Rachel de la Comédie-Française

The daughter of Jewish peddlers from Alsace, Rachel Felix (1821–58) became a star at the Comédie-Française in the heyday of Romanticism. Small, plain, and fierce, Rachel’s ability to convey passion in her performances thrilled audiences. She revitalised the Comédie-Française, made high culture popular by playing the classical female roles as if they were living women, and was the first international dramatic star. Paintings, prints, and photographs from the era, together with interviews with French actors, directors, and scholars, excerpts from contemporary productions of the classics, from eyewitness accounts, and from Rachel’s own letters, tell the story of this complex and compelling woman. Judith Wechsler is a filmmaker and art historian. She has written, directed, and produced 21 films including Honoré Daumier: One Must be of One’s Time; Drawing, the Thinking Hand, and Jasper Johns: Take an Object (with Hans Namuth). Her books include Daumier Le Cabinet des Dessins and A Human Comedy: Physiognomy and Caricature in 19th Century Paris. She is currently the National Endowment for the Humanities Professor at Tufts University.