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MODJESKA, HELENA (1844–1909)

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Originally appearing in Volume V18, Page 643 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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MODJESKA, See also:HELENA (1844–1909) , See also:Polish actress, was See also:born at See also:Cracow on the 12th of See also:October 1844. Her See also:father, See also:Michael Opido, was a musician, and her tastes soon declared themselves strongly in favour of a dramatic career; but it was not until after her See also:marriage in 1861 that she first attempted to See also:act, and then it was with a See also:company of strolling players. Her See also:husband (whose name, Modrzejewski, she simplified for See also:stage purposes) died in 1865. In 1868 she married See also:Count Bozenta Chlapowski, a Polish politician and critic, and almost immediately afterwards received an invitation to act at See also:Warsaw. There she remained for seven or eight years, and won a high position in her See also:art. Her See also:chief tragic roles were Ophelia, Juliet, Desdemona, See also:Queen See also:Anne in See also:Richard III., Louisa See also:Miller, Maria See also:Stuart, See also:Schiller's Princess See also:Eboli, See also:Marion See also:Delorme, See also:Victor See also:Hugo's Tisbe and Slowacki's Mazeppa. In See also:comedy her favourite roles were See also:Beatrice in Much See also:Ado About Nothing, and Donna See also:Diana in the Polish See also:translation of an old See also:Spanish See also:play of that name. Madame Modjeska was also the Polish interpretress of the most prominent plays of See also:Legouve, See also:Dumas, father and son, Angier, See also:Alfred de See also:Musset, See also:Octave See also:Feuillet and See also:Sardou. In 1876 she went with her husband to See also:California, where they settled on a See also:ranch. This new career, however, proved a failure, and Madame Modjeska returned to the stage. She appeared in See also:San Francisco in 1877, in an See also:English version of Adrienne See also:Lecouvreur, and, in spite of her imperfect command of the See also:language, achieved a remarkable success. She continued to act principally in See also:America, but was also seen from See also:time to time in See also:London and elsewhere in the See also:United See also:Kingdom, her repertory including several Shakespearian roles and a variety of emotional parts in See also:modern See also:drama.

She died on the 9th of See also:

April 1909 at her See also:home near Los Angeles, California.

End of Article: MODJESKA, HELENA (1844–1909)

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