FOREIGN DRAMA ON ENGLISH AND AMERICAN STAGE 65 



imitated from the pseudo-classic French school of Corneille and Racine. 

 Then came the fine critical and creative work of Lessing in the classic 

 period of the German drama, followed by the melodramatic sensations 

 of the Storm and Stress period. Then followed the romantic works of 

 Goethe and Schiller and the plays of the nineteenth century by writers 

 several of whom are still living and, by the character of their present work, 

 maintaining the drama of Germany upon a high plane. 



If, as in the case of the development of the French drama on the Eng- 

 lish stage, we proceed chronologically, the first date at which we stop is 

 1787, the year of the production of Schiller's [Don Carlos. Even this 

 play has no significance for us as a popular favorite known to the average 

 theater-goer. It is interesting to us as having been the second last great 

 production of the late Richard Mansfield. It was not a success, as suc- 

 cess is measured by the superficial theater-going public of the present 

 day, but for lovers of the drama, for students and for all those who still 

 cherish ideals of the drama, it was a memorable production. In pro- 

 ducing Don Carlos, as well as Moliere's Misanthrope and Ibsen's Peer 

 Gynt, Mr. Mansfield was moved by the sincere love of his art, rather 

 than by sordid box-office considerations. 



The next date at which we pause is 1796, when Goethe finished his 

 Wilhelm Meister. One of the episodes from this long work furnished 

 the ground work for Thomas' opera, Mignon, first produced in Paris in 

 1866 and ever since a favorite in all languages. 



The year 1800 marks the first production of Schiller's Mary Stuart. 

 This glowing tragedy with its famous scene between Queen Elizabeth 

 and Mary Queen of Scots has long been included in the repertory of 

 the foremost tragic actresses. It is the only play of Schiller which has 

 been a money-maker in America. Strange to say, the most illustrious 

 actresses to appear in Mary Stuart on the American stage have been 

 foreigners, Madame Janauschek, a Bohemian, and Madame Modjeska 

 a Pole, both of whom played in English, and Adelaide Ristori who 

 played in Italian. 



Schiller's Maid of Orleans (1801), which is a favorite in Germany 

 though scarcely known in this country, has nevertheless been brought 

 into prominence recently by the out-of-door performances of the play 



