Mrs. Fiske
Encyclopedia
Minnie Maddern Fiske born as Marie Augusta Davey, but often billed simply as Mrs. Fiske, was one of the leading American
actresses
of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. She also spearheaded the fight against the Theatrical Syndicate
for the sake of artistic freedom. She was widely considered the most important actress on the American stage in the first quarter of the 20th century. Her performances in several Henrik Ibsen
plays widely introduced American audiences to the Norwegian
playwright.
, she was the daughter of Thomas Davey and actress Lizzie Maddern and was a professional actress from the age of five. Fiske is perhaps most famous for starring as Becky Sharp
in the original 1899 production of Langdon Mitchell's
Becky Sharp, a play based on William Makepeace Thackeray
's Vanity Fair. She wrote several plays and collaborated with her husband Harrison Grey Fiske
in writing Fontenelle. Mr. Fiske directed virtually all of his wife's plays after their marriage. According to the New York Times article "Ibsen or Shakespeare?" (March 18, 1928), Harrison Fiske was 12 years old when he first set eyes on the future Mrs. Fiske — she was but 8, performing in a Shakespearean role. Her pay was in lollipop
s. She was married twice. In 1882 at age 16 she married a musician named LeGrande White but divorced after a short time. She married Harrison Grey Fiske
in March 1890 and took three years off from the stage. She had no children with either White or Fiske.
Among Mrs. Fiske's many triumphs on the Broadway
stage were Becky Sharp (1899, revivals 1904, 1911), Tess of the d'Urbervilles
(1897, revival 1902), A Doll's House
(1902), Hedda Gabler
(1903, revival 1904), Leah Kleschna (1904–05), Salvation Nell (1908–09), The High Road (1912–13), Madame Sand (1917–18), a play about George Sand
; Mis' Nelly of N'Orleans (1919), Helena's Boys (1924), Ghosts (1927), Ladies of the Jury (1929–30), as well as her self-written plays The Rose (1905), The Eyes of the Heart (1905), A Light from St. Agnes (1906). Mrs. Fiske starred in everything from farce
to tragedy
and even appeared in a comedy
with puppets Wake Up, Jonathan! (1921). Her final appearance on Broadway was in 1930 in an acclaimed production of The Rivals
cast as Mrs. Malaprop.
In the mid 1910s, Mrs. Fiske starred in two feature film
adaptions of two of her greatest stage triumphs, Tess Of The D'Urbervilles in 1913 and Vanity Fair in 1915, both of which were surprisingly successful with moviegoers, although she herself felt she was not at her best in the medium and declined further film work.
Her love for performing Ibsen over Shakespeare, and her posture that Ibsen is the better study for actors, can not be overstated. She told the New York Times in January 1908:
Fiske was also one of the most prominent animal welfare advocates of her era. Mark Twain
wrote the story "A Horse's Tale" for her.
, aged 66, in Queens, New York. She and Harrison had no children. The actress Emily Stevens (1882–1928) was her cousin, as was Elizabeth Maddern, the first wife of author Jack London
; she was also related to stage actress Merle Maddern (1887–1984).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actresses
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. She also spearheaded the fight against the Theatrical Syndicate
Theatrical Syndicate
-Beginnings:One day, early in the year 1896, six men gathered for lunch at the Holland House in New York City. These men were Charles Frohman, Al Hayman, A.L. Erlanger, Marc Klaw, Samuel F. Nirdlinger, and Frederick Zimmerman...
for the sake of artistic freedom. She was widely considered the most important actress on the American stage in the first quarter of the 20th century. Her performances in several Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of prose drama" and is one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre...
plays widely introduced American audiences to the Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
playwright.
Career
Born in New Orleans, LouisianaLouisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, she was the daughter of Thomas Davey and actress Lizzie Maddern and was a professional actress from the age of five. Fiske is perhaps most famous for starring as Becky Sharp
Becky Sharp (character)
Becky Sharp is the anti-heroine of William Makepeace Thackeray's satirical novel Vanity Fair . A cynical social climber who uses her charms to fascinate and seduce upper-class men, Sharp is contrasted with the clinging, dependent heroine Amelia Sedley...
in the original 1899 production of Langdon Mitchell's
Langdon Elwyn Mitchell
Langdon Elwyn Mitchell was an American playwright, son of S. Weir Mitchell and grandson of John Kearsley Mitchell. Born in Philadelphia, he studied in Dresden and Paris, attended the Harvard and Columbia law schools, and was admitted to the New York bar in 1886.He wrote under the pen name of...
