Esther (Racine)
Esther is a tragedy in three acts by the French poet Jean Racine , with music by Jean-Baptiste Moreau . The premiere took place on January 26, 1689 in the girls' boarding school in Saint-Cyr .
The plot is based on the biblical book of Esther . The play takes place in Susa , in the palace of King Ahasuerus .
action
The prologue is presented from an allegory of piety . It contains an eulogy for King Louis XIV and Madame de Maintenon , who commissioned the play.
Esther tells a trusted friend how she became the royal favorite after uncovering a conspiracy against the king with the help of her adoptive father Mordechai . At that moment Mordechai brought the news that King Ahasuerus, on the advice of Haman, issued a decree according to which all Jews in the Persian Empire should be killed in the coming days .
Haman, a descendant of the Amalekites , confesses his hatred of Mordechai to a court official after the latter has repeatedly denied him due respect and never kneeled before him . Meanwhile, Ahasuerus has learned that Mordechai saved him from a conspiracy years ago. The king instructs Haman to grant Mordechai a triumphal procession on this occasion . Esther wants to save her people and invites the king and Haman to dinner at her home.
In an interview with his wife, Haman is ashamed that he had to pay tribute to the Jew Mordechai. Nonetheless, he regards the Queen's invitation as an honor. Esther confesses to the king that she is Jewish. Your people have no intentions of conspiracy against him, and Haman wants to destroy them out of personal revenge. When Haman begs the queen for mercy and throws himself at her feet, the angry king condemns him to death and appoints Mordechai as his successor. The piece closes with a sung thanksgiving prayer by the choir.
History of origin
Since the performance of Phèdre in 1677, Racine had turned away from the theater and took up his post as chronicler and historiographer of Louis XIV. Madame de Maintenon, who came from an impoverished nobility, gained increasing influence at court during these years. She married the Sun King in private in 1683 and opened an educational institution for poor female nobles in Saint-Cyr near Versailles in 1684 . When she commissioned Racine to write a play on a biblical theme, the court poet could not ignore this wish. In his foreword he explains that this is the first time that he will realize his long-cherished intention of combining the chorus and song with the action , as in the ancient Greek tragedies .
The performance in Saint-Cyr, in which all roles were played by young actresses, became a success. Soon after, Madame de Maintenon commissioned another biblical tragedy. Athalie , Racine's last play, was staged in 1691.
Web links
La Thébaide (1664) Alexander the Great (1665) Andromaque (1667) Les Plaideurs (1668) Britannicus (1669) Bérénice (1670) Bajazet (1672) Mithridate (1673) Iphigénie (1674) Phèdre (1677) Esther (1689) Athalie (1691)