La mère coupable (Beaumarchais)
| Data | |
|---|---|
| Original title: | L'autre Tartuffe ou La mère coupable |
| Genus: | drama |
| Original language: | French |
| Author: | Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais |
| Premiere: | June 26, 1792 |
| Place of premiere: | Paris, Théâtre du Marais |
| Place and time of the action: | Paris, residence of the Count, November 10, 1790 |
| people | |
|
|
L'autre Tartuffe ou La mère coupable (T. the Second or The Guilty Mother) is a five-act drama by Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (1732–1799). It forms the last part of his Figaro trilogy . The author was aware that it would not be a global success like Le barbier de Séville and Le mariage de Figaro . In the foreword to the 1797 edition, he writes: “Perhaps I waited too long to complete this terrible work that consumed my chest and should have been written with the strength of the years.” Because of a conflict with the Comédie-Française over the The premiere took place shortly before the Tuileries Tower at another theater. After Grétry had already thought of setting it to music, the piece has recently been reworked into operas by several composers .
action
initial situation
Tartuffe the second is Bégearss, the guilty mother raisin Countess Almaviva. Bégearss first served the latter's husband as a secretary , then as a major in his regiment . Twenty years ago, when Almavivawentto New Spain as viceroy , theCountess followedthe former page Chérubin Léon to Astorga Castle, where she let him impregnate her. After the birth of their son Léon, she decided not to see Chérubin again. This then sought death in battle. He wrote a suicide note that Bégearss brought her. She didn't have the heart to destroy this memento. She keeps it in the false bottom of a jewelery box that Bégearss bought for her. Léon is the opposite of the legitimate son of the count couple, who went astray andfellin a duel two years ago. As the Knight of Malta committedto poverty and chastity ,he cannot take its place.
Almaviva doubts Léon is his child, but keeps it to himself because Raisin is the only woman he has loved. He too has an illegitimate child (from a deceased noblewoman) whose guardian and godfather he is. In order to be able to leave his fortune to this daughter named Florestine, he moves to Paris after the death of the family owner and tries to sell or exchange his man fiefs in Spain. Although Léon and Florestine love each other, he promises the girl to the major, who has gained the family's trust. As a result, Bégearss works to ensure that the count legitimizes the daughter and disinherits the son. To this end, he wants to reveal the origins of the two (without considering that this will enable them to marry). His opponent is Figaro, the Count's valet . He senses that Bégearss is a fraud and has been trying to expose him for ten years. Figaro's wife Suzanne, the countess's first chambermaid , plays the role of the decoy .
1st act (salon)
Romany_Peintre_btv1b6942138c.jpg)
Rosine commemorates the deceased lover, because it is his name day (on which their son Léon was born). Suzanne feigns a quarrel with Figaro and tells Bégearss that she wants to get a divorce. Then you make a declaration of love to the libertine , who was blown off by the countess. He reveals to her that the count wants to put the wife in the monastery and that Léon is going to send Léon to Malta with Figaro , and he promises Susanne the position of her husband. Then he asks her to give him her mistress's cassette. Almaviva wanted to give Florestine the diamond bracelet of the Countess with his miniature portrait and replace it with a replica with the portrait of Cherubin. He hoped the Countess would pass over the exchange in silence and thus provide evidence of her infidelity. (Bégearss keeps to himself that the cassette will provide far more conclusive evidence.) The count promises the major three million ( escudos ) in gold as a dowry , which he received from Veracruz . Bégearss opens the double bottom of the cassette, of which Figaro becomes an eyewitness. Almaviva pocketed Cherubin's letter. Léon spoke to revolutionaries about the abuse of religious vows . The count orders him not to call him “father” anymore.
2nd act (library of the count)
In the letter Almaviva reads, Rosine informs the lover of the birth of the son and of her decision to end the relationship. On the same paper, Chérubin tells her that she wants to go to death. Farewell words written in blood conclude. While reading, the count feels sorry for his wife instead of anger. He wants to tell Florestine that she is his daughter, but is disturbed by Figaro. Léon acquires a bust of George Washington . Figaro is informed of the Bégearss confessions by Suzanne. His servant, a simple-minded German, provides him with the information he needs to monitor the major's correspondence. The King of Spain allows the Count to exchange his goods there. Bégearss despairs Florestine by making her believe that her lover is her half-brother. Because the major had already snatched 320,000 escudos from the Count's deceased son, Figaro deposited the Veracruz effects that he had to pick up in Cádiz at Almaviva's notary .