Becky Sharp, a play based on William Makepeace Thackeray
William Makepeace Thackeray
William Makepeace Thackeray was an English novelist of the 19th century. He was famous for his satirical works, particularly Vanity Fair, a panoramic portrait of English society.-Biography:...
's Vanity Fair. She wrote several plays and collaborated with her husband Harrison Grey Fiske
Harrison Grey Fiske
Harrison Grey Fiske was an American journalist, playwright and Broadway producer who fought against the "Theatrical Syndicate" that formed around the turn of the twentieth century.-Early Life:...
in writing Fontenelle. Mr. Fiske directed virtually all of his wife's plays after their marriage. According to the New York Times article "Ibsen or Shakespeare?" (March 18, 1928), Harrison Fiske was 12 years old when he first set eyes on the future Mrs. Fiske — she was but 8, performing in a Shakespearean role. Her pay was in lollipop
Lollipop
A lollipop, pop, lolly, sucker, or sticky-pop is a type of confectionery consisting mainly of hardened, flavored sucrose with corn syrup mounted on a stick and intended for sucking or licking. They are available in many flavors and shapes.- Types :Lollipops are available in a number of colors and...
s. She was married twice. In 1882 at age 16 she married a musician named LeGrande White but divorced after a short time. She married Harrison Grey Fiske
Harrison Grey Fiske
Harrison Grey Fiske was an American journalist, playwright and Broadway producer who fought against the "Theatrical Syndicate" that formed around the turn of the twentieth century.-Early Life:...
in March 1890 and took three years off from the stage. She had no children with either White or Fiske.
Among Mrs. Fiske's many triumphs on the Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
stage were Becky Sharp (1899, revivals 1904, 1911), Tess of the d'Urbervilles
Tess of the d'Urbervilles
Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented, also known as Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman, Tess of the d'Urbervilles or just Tess, is a novel by Thomas Hardy, first published in 1891. It initially appeared in a censored and serialised version, published by the British...
(1897, revival 1902), A Doll's House
A Doll's House
A Doll's House is a three-act play in prose by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It premièred at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 December 1879, having been published earlier that month....
(1902), Hedda Gabler
Hedda Gabler
Hedda Gabler is a play first published in 1890 by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The play premiered in 1891 in Germany to negative reviews, but has subsequently gained recognition as a classic of realism, nineteenth century theatre, and world drama...
(1903, revival 1904), Leah Kleschna (1904–05), Salvation Nell (1908–09), The High Road (1912–13), Madame Sand (1917–18), a play about George Sand
George Sand
Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin, later Baroness Dudevant , best known by her pseudonym George Sand , was a French novelist and memoirist.-Life:...
; Mis' Nelly of N'Orleans (1919), Helena's Boys (1924), Ghosts (1927), Ladies of the Jury (1929–30), as well as her self-written plays The Rose (1905), The Eyes of the Heart (1905), A Light from St. Agnes (1906). Mrs. Fiske starred in everything from farce
Farce
In theatre, a farce is a comedy which aims at entertaining the audience by means of unlikely, extravagant, and improbable situations, disguise and mistaken identity, verbal humour of varying degrees of sophistication, which may include word play, and a fast-paced plot whose speed usually increases,...
to tragedy
Tragedy
Tragedy is a form of art based on human suffering that offers its audience pleasure. While most cultures have developed forms that provoke this paradoxical response, tragedy refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of...
and even appeared in a comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
with puppets Wake Up, Jonathan! (1921). Her final appearance on Broadway was in 1930 in an acclaimed production of The Rivals
The Rivals
The Rivals, a play by Richard Brinsley Sheridan, is a comedy of manners in five acts. It was first performed on 17 January 1775.- Production :...
cast as Mrs. Malaprop.
In the mid 1910s, Mrs. Fiske starred in two feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
adaptions of two of her greatest stage triumphs, Tess Of The D'Urbervilles in 1913 and Vanity Fair in 1915, both of which were surprisingly successful with moviegoers, although she herself felt she was not at her best in the medium and declined further film work.
Her love for performing Ibsen over Shakespeare, and her posture that Ibsen is the better study for actors, can not be overstated. She told the New York Times in January 1908:
"Ibsen is of interest to the actor because properly to understand a role you must study the character from its earliest childhood. Most Ibsen men and women have lived their lives before the curtain rises. Shakespeare has often been pronounced tedious by actors because his characters require a great deal of study. But even Shakespeare seems easy when compared with the thought that must be bestowed upon Ibsen. The beautiful verse, the wonderful character drawing of Shakespeare furnish solutions of perplexing problems, but Ibsen is so elusive. He fascinates by his aloofness. He is the Wagner of the drama. Wagner struggled for understanding just as Ibsen has struggled."
