or class of hereditary landowners who held manorial estates. Historically, ''ziemianie'' consisted of hereditary nobles ('' szlachta'') and landed ...
''). In the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
he adopted the stage name "Count Bozenta" as a ploy to gain publicity. "Bozenta" was easier for an English-speaking audience to pronounce than "Chłapowski."
At the time of their marriage, Chłapowski was employed as the editor of a liberal nationalist newspaper, ''Kraj'' (The Country), which was owned by Adam
Sapieha
The House of Sapieha (; be, Сапега, ''Sapieha''; lt, Sapiega) is a Polish-Lithuanian noble and magnate family of Lithuanian and Ruthenian origin,Энцыклапедыя ВКЛ. Т.2, арт. "Сапегі" descending from the med ...
and a Mr. Sammelson. Modjeska wrote that their home "became the center of the artistic and literary world
f Kraków" Poets, authors, politicians, artists, composers and other actors frequented Modjeska's
salon
Salon may refer to:
Common meanings
* Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments
* French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home
* Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment
Arts and entertainment
* Salon (P ...
.
Immigration
![Modrzejewska Camille](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Modrzejewska_Camille.jpg)
In July 1876, after spending more than a decade as the reigning diva of the Polish national theater, for reasons both personal and political, Modjeska and her husband chose to immigrate to the United States.
Once in America, Modjeska and her husband purchased a
ranch
A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most often ...
near
Anaheim, California
Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...
.
Julian Sypniewski, Łucjan Paprowski, and
Henryk Sienkiewicz
Henryk Adam Aleksander Pius Sienkiewicz ( , ; 5 May 1846 – 15 November 1916), also known by the pseudonym Litwos (), was a Polish writer, novelist, journalist and Nobel Prize laureate. He is best remembered for his historical novels, especi ...
(winner of the
Nobel Prize for literature
)
, image = Nobel Prize.png
, caption =
, awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature
, presenter = Swedish Academy
, holder = Annie Ernaux (2022)
, location = Stockholm, Sweden
, year = 1901
, ...
in 1905), were among the friends who had accompanied them to California. It was during this period that Sienkiewicz wrote his ''Charcoal Sketches (Szkice węglem).'' Originally the artists
Stanisław Witkiewicz
Stanisław Witkiewicz ( lt, Stanislovas Vitkevičius) (8 May 1851 – 5 September 1915) was a Polish painter, art theoretician, and amateur architect, known for his creation of "Zakopane Style".
Life
Witkiewicz was born in Poszawsze in S ...
(father of
Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz
Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz (; 24 February 188518 September 1939), commonly known as Witkacy, was a Polish writer, painter, philosopher, theorist, playwright, novelist, and photographer active before World War I and during the interwar period.
...
) and
Adam Chmielowski
Albert Chmielowski (20 August 1845 – 25 December 1916) - born Adam Hilary Bernard Chmielowski - was a Polish nobleman, painter, disabled veteran of the Uprising of 1863, a professed religious and founder of both the Albertine Brothers and Albe ...
(the future
St. Albert) were also to have come with Modjeska's group, but they changed their plans. She was a member of the
Pacific Coast Women's Press Association
Pacific Coast Women's Press Association (PCWPA; September 27, 1890 - 1941) was a press organization for women located on the West Coast of the United States. Discussions were not permitted regarding politics, religion, or reform. The members of the ...
.
Modjeska intended to abandon her career and envisioned herself living "a life of toil under the blue skies of California, among the hills, riding on horseback with a gun over my shoulder." The reality proved less cinematic. None of the colonists knew the first thing about ranching or farming, and they could barely speak English. The utopian experiment failed, the colonists went their separate ways, and Modjeska returned to the stage, reprising the
Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
an roles that she had performed in Poland. Perhaps the best account of daily life on the ranch is
Theodore Payne
Theodore Payne (June 19, 1872 - May 6, 1963), was an English horticulturist, gardener, landscape designer, and botanist. His best known work was done over his adult life in Southern California.
Biography
Payne was born at Manor Farm, Church Brampt ...
's memoir, ''Life on the Modjeska Ranch in the Gay Nineties''.
American career
![Helena Modrzejewska by Melecjusz Dutkiewicz](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Helena_Modrzejewska_by_Melecjusz_Dutkiewicz.jpg)
On 20 August 1877, Modjeska debuted at the
California Theatre in San Francisco in an English version of
Ernest Legouvé
Gabriel Jean Baptiste Ernest Wilfrid Legouvé (; 14 February 180714 March 1903) was a French dramatist.