3rd act (Countess's cabinet)
Florestine wants to go to the monastery, Léon to the water. Almaviva has given up the plan to have Léon released from his vows by the Spanish Ambassador to the Holy See . Bégearss now also informs the Countess that Florestine is the Count's daughter. The fact that he had agreed to Almaviva to marry the girl was done with the intention of protecting her from incest with Léon. The countess gives her consent to this connection. To cover up the theft of the compromising document suggests her Bégearss, Suzanne could Chérubins letters playing the Count to this the divorce to allow. When the countess hesitates, he throws the memorabilia into the fire himself. Because he suspects Figaro of trying to embezzle the three million, the latter gives the count the notary's receipt . The marriage of Florestine and Bégearss is to take place that same evening in the Countess' private chapel.
4th act (Countess's cabinet)
In addition to the Veracruz securities, Bégearss plans to acquire the rest of Almaviva's assets. According to the Count's wishes, Léon and Figaro are supposed to leave for Malta in two days. The countess asks her husband to be reconciled with Léon, but Almaviva confronts her with the letter from Chérubin. When she also discovers that her bracelet shows that of her lover instead of the portrait of her husband, she believes she has lost her mind and wants to die. The count now regrets his harsh behavior. Léon, Suzanne and Figaro stand by the unconscious woman until she comes to. You and Léon waive all financial claims and want to live from their hands or join the revolutionary army . When the Count calls himself the real culprit, Figaro and Suzanne see the opportune moment to expose the deceitful game of Bégearss. After opening the family's eyes, Figaro rushes to the notary - albeit too late - to prevent the major from handling the dowry.
5th act (salon)
Figaro proves with an intercepted letter that Bégearss has a wife in Ireland. After the Countess adopted Florestine , the Count adopted Léon. In order not to let the major escape, Figaro makes him believe that he himself has been released and that the wedding is taking place. When Bégearss has to submit the effects, he tries unsuccessfully to withhold some of them "to cover the wedding costs" (which the Count has taken over). As soon as Almaviva gets all the money back, he throws the convicted fraudster out of the house. Out of anger, the latter snatches the intercepted letter from him. When he tries to fight with Léon, Almaviva denies him the ability to be satisfied . Finally, Bégearss threatens to denounce the Count in Madrid for revolutionary activities , so that the King withdraws the authorization to exchange the fiefs and confiscates the latter . But Figaro also foresaw this and had the already legally valid permit collected from the Spanish embassy. Tartuffe the Second leaves empty-handed, accusing Léon and Florestine of incest . Figaro corrects that the two are not related by blood . He does not accept the 2000 Louis d'or retained by Bégearss, with which the Count wants to reward him. His last sentence, which is also the motto of the piece, is: "You earn enough if you drive a villain out of the family."
Opera versions
- Darius Milhaud ( Libretto : Madeleine Milhaud ): La mère coupable, Geneva 1966.
- John Corigliano (Libretto: William M. Hoffman): The Ghosts of Versailles , New York 1991.
- Inger Wikström (Libretto: I. W., Mikael Hylin): Den brottsliga modern, Solna 1992.
- Thierry Pécou (Libretto: Eugène Green ): L'amour coupable, Rouen 2010.
Other Figaro pieces
The plan of a fourth Figaro piece entitled La vengeance de Bégearss ou Le mariage de Léon (The Revenge of B. or The Marriage of L.) could Beaumarchais no longer carry out. Meanwhile, La mère coupable was not the only sequel to Le mariage de Figaro: Honoré-Antoine Richaud Martelly's comedy Les deux Figaro served as a template for Italian operas. Massenet's comédie chantée Chérubin playing at the 17th birthday of erotomaniacs former pages, Odon von Horvath's comedy Figaro gets a divorce after a revolution that the seizure of power of the Nazis recalls. The latter piece has also been reworked into operas.
literature
- L'autre Tartuffe ou La mère coupable, Drame moral en cinq actes, représenté pour la première fois à Paris, le [26] juin 1792. Maradan, Paris Year II (1793) ( digitized ).
- Tartüffe the Second or The Guilty Mother, a play in five acts, continuation of Figaro's wedding, edited by L (udwig) F (erdinand) Huber . Peter Philipp Wolf , Leipzig 1795 ( digitized version ).
- L'autre Tartuffe ou La mère coupable, Drame en cinq actes, en prose, par PA Caron-Beaumarchais, remis au Théâtre de la rue Feydeau, avec des changemens, et joué le 16 Floréal an V (5 May 1797) par les anciens Acteurs du Théâtre Français, Édition originale. Rondonneau & Cie., Paris 1797 ( digitized ).
- Anton Bettelheim : Beaumarchais, A Biography. 2nd, revised edition. C. H. Beck , Munich 1911, pp. 452-455.
- Pierre Larthomas , with the assistance of Jacqueline Larthomas (Ed.): Beaumarchais, Œuvres. Gallimard ( Bibliothèque de la Pléiade ), Paris 1988, ISBN 2-07-011137-7 , pp. 597-672, 1475-1504.
- Maurice Lever : Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais. Volume 3, Fayard , Paris 2004, ISBN 2-213-62140-3 , pp. 197-202.