Fiske was also one of the most prominent animal welfare advocates of her era. Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
wrote the story "A Horse's Tale" for her.
Death
She died from congestive heart failureCongestive heart failure
Heart failure often called congestive heart failure is generally defined as the inability of the heart to supply sufficient blood flow to meet the needs of the body. Heart failure can cause a number of symptoms including shortness of breath, leg swelling, and exercise intolerance. The condition...
, aged 66, in Queens, New York. She and Harrison had no children. The actress Emily Stevens (1882–1928) was her cousin, as was Elizabeth Maddern, the first wife of author Jack London
Jack London
John Griffith "Jack" London was an American author, journalist, and social activist. He was a pioneer in the then-burgeoning world of commercial magazine fiction and was one of the first fiction writers to obtain worldwide celebrity and a large fortune from his fiction alone...
; she was also related to stage actress Merle Maddern (1887–1984).
Selected theater appearances
- Hunted Down by Dion BoucicaultDion BoucicaultDionysius Lardner Boursiquot , commonly known as Dion Boucicault, was an Irish actor and playwright famed for his melodramas. By the later part of the 19th century, Boucicault had become known on both sides of the Atlantic as one of the most successful actor-playwright-managers then in the...
, New York (1871) - Fogg's Ferry by Charles Callahan, Wisconsin (1882)
- Juanita by Charles Callahan, Illinois (1883)
- Caprice by Howard P. Taylor, Missouri (1884)
- In Spite of it All by Victorien SardouVictorien SardouVictorien Sardou was a French dramatist. He is best remembered today for his development, along with Eugène Scribe, of the well-made play...
, New York (1885) - Hester Crewe by Harrison Grey FiskeHarrison Grey FiskeHarrison Grey Fiske was an American journalist, playwright and Broadway producer who fought against the "Theatrical Syndicate" that formed around the turn of the twentieth century.-Early Life:...
, New York (1893) - A Doll's HouseA Doll's HouseA Doll's House is a three-act play in prose by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It premièred at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 December 1879, having been published earlier that month....
by Henrik IbsenHenrik IbsenHenrik Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of prose drama" and is one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre...
, New York (1894) - This Picture and That! by Brander MatthewsBrander MatthewsJames Brander Matthews , was a U.S. writer and educator. Matthews was the first U.S. professor of dramatic literature.-Biography:...
, Texas (1896) - Cesarine by Alexandre Dumas, filsAlexandre Dumas, filsAlexandre Dumas, fils was a French author and dramatist. He was the son of Alexandre Dumas, père, also a writer and playwright.-Biography:...
, Pennsylvania (1896) - Marie Deloche (orig. The Queen of Liars, 1895) by Harrison Grey Fiske, New York (1896)
- A Doll's House, New York (1896)
- A Light From St. Agnes by Minnie Maddern Fiske, New York (1896)
- Cesarine, Illinois (1896)
- Divorcons by Victorien Sardou, Illinois (1896)
- The Right to Happiness by Marguerite Merington, Louisiana (1896)
- Tess of D'Urbervilles by Lorimer Stoddard, New York (1897)
- Little Italy one act by Horace B. Fry with Divorcons, Illinois (1898)
- Magda by Hermann SudermannHermann SudermannHermann Sudermann was a German dramatist and novelist.- Early career :He was born at Matzicken, a village just to the east of Heydekrug in the Province of Prussia , close to the Russian frontier...
, New York (1898) - A Bit of Old Chelsea by Mrs. Oscar Beringer, New York (1898)
- Love Finds the Way by Marguerite Merrington, New York (1898)
- Becky Sharp by Langdon Mitchell, New York (1899)
- Frou Frou by Henri MeilhacHenri MeilhacHenri Meilhac , was a French dramatist and opera librettist.-Biography:Meilhac was born in Paris in 1831. As a young man, he began writing fanciful articles for Parisian newspapers and vaudevilles, in a vivacious boulevardier spirit which brought him to the forefront...
and Ludovic HalevyLudovic HalévyLudovic Halévy was a French author and playwright. He was half Jewish : his Jewish father had converted to Christianity prior to his birth, to marry his mother, née Alexandrine Lebas.-Biography:Ludovic Halévy was born in Paris...
, New York (1899) - Miranda of the Balcony by Anne Crawford FlexnerAnne Crawford Flexner-References:...