Biography
Son of the poet Gabriel-Marie Legouvé (1764–1812), he was born in Paris. His mother died in 1810, and almost immediately after ...
's ''
Adrienne Lecouvreur
Adrienne Lecouvreur (5 April 1692 – 20 March 1730), born Adrienne Couvreur, was a French actress, considered by many as the greatest of her time. Born in Damery, she first appeared professionally on the stage in Lille. After her Paris debut ...
''. She was seen by theatrical agent
Harry J. Sargent who signed her for a tour on the east coast where she made her New York debut. She then spent three years abroad (1879–82), mainly in London, attempting to improve her English, before returning to the stage in America. In 1880, she visited the
Lizard Peninsula
The Lizard ( kw, An Lysardh) is a peninsula in southern Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The most southerly point of the British mainland is near Lizard Point at SW 701115; Lizard village, also known as The Lizard, is the most southerl ...
in Cornwall and on hearing that the parish church of
Ruan Minor
Ruan may refer to:
Buildings
*Ruan Center, office building in Des Moines, Iowa
*John Ruan House, historic mansion in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Places
*Ruan, County Clare, Ireland
*Ruan, Loiret, France
*Mont Ruan, Switzerland
*Ruan Major and Ru ...
was in need of an organ she collaborated with
Mr J Forbes-Robertson to put on a performance. ''
Romeo and Juliet
''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...
'' was performed on a temporary stage in the vicarage garden and watched by many local people. A resident of
Penzance
Penzance ( ; kw, Pennsans) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated ...
and soon-to-be member of parliament for the
St Ives constituency,
Charles Campbell Ross, played the part of
Friar Laurence
Friar Laurence or Friar Lawrence is a character in William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet''.
Role in the play
Friar Laurence is a friar who plays the part of a wise adviser to Romeo and Juliet, along with aiding in major plot developments ...
.
Despite her accent and imperfect command of English, she achieved great success. During her career, she played nine Shakespearean heroines, Marguerite Gautier in ''
Camille'', and
Schiller
Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, and philosopher. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller developed a productive, if complicated, friendsh ...
's ''
Maria Stuart''. In 1883, the year she obtained American citizenship, she produced
Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playw ...
's ''
A Doll's House
''A Doll's House'' (Danish and nb, Et dukkehjem; also translated as ''A Doll House'') is a three-act play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It premiered at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 December 1879, having bee ...
'' in Louisville, Kentucky, the first Ibsen play staged in the United States. In the 1880s and 1890s, she had a reputation as the leading female interpreter of Shakespeare on the American stage.
In 1893, Modjeska was invited to speak to a women's conference at the
Chicago World's Fair, and described the situation of Polish women in the Russian and
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
n-ruled parts of dismembered Poland. This led to a
tsarist
Tsarist autocracy (russian: царское самодержавие, transcr. ''tsarskoye samoderzhaviye''), also called Tsarism, was a form of autocracy (later absolute monarchy) specific to the Grand Duchy of Moscow and its successor states ...
ban on her traveling in Russian territory.
Modjeska suffered a stroke and was partially paralyzed in 1897, but recovered and soon returned to the stage, continuing to perform for several additional years.
During her last stay in Poland, from 31 October 1902 to 28 April 1903, she appeared on the stage in Lwów, Poznań, and her native Kraków.
On 2 May 1905, she gave a jubilee performance in New York City. Then she toured for two years and ended her acting career, afterward only appearing sporadically in support of charitable causes.
Modjeska died at Newport Beach, California on 8 April 1909, aged 68, from
Bright's disease
Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that are described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. It was characterized by swelling and the presence of albumin in the urine, and was frequently accompanied b ...
. Her remains were sent to Kraków to be buried in the family plot at the
Rakowicki Cemetery
Rakowicki Cemetery (English: ; pl, Cmentarz Rakowicki) is a historic necropolis and a cultural heritage monument located on 26 Rakowicka Street in the centre of Kraków, Poland. It lies within the Administrative District No. 1 ''Stare Miasto'' ...
.
Her autobiography ''Memories and Impressions of Helena Modjeska'' was published posthumously in 1910. A Polish translation ran the same year in the Kraków newspaper ''Czas'' (Time). The last Polish edition of the book appeared in 1957.
Modrzejewska's son, Rudolf Modrzejewski (
Ralph Modjeski
Ralph Modjeski (born Rudolf Modrzejewski; January 27, 1861 – June 26, 1940) was a Polish-American civil engineer who achieved prominence as "America's greatest bridge builder."