Remarks
- ↑ Leo the Great's commemoration day , name day of the deceased lover of Countess Almaviva and their son.
- ↑ Alma viva = living soul. Once Spain's ambassador- designate in London , then Viceroy of New Spain for three years, based in Mexico .
- ↑ Rosina = rose.
- ↑ Maltese knights . Bears the name of his biological father Léon Chérubin ( cherub = angel , cupid ; Leo = lion), an earlier page of the count.
- ↑ Sounds like florens = blooming. Almaviva also calls her Floresta = forest (Spanish).
- ↑ Honoratus = honorable (meant ironically); Bégearss = anagram of the family name of Nicolas Bergasse, a lawyer whom Beaumarchais sued in 1788 and whose conviction he obtained the following year. Takes over the role of Bazile in the first two Figaro pieces, but surpasses this in terms of meanness and the sophistication of the intrigue .
- ↑ Sounds like "fils Caron (Caron son)". In the tradition of Arlecchino in the Commedia dell'arte . Main character of the Barber de Séville. In the count's service for 30 years, now 50 years old. Earned 50 Louis d'or annually. Appears in the costume of the majos as Goya portrayed them.
- ↑ Susanna = lily ( symbol of chastity ); Pet form : Suzon. Reminds of Colombina in the Commedia dell'arte. Now 45 years old.
- ↑ Maltratiert the French language . Strange person like the stuttering judge Don Gusman Brid'oison in Le mariage de Figaro .
- ^ La mère coupable, 4th act, scene 13.
- ^ L'autre Tartuffe ou La mère coupable, Drame en cinq actes, en prose, par PA Caron-Beaumarchais, remis au Théâtre de la rue Feydeau, avec des changemens, et joué le 16 Floréal an V (5 May 1797) par les anciens Acteurs du Théâtre Français. (...) Édition originale, Rondonneau & Cie., Paris 1797, p. (7 f.) ( Digitized version ).
- ↑ 15 performances at the Théâtre du Marais were followed by 114 at the Comédie-Française , the first on May 5, 1797 on Rue Feydeau , the last in 1850.
- ↑ Louis de Loménie : Beaumarchais et son temps, Études sur la société en France au XVIIIe siècle d'après des sources inédites, 2nd edition, 2nd volume, Michel Lévy frères, Paris 1858, pp. 456 f. ( Digitized version ).
- ↑ Illustration to the novel Les liaisons dangereuses by Choderlos de Laclos .
- ↑ In scene 1 of the 2nd act the countess speaks of a "night surprise" and of "violence into which she passed", in scene 2 of the 3rd act of an "involuntary mistake that a foolish man made me commit". Quoted from L'autre Tartuffe ou La mère coupable, Drame en cinq actes, en prose, par PA Caron-Beaumarchais, remis au Théâtre de la rue Feydeau, avec des changemens, et joué le 16 Floréal an V (5 May 1797) par les anciens Acteurs du Théâtre Français. (...) Édition originale, Rondonneau & Cie., Paris 1797, pp. 28, 65 ( digitized version ).
- ↑ Léon was born over ten months after Almaviva's departure for Veracruz .
- ↑ La mère coupable, 4th act, scene 3.
- ↑ Shortly after the first performance of the play, on August 30, 1792, the French National Assembly introduced divorce .
- ↑ 40,000 doubloons of eight escudos.
- ^ La mère coupable, 4th act, scene 13.
- ↑ Suzanne has untied her corset .
- ↑ France declared war on Austria on April 20, 1792 .
- ↑ Forty times Figaro's annual salary.
- ^ Allusion to the expulsion of supporters of the Ancien Régime from France. Quoted from: L'autre Tartuffe ou La mère coupable, Drame en cinq actes, en prose, par PA Caron-Beaumarchais, remis au Théâtre de la rue Feydeau, avec des changemens, et joué le 16 Floréal an V (5 May 1797) par les anciens Acteurs du Théâtre Français. (...) Édition originale, Rondonneau & Cie., Paris 1797, pp. (1), 118 ( digitized version ).
- ↑ First performance: Paris Year III (1794/95).
- ↑ Libretto by Felice Romani : I due Figaro ossia Il soggetto di una commedia ; Music: Michele Carafa (first performance: Milan 1820), Saverio Mercadante (first performance: Madrid 1835).
- ^ Libretto : Francis de Croisset, Henri Cain ; First performance : Monte-Carlo 1905.
- ↑ First performance: Prague 1937.
-
^ Giselher Klebe (music), GK, Lore Klebe (libretto): Figaro is divorced (first performance: Hamburg 1963).
Elena Langer (music), David Pountney (libretto): Figaro Gets a Divorce (world premiere: Cardiff 2016). - ↑ Without names such as Count, Countess etc. , which were outlawed under the reign of terror , and with further changes.
- ↑ Recovered text.