, New York (1901) - The Unwelcome Mrs. Hatch by Mrs. Burton HarrisonConstance Cary HarrisonConstance Cary Harrison , was a prolific American writer. She was also known as Constance Cary, Constance C. Harrison, and Mrs. Burton Harrison, as well as her nom de plume, "Refugitta." She was married to Burton Harrison, a lawyer and American democratic politician...
, New York (1901) - A Bit of Old Chelesa, New York (1902)
- Tess of D' Urbervilles, New York (1902)
- A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen, New York (1902)
- Little Italy and Divorcons, New York (1902)
- Mary of Magdala by Paul Heyse, New York (1902)
- Hedda GablerHedda GablerHedda Gabler is a play first published in 1890 by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The play premiered in 1891 in Germany to negative reviews, but has subsequently gained recognition as a classic of realism, nineteenth century theatre, and world drama...
by Henrik Ibsen, New York (1903) - Becky Sharp, New York (1904)
- Hedda Gabler, New York (1904)
- Leah Kleschna by C. M. S. McLellan, New York (1904)
- Three One Act Plays by Minnie Maddern Fiske: The Rose, A Light From St. Agnes, The Eyes of the Heart (1905)
- The New York Idea by Langdon Mitchell, New York (1906)
- Tess Of D'Urbervilles, Louisiana (1907)
- Leah Kleschna, Louisiana (1907)
- RosmersholmRosmersholmRosmersholm is a play written in 1886 by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. In the estimation of many critics the piece is Ibsen's masterwork, only equalled by The Wild Duck of 1884...
by Henrik Ibsen, New York (1907) - Salvation Nell by Edward SheldonEdward SheldonEdward Brewster Sheldon was an American dramatist. His plays include Salvation Nell and Romance , which was made into a motion picture with Greta Garbo....
, New York (1908) - The Pillars of SocietyThe Pillars of SocietyThe Pillars of Society is an 1877 play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen....
by Henrik Ibsen, New York (1910) - The Green Cockatoo by Arthur SchnitzlerArthur SchnitzlerDr. Arthur Schnitzler was an Austrian author and dramatist.- Biography :Arthur Schnitzler, son of a prominent Hungarian-Jewish laryngologist Johann Schnitzler and Luise Markbreiter , was born in Praterstraße 16, Leopoldstadt, Vienna, in the Austro-Hungarian...
, New York (1910) - Hannele by Gerhart HauptmannGerhart HauptmannGerhart Hauptmann was a German dramatist and novelist who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1912.-Life and work:...
, New York (1910) - Becky Sharp, New York (1911)
- Mrs. Bumpstead-Leigh by Harry James Smith, New York (1911)
- The New Marriage by Langdon Mitchell, New York (1911)
- Julia France by Gertrude AthertonGertrude AthertonGertrude Franklin Horn Atherton was an American writer.-Early Childhood:Gertrude Franklin Horn was born on October 30, 1857 in San Francisco to Thomas Ludovich Horn and his wife, the former Gertrude Franklin...
, Toronto, Canada (1912) - Lady Patricia by Rudolf Frohman, New York (1912)
- The High Road by Edward Sheldon, Montreal, Canada (1912)
- The High Road, Massachusetts (1913)
- Mrs Bumpstead-Leigh, New Jersey (1914)
- Lady Betty Martingale by John Luther LongJohn Luther LongJohn Luther Long was an American lawyer and writer best known for his short story "Madame Butterfly", which was based on the recollections of his sister, Jennie Correll, who had been to Japan with her husband—a Methodist missionary.Born in Hanover, Pennsylvania, Long had been admitted to the bar...
and Frank Stayon (1914) - Erstwhile Susan by Marian de Forest, Massachusetts (1916)
- Madame Sand by Philip Moeller, New York (1917)
- Service by Henri LavedanHenri LavedanHenri Léon Emile Lavedan , French dramatist and man of letters, was born at Orléans, the son of Hubert Léon Lavedan, a well-known Catholic and liberal journalist....
, translated by William C. Taylor, New York (1918) - Out There by J. Hartley MannersJ. Hartley MannersJohn Hartley Manners was a London-born playwright of Irish extraction who wrote Peg o' My Heart, which starred his wife, Laurette Taylor on Broadway in one of her greatest stage triumphs.-Biography:...
, allstar play toured America to raise funds for The Red Cross (1918) - Mis' Nelly of N' Orleans by Lawrence Eyre, New York (1919)
- Wake Up, Jonathan! by Hatcher HughesHatcher HughesHatcher Hughes was an American playwright who lived in Grover, NC, as featured in the book Images of America. He was on the teaching staff of Columbia University from 1912 onward...
and Elmer RiceElmer RiceElmer Rice was an American playwright. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his 1929 play, Street Scene.-Early years:...