Life
He was born in Bochnia, called Galicia at the time, on Janua ...
), was a civil engineer who gained fame as a designer of bridges.
Legacies
Arden
Arden may refer to:
Places
;Australia
*Arden, an area in North Melbourne, Victoria near the Arden Street Oval
;Canada
* Arden, Ontario
;Denmark
* Arden, Denmark, a town
**Arden Municipality, a former municipality, including the town of Arden
; ...
, Modjeska's home from 1888 to 1906, is a registered
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
.
Named for her are:
* Modjeska Park in Anaheim, California (33°48'53"N 117°57'8"W)
* Helene Street in Anaheim, California
*
Modjeska Canyon, California
Modjeska Canyon is an unincorporated community on the western slope of the Santa Ana Mountains in eastern Orange County, California. It is a suburban community of several hundred residents, with a small park and a volunteer fire station. The Z ...
(where Arden is located)
* Modjeska Falls, California, at the Glen Alpine Springs Resort
*
Modjeska Peak
Modjeska Peak is the northern mountain of the Saddleback landform in Orange County California. It is the second-highest peak of the Santa Ana Mountains, after Santiago Peak, whose summit is less than to the northwest. Modjeska lies within Clevel ...
(the north peak of
Saddleback Mountain).
* Bouquet Helena Modjeska by American perfumer
John Blocki of Prussian and Polish descent
*
Modjeskas, a caramel-covered marshmallow confection invented in 1889 by a local candy-maker named Anton Busath (and later made by other candy-makers, including Bauer's Candies, Muth's Candies and
Schimpff's Confectionery
Schimpff's Confectionery is a historic candy maker, confectionery store, and museum located in Jeffersonville, Indiana, within the Old Jeffersonville Historic District. It was opened in 1891 by Gustav Schimpff Sr. and Jr. at the current site, al ...
) in her honor when she visited Louisville, Kentucky.
* A street in
Wrocław
Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...
, formerly named after the German actress
Agnes Sorma
Agnes Sorma (c. 1862 – 10 February 1927), born Agnes Maria Caroline Zaremba, was a German actress best known for originating the playing the role of Nora in ''A Doll's House'' by Henrik Ibsen. Some sources give 1865 as her year of birth.
Ear ...
when the city was part of Germany as Breslau.
*
Modjeska Youth Theater Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
* A Pullman car, the Helena Modjeska, was named for her.
* SS Helena Modjeska, a 7,000 ton US cargo steamer that ran aground on
Goodwin Sands
Goodwin Sands is a sandbank at the southern end of the North Sea lying off the Deal coast in Kent, England. The area consists of a layer of approximately depth of fine sand resting on an Upper Chalk platform belonging to the same geologi ...
in 1946.
A statue of Modjeska is located outside the Pearson Park Amphitheater in Anaheim, California.
Modjeska was the mother of bridge engineer
Ralph Modjeski
Ralph Modjeski (born Rudolf Modrzejewski; January 27, 1861 – June 26, 1940) was a Polish-American civil engineer who achieved prominence as "America's greatest bridge builder."
Life
He was born in Bochnia, called Galicia at the time, on Janua ...
and godmother to artist-author-philosopher
Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz
Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz (; 24 February 188518 September 1939), commonly known as Witkacy, was a Polish writer, painter, philosopher, theorist, playwright, novelist, and photographer active before World War I and during the interwar period.
...
(son of artist
Stanisław Witkiewicz
Stanisław Witkiewicz ( lt, Stanislovas Vitkevičius) (8 May 1851 – 5 September 1915) was a Polish painter, art theoretician, and amateur architect, known for his creation of "Zakopane Style".
Life
Witkiewicz was born in Poszawsze in S ...
, who almost accompanied Modjeska and her family to California in 1876). She was also the aunt of artist
Władysław T. Benda.
She was godmother to American actress
Ethel Barrymore
Ethel Barrymore (born Ethel Mae Blythe; August 15, 1879 – June 18, 1959) was an American actress and a member of the Barrymore family of actors. Barrymore was a stage, screen and radio actress whose career spanned six decades, and was regarde ...
.
Roles
![Modrzejewska Maria Stuart 1886](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Modrzejewska_Maria_Stuart_1886.jpg)
Modjeska's chief tragic roles were:
*
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
:
**
Ophelia
Ophelia () is a character in William Shakespeare's drama ''Hamlet'' (1599–1601). She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, the daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes and potential wife of Prince Hamlet, who, due to Hamlet's actions, ends up in ...
in ''
Hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
''
**
Juliet
Juliet Capulet () is the female protagonist in William Shakespeare's romantic tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. A 13-year-old girl, Juliet is the only daughter of the patriarch of the House of Capulet. She falls in love with the male protagonist R ...
in ''
Romeo and Juliet
''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...
