Cyrano de Bergerac (Rostand)

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The Parisian Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin on Lallemand's watercolor from 1790

Cyrano de Bergerac [ siʀaˈno dəbɛʀʒəˈʀak ] is a romantic-comedic verse drama written by Edmond Rostand in 1897 - the premiere took place on December 28, 1897 at the Parisian Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin .

action

The eponymous hero Cyrano de Bergerac , a French poet of the 17th century, suffers from his huge nose. Many a mocker die in a duel. Yet de Bergerac is described as sensitive; he's in love with his handsome cousin Roxane. Since he fears her rejection, he hides his true feelings. When Roxane confesses her affection for Christian von Neuvillette, de Bergerac is ready to support him by writing poetry in his place. The handsome Christian von Neuvillette, who is considered a "bad fool", serves in the same regiment as de Bergerac with the Gascon cadets .

In order to satisfy the romantic demands of the beloved, de Bergerac lends his rival his poetic talent, so that von Neuvillette enjoys success alone. Finally, de Bergerac convinces the two of them to step in front of the altar, thus withdrawing Roxane from Count Guiche, who wants to make her his lover. Guiche is angry and takes revenge by sending the Gascogner cadets, including de Bergerac and von Neuvillette, to the front line of war.

Although starved and encircled by the Spanish besiegers, de Bergerac smuggled two letters a day to Roxane through the enemy lines on behalf of Neuvillette. Because of these letters, Roxane rushes to her husband in the middle of the army camp, to whom she now confesses that she no longer loves him for his "outer shell", but for the beauty of his soul. Christian von Neuvillette is appalled because he knows he has not been honest with Roxane. But shortly before de Bergerac can tell their mutual lover the true author of the letters, the death report arrives: von Neuvillette has fallen and de Bergerac is silent in order to receive the memory of the love hero from the grieving Roxane. It was only 14 years later that Roxane, who had retired to a monastery, discovered the truth. However, shortly before the obligatory Saturday visit to his cousin, de Bergerac was seriously wounded in an attack, so that he died in her arms, weakened by blood loss and feverish delusions.

Cyrano de Bergerac is often used as an example for the motifs of the ghostwriter and the "good core behind a less attractive facade".

Settings and stage arrangements

Cyrano de Bererac - theater poster 1898

Film adaptations

Further

literature

  • Philippe Bisson: Cyrano de Bergerac, de Rostand. Series: Balises oeuvres. Fernand Nathan, Paris 1994 a. ö., ISBN 2091807559 .

Web links

Wikisource: Cyrano de Bergerac (Rostand)  - Sources and full texts (French)

Footnotes

  1. ↑ On this day Jules Renard , who has been friends with Rostand since around 1895, noted in his diary (extract of ideas, dipped in ink , Munich 1986): “Flowers, nothing but flowers, but all flowers for our great poet and playwright! “Now there is one more masterpiece in the world. Renard confesses his feeling of inferiority to his friend's "genius". (Page 136) Almost 15 years later, Renard's enthusiasm for Rostand has weakened. “The artificial is enough for him to the point that he can get excited about it as if it were the truth. / He does not investigate, he accepts. "(Page 339)
  2. ↑ The historical model for Count Guiche is Antoine III. de Gramont , Comte de Guiche and Marshal of France
  3. ↑ [1]