, New York (1921) - The Dice of the Gods by Lillian Barrett, Illinois (1923)
- Mary, Mary Quite Contrary by St. John Ervine, New York (1923)
- Helena's Boys by Ida Lublenski Erlich, New York (1923)
- The RivalsThe RivalsThe Rivals, a play by Richard Brinsley Sheridan, is a comedy of manners in five acts. It was first performed on 17 January 1775.- Production :...
by Richard Brinsley SheridanRichard Brinsley SheridanRichard Brinsley Butler Sheridan was an Irish-born playwright and poet and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. For thirty-two years he was also a Whig Member of the British House of Commons for Stafford , Westminster and Ilchester...
, Massachusetts (1925) - GhostsGhosts (play)Ghosts is a play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It was written in 1881 and first staged in 1882.Like many of Ibsen's better-known plays, Ghosts is a scathing commentary on 19th century morality....
by Henrik Ibsen, New York (1927) - The Merry Wives of WindsorThe Merry Wives of WindsorThe Merry Wives of Windsor is a comedy by William Shakespeare, first published in 1602, though believed to have been written prior to 1597. It features the fat knight Sir John Falstaff, and is Shakespeare's only play to deal exclusively with contemporary Elizabethan era English middle class life...
by William ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
, New York (1928) - Much Ado About NothingMuch Ado About NothingMuch Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero....
by William Shakespeare, Pennsylvania (1928) - Mrs. Bumpstead-Leigh, New York (1929)
- Ladies of the Jury by Fred Ballard, New York (1929)
- It's a Grand Life by Hatcher HughesHatcher HughesHatcher Hughes was an American playwright who lived in Grover, NC, as featured in the book Images of America. He was on the teaching staff of Columbia University from 1912 onward...
and Alan WilliamsAlan WilliamsAlan John Williams is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Swansea West from 1964 to 2010.-Early life:...
, New York (1930) - The Rivals, New York (1930)
- Ladies of the Jury, Illinois (1931)
- Mrs. Bumpstead-Leigh, California (1932)
- Against the Wind by Carlos Drake, Illinois (1933)
Publications
- Binns, Archie, Mrs Fiske and the American Theatre. New York: Crown Publishers, 1955.
- Brown, Thomas Allston, A History of the New York Stage From the First Performance in 1732 to 1901, vol. III, New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1903.
- Chapman, John, and Garrison P. Sherwood, eds., The Best Plays of 1894-1899, New York: Dodd, Mead, & Company, 1955.
- Hapgood, NormanNorman HapgoodNorman Hapgood was an American writer, journalist, editor, and critic, born in Chicago, Illinois. He graduated from Harvard in 1890 and from the law school there in 1893, then chose to become a writer...
, The Stage in America, 1897-1900, Norwood, Mass.: The Macmillan Company, 1901. - "Ibsen or Shakespeare?", New York Times, Sunday, March 18, 1928. Section 9, pg.4
- Mantle, Burns, and Garrison P. Sherwood, eds., The Best Plays of 1899-1909, Philadelphia: The Blakiston Company, 1944.
- Winter, WilliamWilliam Winter (author)William Winter was an American dramatic critic and author.-Biography:Born in Gloucester, Massachusetts, Winter graduated from Harvard Law School in 1857...
, The Wallet of TimeThe Wallet of TimeProduced in 1913, The Wallet of Time is a publication by William Winter, in two volumes. Its title is taken from the words of William Shakespeare: "Time hath, my lord, a wallet at his back, Wherein he puts alms for oblivion,..." American stage actors and actresses, most of whom had been born in...
, Volumes One and Two, New York: Moffat, Yard and Company, 1913.
External links
- Minnie Madern Fiske (1865-1932)
- Mrs Fiske photo gallery NYP Library
- "Minnie Maddern Fiske", William Merritt Chase, Ronald G. Pisano, William Merritt Chase, D. Frederick Baker, Marjorie Shelley
- Actress Minnie Maddern Fiske, American Treasures of the Library of Congress
- Minnie Maddern Fiske, (1865-1932) Actress, Star, Manager, Crusader, Wayne Turney
- Mrs Fiske in The Actors Birthday Book
- Mrs Fiske University of Washington Sayre Collection
- autochrome color portrait of Mrs. Fiske
- autochrome color photo of Mrs. Fiske in Becky Sharp