''
**
Desdemona
Desdemona () is a character in William Shakespeare's play ''Othello'' (c. 1601–1604). Shakespeare's Desdemona is a Venetian beauty who enrages and disappoints her father, a Venetian senator, when she elopes with Othello, a Moorish Venetian ...
in ''
Othello
''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cypru ...
''
**
Queen Anne in ''
Richard III
Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Battl ...
''
* Nora in
Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playw ...
's ''
A Doll's House
''A Doll's House'' (Danish and nb, Et dukkehjem; also translated as ''A Doll House'') is a three-act play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It premiered at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 December 1879, having bee ...
''
* Luisa Miller in
Salvadore Cammarano
Salvadore Cammarano (also Salvatore) (born Naples, 19 March 1801 – died Naples 17 July 1852) was a prolific Italian librettist and playwright perhaps best known for writing the text of ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' (1835) for Gaetano Donizetti.
For D ...
's
Luisa Miller
''Luisa Miller'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play ''Kabale und Liebe'' (''Intrigue and Love'') by the German dramatist Friedrich von Schiller.
Verdi's initial idea for ...
*
Friedrich Schiller
Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, and philosopher. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller developed a productive, if complicated, friends ...
's ''
Maria Stuart'' and ''
Princess Eboli
Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning wiktionary:principal, principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. ...
''
*
Marion Delorme
Marion Delorme (3 October 1613 – 2 July 1650) was a French courtesan known for her relationships with the important men of her time.
Biography
She was the daughter of Jean de Lou, sieur de l'Orme, president of the treasurers of France in Ch ...
in
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...
's ''
Marion Delorme
Marion Delorme (3 October 1613 – 2 July 1650) was a French courtesan known for her relationships with the important men of her time.
Biography
She was the daughter of Jean de Lou, sieur de l'Orme, president of the treasurers of France in Ch ...
''
*
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...
's ''Tisbé''
*
Juliusz Słowacki
Juliusz Słowacki (; french: Jules Slowacki; 4 September 1809 – 3 April 1849) was a Polish Romantic poet. He is considered one of the "Three Bards" of Polish literature — a major figure in the Polish Romantic period, and the father of mode ...
's ''Maria Stuart'' and ''Mazeppa''
Modrzejewska was also the
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
*Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
interpreter of the more prominent plays by
Ernest Legouvé
Gabriel Jean Baptiste Ernest Wilfrid Legouvé (; 14 February 180714 March 1903) was a French dramatist.
Biography
Son of the poet Gabriel-Marie Legouvé (1764–1812), he was born in Paris. His mother died in 1810, and almost immediately after ...
,
Alexandre Dumas, père
Alexandre Dumas (, ; ; born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (), 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas père (where ''Suffix (name)#Generational titles, '' is French language, French for 'father', to distinguish him from ...
and
fils
Fils or FILS may refer to:
People
* Anton Fils (1733–1760), German composer
* Arthur Fils (born 2004), French tennis player
* Pascal Fils (born 1984), Canadian football player
Other uses
* Fils (currency), a subdivision of currency used in ...
,
Émile Augier
Guillaume Victor Émile Augier (; 17 September 182025 October 1889) was a French dramatist. He was the thirteenth member to occupy seat 1 of the Académie française on 31 March 1857.
Biography
Augier was born at Valence, Drôme
Valence (, ...
,
Alfred de Musset
Alfred Louis Charles de Musset-Pathay (; 11 December 1810 – 2 May 1857) was a French dramatist, poet, and novelist.His names are often reversed "Louis Charles Alfred de Musset": see "(Louis Charles) Alfred de Musset" (bio), Biography.com, 2007 ...
,
Octave Feuillet
Octave Feuillet (11 July 1821 – 29 December 1890) was a French novelist and dramatist. His work stands midway between the romanticists and the realists. He is renowned for his "distinguished and lucid portraiture of life", depictions of fem ...
and
Victorien Sardou
Victorien Sardou ( , ; 5 September 18318 November 1908) was a French dramatist. He is best remembered today for his development, along with Eugène Scribe, of the well-made play. He also wrote several plays that were made into popular 19th-centur ...
.
In literature
Susan Sontag
Susan Sontag (; January 16, 1933 – December 28, 2004) was an American writer, philosopher, and political activist. She mostly wrote essays, but also published novels; she published her first major work, the essay "Notes on 'Camp'", in 1964. Her ...
