In March 1993, he maintained the veracity of his novel to The New York Times Esther B. Fein: "' Operation Shylock ,' Roth insists with a post-modern straight face, is a ' confession ,' not a novel, and he means for us to take this every bit as seriously as the contents labels demanded by the strictures of the Food and Drug Administration.

Shylock also becomes obsessed with collecting his debt because of his grief: His only daughter, Jessica, has fled his house, taking his money and jewels, to elope with Antonio's friend Lorenzo and convert to Christianity.

" and considered his Shylock to be among his greatest impersonations, but the greatest success of the season was the production of Three Sisters.

The brief preface quotes Shakespeare ’ s Shylock: “ If a Christian wrong a Jew, what should his suffrance be by Christian example?

Such meta-fictional concerns would be mined more deeply in Roth's series of 1980s novels, most radically in The Counterlife and Operation Shylock.

In the 16th century, it was necessary for Shylock to convert to Christianity and forsake usury before he could be redeemed in the climax of The Merchant of Venice.

Among his many and varied parts may be mentioned Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth, Shylock, Richard III, Wolsey, Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing, Richelieu, David Garrick, Hernani, Alfred Evelyn, Lanciotto in George Henry Bokers ( 1823 – 1890 ) Francesca da Rimini, and Janies Harebell in The Man o ' Airlie.

Another interpretation of Shylock and a vision of how " must he be acted " appears at the conclusion of the autobiography of Alexander Granach, a noted Jewish stage and film actor in Weimar Germany ( and later in Hollywood and on Broadway ).

Similarly, it is possible that Shakespeare meant Shylock's forced conversion to Christianity to be a " happy ending " for the character, as it ' redeems ' Shylock both from his unbelief and his specific sin of wanting to kill Antonio.

Alexander Granach, who played Shylock in Germany in the 1920s, writes, "... how does it happen that Shylock's defense becomes an accusation ?... The answer must be a perfectly simple one.

Many will continue to play Shylock, but it is no doubt that Macklin will always be the Jew that Shakespeare drew.

However, like Shakespeare's Shylock, Barabas also shows evidence of humanity ( albeit rarely ), particularly when he protests against the blatant unfairness of the governor's edict that the Turkish tribute will be paid entirely by Malta's Jewish population.

Starting off as Shylock, their determination soon paid off in the form of Kingpin.

Kenneth Gross writes that " the play itself knows nothing about the Venetian ghetto ; we get no sense of a legally separate region of Venice where Shylock must dwell.

* Gross, John, Shylock: A Legend and Its Legacy, US: Touchstone, 2001, ISBN 0-671-88386-0 ; ISBN 978-0-671-88386-7.

* " Certainly ( Shylock ) is the very devil incarnal ..." ( i. e., incarnate ; Act 2, Scene II )

Thus, while the common portrayal during this period, of Jews as avaricious, blood-thirsty, and greedy was certainly a wholly inaccurate stereotype ; the casting of Shylock as a moneylender reflects an occupation among sixteenth century European Jews that was certainly common enough.

Kean and Irving presented a Shylock justified in wanting his revenge ; Adler's Shylock evolved over the years he played the role, first as a stock Shakespearean villain, then as a man whose better nature was overcome by a desire for revenge, and finally as a man who operated not from revenge but from pride.

New York natives and visitors alike have been enjoying free Shakespeare in Central Park since performances began in 1954. Notable productions in recent years include: The Merchant of Venice in 2010, featuring Al Pacino as Shylock ; Twelfth Night in 2009, with Anne Hathaway ; the 40th anniversary production of Hair in 2008 ; and Mother Courage And Her Children, with Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline.

During the following ten years he played at small theaters in Jihlava, Klagenfurt, Opava, Budapest, Leipzig, and Liebenstein ; from 1874 to 1890 he was a member of the " Meininger ", and appeared in such roles as Shylock, Iago, Gessler, Franz Moor, and Marinelli.

" In Adler's own words, " Shylock from the first was governed by pride rather than revenge.

Abraham has focused on stage work throughout his career, giving notable performances as Pozzo in Mike Nichols's production of Waiting for Godot, Malvolio in Twelfth Night for the New York Shakespeare Festival, and Shylock in The Merchant of Venice, for the Off Broadway Theatre For A New Audience ( TFANA ) in March 2007, which was performed at the Duke Theatre in New York and also at The Swan Theatre, part of the Royal Shakespeare Company.

His opening at Drury Lane on 26 January 1814 as Shylock roused the audience to almost uncontrollable enthusiasm.

Sometimes he would ride recklessly on his horse, Shylock, throughout the night.

The novel follows narrator " Philip Roth " on a journey to Israel, where he attends the trial of accused war criminal John Demjanjuk and becomes involved in an intelligence mission — the " Operation Shylock " of the title.

* Roth on Operation Shylock in The New York Times

Thomas on Operation Shylock in The New York Times Book Review

He went on to take over the management of the Lyceum Theatre and brought the actress Ellen Terry into partnership with him as Ophelia to his Hamlet, Lady Macbeth to his Macbeth, Portia to his Shylock, Beatrice to his Benedick, etc.

When it does, the play argues, Shylock must carry through on the letter of the law or jeopardize the scant legal security of the entire Jewish community.

The play received its American premiere on November 16, 1977 at New York's Plymouth Theatre with Joseph Leon as Shylock, Marian Seldes as Shylock's sister Rivka and Roberta Maxwell as Portia.

This production had a challenging history in previews on the road, culminating ( after the first night out of town in Philadelphia on September 8, 1977 ) with the death of the exuberant Broadway star Zero Mostel, who was initially cast as Shylock.

In The Merchant of Venice, Shylock is a Jewish moneylender who agrees to lend money to Bassanio on the credit of Antonio, Shylock's Christian rival.

In the English-speaking world, Shylock has predominantly been portrayed as an Ashkenazi Jew ( a tradition still evident in Al Pacino's performance on film ), although the action is supposed to take place in Venice, reflecting the representations available to modern-day British and American artists and audiences rather than the time and place of the setting.

In a 1902 interview with Theater magazine, Adler pointed out that Shylock is a wealthy man, " rich enough to forgo the interest on three thousand ducats " and that Antonio is " far from the chivalrous gentleman he is made to appear.

When it does, the play argues, Shylock must carry through on the letter of the law or jeopardize the scant legal security of the entire Jewish community.

The play received its American premiere on November 16, 1977 at New York's Plymouth Theatre with Joseph Leon as Shylock, Marian Seldes as Shylock's sister Rivka and Roberta Maxwell as Portia.

This production had a challenging history in previews on the road, culminating ( after the first night out of town in Philadelphia on September 8, 1977 ) with the death of the Broadway star Zero Mostel, who was initially cast as Shylock.

Oxfordians say this is similar to Antonio in The Merchant of Venice, who was indebted to Shylock for 3, 000 ducats against the successful return of his vessels.

In this retelling, Shylock and Antonio are fast friends bound by a mutual love of books and culture and a disdain for the crass anti-semitism of the Christian community's laws.

Shylock, suspicious of Antonio, sets the security as a pound of Antonio's flesh.

When Antonio's merchant ventures fail and he cannot come up with the money to pay off Bassanio's loan, Shylock demands the pound of flesh, which will surely kill Antonio.

In this retelling, Shylock and Antonio are friends bound by a mutual love of books and culture and a disdain for the anti-Semitism of the Christian community's laws.

He adapted the William Shakespeare ' comedy ' ( see: Shakespearean comedies ), and the film stars Al Pacino as Shylock and Jeremy Irons as Antonio.