Charlot (Voltaire)
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| Title: | Charlot |
| Genus: | comedy |
| Original language: | French |
| Author: | Voltaire |
| Publishing year: | 1767 |
| Premiere: | September 26, 1767 in Voltaire's private theater |
| Place of premiere: | Ferney-Voltaire |
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Charlot , with the full title Charlot, ou la Comtesse de Givry , is a 1767 sensitive tragic comedy in three acts and in verse by Voltaire . The play not actually intended by the author for the stage was premiered on September 26, 1767 in Voltaire's private theater under the direction of the author and published in book form that same year.
action
The action takes place in Champagne in the castle of the Countess von Givry. The visit of King Henri IV is expected. The humiliated, sensitive Charlot unintentionally wounds the brutal peasant marquis, the countess' son and his milk brother in an argument. During the examination, the wet nurse confesses to having switched the children after the birth. The natural order is restored by the arriving king. Good disposition and character ultimately prevail over education and conventions.
Literary source and biographical references
Voltaire wrote his sensitive comedy Charlot in 1767 to entertain his guests in Ferney. Voltaire stated in his letter to Damilaville of September 28, 1767 that he had written the Charlot in five days. Originally the piece was designed as a tragedy and accordingly written in Alexandrians .
Performances and contemporary reception
The comedy was first performed on September 26, 1767 in Ferney by Voltaire and his guests. Voltaire, however, refrained from submitting it to the stage. A performance in Paris in the Comédie des Italiens took place after the author's death on June 4, 1782.
Going to press
Charlot was first published by Merlin in Paris in 1767. Although the piece was not performed during Voltaire's lifetime, the book edition saw several editions and follow-up prints in 1767.
Addition
In his short foreword to the first book edition, Voltaire described the piece as a literary text for the entertainment of the readership.
First editions
- Charlot, ou la Comtesse de Givry. pièce dramatique représentée sur le théâtre de F ***. au mois de septembre 1767 , Paris, Merlin, 1767, 8 °, 69 pp.
- Charlot, ou la Comtesse de Givry. pièce dramatique représentée sur le théâtre de F ***. au mois de septembre 1767 , Geneva and Paris, Merlin, 1767, 8 °, 69 pp.
- Charlot, ou la Comtesse de Givry. pièce dramatique, jouée au château de F…, le samedi 26 septembre 1767 , Geneva, Pellet et fils, 8 °, 1767, 78 pp.
- Charlot, ou la Comtesse de Givry. pièce dramatique, jouée au château de F…, le samedi 26 septembre 1767 , Geneva, P. et F., 8 °, 1767 56 pp.
- Charlot, ou la Comtesse de Givry. pièce dramatique représentée sur le théâtre de Ferney au mois de septembre 1767 , Paris, Duchesne, 1768, 8 °, 39 pp.
First translation into German
- Charlot or the Countess von Givri, a comedy in three acts. Translated from the French by Herr von Voltaire before the German stage in Prague , Prague, Johann Pruschin Wittib, 1772, 8 °, 50 p. online
literature
- Éric van der Schueren: Charlot , in: Dictionnaire Voltaire, Hachette Livre, 1994, p. 32 f.
- Siegfried Detemple: Charlot, in: Voltaire: The works. 300th birthday catalog. Reichert, Wiesbaden 1994, p. 180 f.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Cf. Eric van der Schueren: Charlot , in: Dictionnaire Voltaire, Hachette Livre, 1994, p. 32 f.
- ↑ Cf. Éric van der Schueren: Nanine , in: Dictionnaire Voltaire, Hachette Livre, 1994, p. 139.
- ^ Siegfried Detemple: Charlot, in: Voltaire: The works. 300th birthday catalog. Reichert, Wiesbaden 1994, p. 181.