's award-winning 1999 novel ''
In America'', though fiction, is based on Modjeska's life. The book precipitated a controversy when Sontag was accused of having plagiarized other works about Modjeska.
Modjeska was a character in the novella ''
My Mortal Enemy
''My Mortal Enemy'' is the eighth novel by American author Willa Cather. It was first published in 1926.
Plot summary
Myra and her husband Oswald return to their fictional hometown of Parthia, Illinois, to visit their relatives. Nellie and Aunt ...
'' by
Willa Cather
Willa Sibert Cather (; born Wilella Sibert Cather; December 7, 1873 – April 24, 1947) was an American writer known for her novels of life on the Great Plains, including ''O Pioneers!'', '' The Song of the Lark'', and ''My Ántonia''. In 1923, ...
.
Scholars Joanna and Catharina Polatynska have posited that Modjeska might have been
Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...
's model for the character
Irene Adler
Irene Adler is a fictional character in the Sherlock Holmes stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. A former opera singer and actress, she was featured in the short story " A Scandal in Bohemia", published in July 1891. Adler is one of the ...
, the only woman that
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...
came close to loving. In "
A Scandal in Bohemia", Doyle mentions Adler having been prima donna of the fictional Imperial Opera of Warsaw in the same years when Modjeska was at the peak of her theatrical career in Warsaw, and the fictional character's personality recalls that of the actual actress.
Death anniversary
In 2009, in honor of the 100th anniversary of her death, the Historical Museum of the City of Kraków presented the exhibition "Helena Modjeska (1840–1909): For the Love of Art" (8 April – 20 September 2009). The Warsaw staging of the same exhibition ran from October 2009 through January 2010.
[Malgorzata Palka (translator: Piotr Krasnowolski), exhibition notes: ''Helena Modjeska (1840–1909): For the Love of Art''. Muezeum Histoyczne Miasta Krakowa and Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera in Warsaw.] The exhibition included items from the
Bowers Museum
The Bowers Museum is an art museum located in Santa Ana, California. The museum's permanent collection includes more than 100,000 objects, and features notable strengths in the areas of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, Native American art, the art of A ...
in Santa Ana, California.
Google Doodle
To commemorate the 181st anniversary of her birth on 12 October 2021, a
Google Doodle
A Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google's homepages intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and notable historical figures. The first Google Doodle honored the 1998 edition of the long-running an ...
paid homage to Modjeska.
See also
*
Helena Modrzejewska National Stary Theater in Kraków
The Helena Modrzejewska National Stary Theater in Kraków (Polish: ''Narodowy Stary Teatr im. Heleny Modrzejewskiej'') is one of the oldest public stages in Poland and a national institution of culture, first opened in 1781. It was named after re ...
*
Legitimacy
Legitimacy, from the Latin ''legitimare'' meaning "to make lawful", may refer to:
* Legitimacy (criminal law)
* Legitimacy (family law)
* Legitimacy (political)
See also
* Bastard (law of England and Wales)
* Illegitimacy in fiction
* Legit (d ...
*
List of Poles
This is a partial list of notable Polish or Polish-speaking or -writing people. People of partial Polish heritage have their respective ancestries credited.
Science
Physics
* Czesław Białobrzeski
* Andrzej Buras
* Georges Charpak ...
*
Modjeska House
*''
Starring Madame Modjeska''
Notes
References
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Further reading
*
External links
Archival collections
*
Guide to the Ellen K. Lee Collection on Helena Modjeska and Orange County.Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California.
Guide to the Collection of Helena Modjeska Theater Memorabilia.Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California.
Guide to the Helena Modjeska Collection.Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California.
Madam Modjeska scrapbooks, 1877–1898 held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division,
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, is located in Manhattan, New York City, at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on the Upper West Side, between the Metro ...
Heroines of the Modern Stagep. 52 by Forrest Izard c. 1915
Other
Helena Modrzejewskaat culture.pl
Modjeska, Helenaat American National Biography
A play in which Modjeska reflects on her lifeA documentary film about Helena Modjeska's life and passionsHelena Modjeska – Icon of Style. Reconstructions of XIX century costumes*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Modjeska, Helena
1840 births
1909 deaths
19th-century American actresses
19th-century Polish actresses
Actors from Orange County, California
Actresses from Kraków
American stage actresses
Burials at Rakowicki Cemetery
History of Orange County, California
People from Los Angeles County, California
Polish emigrants to the United States
Polish stage actresses
Polish salon-holders
Pacific Coast Women's Press Association