Paul CLAUDEL (1868-1955). Autograph manuscript, Hellerau, [1913]; 4 1/2 pages in-fol. This text, sent by Claudel to Gaston Gallimard on June 14, 1913, was published anonymously in the Nouvelle Revue Française in July 1913 under the title Le Théâtre d'Hellerau; at the head of the manuscript, Jean Schlumberger noted: "From the letter addressed to us from Germany by one of our correspondents, let us extract the following passage". Claudel praises Hellerau's teaching methods and theater. In this small town near Dresden, Wolf Dhorn and Alexandre Salzmann had founded an Art Institute in 1911, concerned with theatrical issues. Two things attracted Claudel to Hellerau: first, "music in human bodies became visible and alive". Jaques-Dalcroze teaches his pupils "to listen to music, not by passively lending themselves to it, but by participating in it with their whole being and their whole body". The result is incomparable: "For the first time since the days of Greece, we see true beauty in the theater". Next, the configuration of the hall, which is more of a "workshop [...] The hall is a vast rectangle and has no fixed stage". The arrangement of portcullises and electric lamps means that "light animates and brings to life the being it envelops and collaborates with. [...] The stage is not fixed: it is composed of mobile elements", which Claudel represents in a sketch. All this makes it the ideal setting "for the performances of ancient dramas for which our modern stages are so ill-suited". [Claudel's enthusiasm was confirmed by a performance of L'Annonce faite à Marie at Hellerau on October 5, 1913]. The corrected proofs of this article (2 p. in-4) are enclosed, with a few corrections and additions, and a note by Jacques Rivière at the head.