Le mariage de Figaro (Beaumarchais)
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| Original title: | La folle journée ou Le mariage de Figaro |
| Genus: | comedy |
| Original language: | French |
| Author: | Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais |
| Premiere: | April 27, 1784 |
| Place of premiere: | Théâtre de l'Odéon ( Comédie-Française ) |
| Place and time of the action: | Castle of Aguas-Frescas, past |
| Director of the premiere | Dazincourt (Joseph-Jean-Baptiste Albouy) |
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La folle journée ou Le mariage de Figaro (The Great Day or Figaro's Wedding) is a comedy in five acts by Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (1732–1799). It forms the second part of his Figaro trilogy and served as a template for the opera Le nozze di Figaro by Mozart and Da Ponte . The piece was written before the French Revolution , when the social order of the Ancien Régime was wavering. It illustrates the conflict between the nobility , which by virtue of its inherited privileges on the bourgeois morality disregarded, and its under the influence of the Enlightenment confident become subordinates. The author , who came from the third estate ( bourgeoisie ), inflicted a similar blow on the second estate as Molière did a century earlier with his Tartuffe the first estate ( clergy ). According to Anton Bettelheim, Le mariage de Figaro was "a sign of the declining reputation of royalty, an (...) unheard-of mockery of the nobility, censorship , job buying, an unreliable, outdated judiciary , an accusation of all despotic restrictions on personal and freedom of thought ".
Duped King
Beaumarchais had already sketched Figaro's family history in the preface to the Barber de Séville . According to his own statements, he received the suggestion to dramatize it from Prince Conti, who died in 1776 . He did not resume work on it until the end of the 1770s. In 1781 the work was accepted by the Comédie-Française and also passed the censorship . But the publicity that Beaumarchais gave him made Louis XVI. suspicious. After having Le mariage de Figaro read to himself and the Queen by Madame Campan , he cried, according to this witness: “This is abominable, it will never be played; one would have to grind the Bastille so that the performance of this play would not be a dangerous inconsistency. ” Ludwig was able to prevent a performance at the Théâtre aux Menus-Plaisirs announced for June 13, 1783 , but not a complete performance in honor of one of his brothers, the future Charles X , organized by the Count of Vaudreuil on September 27th of that year at Gennevilliers Castle . Eventually Beaumarchais succeeded in winning the minister of the royal house, Breteuil , on his side, whereupon the latter induced the king to lift the ban on performance. (How popular the figure of Figaro was even among members of the royal family is shown by the fact that the aforementioned Charles X personally played the title character of the barber de Séville on August 19, 1785 , while Marie-Antoinette took on the role of the raisin.)
action
1st act (bedroom of the bride and groom)
Scenes 1–6: Figaro prepares to set up the marriage bed. But Suzanne, trying on her maiden wreath , does not want to live here between the countess and the count's apartments because the latter is chasing after her. He has even offered her to buy back the " right of the first night ", which he abolished when he married. It becomes clear to Figaro why the Count wants to take them both with him to his ambassadorial post in London : Suzanne is to be his mistress , and as a disturbing husband he should travel to Spain as often as possible by courier mail. - Marceline, who once promised to marry Figaro in case he owes her 2000 piastres , hitched Bartholo to prevent the planned marriage. She reminds her former employer that he once dumped her with an illegitimate child named Emmanuel .
Scenes 7–9: Chérubin tells Suzanne that he was surprised by the count in Fanchette's room and that he is now afraid of being chased away. But his great love is the Countess, for whom he has written a romance and whose hairband he snatches from Suzanne. When the Count enters, Cherubin hides behind an armchair . Almaviva promises Suzanne a dowry if she lets him deflower in the park that evening. Surprised by Bazile, the count also seeks refuge behind the armchair. Suzanne prevents him from seeing Cherubin by covering him with a dress on the seat of the furniture. - Bazile says that everyone knows that Cherubin loves the countess. When the count hears this, he comes out and orders the page to be sent back to the parents. Eventually he discovers Cherubin, who involuntarily witnessed his immoral behavior.
Scenes 10 f .: Figaro asks to be allowed to celebrate the abolition of the “right of the first night” together with his wedding. May the count put the maiden crown on Suzanne himself . Almaviva promises this, but insists that the ceremony be held until Marceline arrives. Instead of chasing Chérubin away, he makes him the owner of a company of his regiment - on the condition that he leave for Catalonia immediately . But Figaro instigates the page to come back again that evening.
Act 2 (Countess' bedroom)
Scenes 1–3: Suzanne informs the countess that the count wants to buy her favor and blackmailed her with the threat of supporting Marceline's objection to Figaro's marriage. The countess seeks the blame for her husband's infidelity with herself: she bore him with her love. - In order to make the count jealous , Figaro tries to convince him that the countess is meeting a lover. And in order to convict Almaviva of unfaithfulness, Suzanne is supposed to grant him the requested pastoral hour , but not to appear herself, but to be represented by the disguised Cherubin. The women agree and take on the task of preparing the page.
Scenes 4–20: After the Count has set out to hunt, Chérubin recites the aforementioned romance to the Countess. As a reason for his return, he should state that the officer's license has not yet been sealed . Suzanne puts the Countess's cap on him and goes to get her dress. The countess takes off the hair band he used to bandage his arm after an injury. Then the count, called back by an anonymous letter, knocks on the locked door. Cherubin flees into the cloakroom , but bumps into a chair, whereupon the count demands access to the room. The Countess refuses to give him this because Suzanne is changing there. When the count goes to get a pair of pliers to open the door, Chérubin slips out of the cloakroom and jumps out of the window. Suzanne goes into the cloakroom in his place. Now the countess hands over the key to the husband. Suzanne appears. The count apologizes. The Countess tells him that Figaro wrote the anonymous letter.
Scenes 21-26: Antonio, who is drunk, brings a pot with smashed Levboots . A man had fallen out of the countess's room. The Count succeeds in convincing the Count that Figaro jumped down for fear of the consequences of the anonymous letter. - Marceline objects to Figaro's wedding. For his part, Bazile claims to have rights to Marceline's hand. The count orders that the court be called. - The Countess does not want to expose Cherubin to any further risk and therefore appears disguised (and masked ) as Suzanne for the rendezvous with her husband. Figaro should not know anything about it either. The countess sticks the hair band stained with Chérubin's blood into her décolleté .
3rd act (courtroom)
Scenes 1–11: Figaro refuses to come to London because he is disgusted by the diplomatic intrigue. Suzanne, on the other hand, promises the Count the required pastoral hour in order to receive the promised dowry and to be able to pay Figaro's debt to Marceline. Almaviva continues to hope that someone will prevent the planned marriage - if not Marceline, according to Suzanne's uncle Antonio, who doesn't like Figaro.
Scenes 12–16: Marceline is represented by Bartholo before the corrupt and ridiculous court. Judge Gusman doesn't understand Figaro's barely veiled suggestion that he put horns on him and put a cuckoo's egg in the nest. Finally, the imprint of a spatula on Figaro's arm shows that he is Emmanuel , the illegitimate son of Bartholo and Marceline who was kidnapped by gypsies . His marriage vows are thus obsolete . Because Bartholo is not very happy about this and Marceline still does not want to marry, the latter holds a fiery speech against the patriarchate (which the Comédiens-Français left out).
Scenes 17–20: Suzanne rushes over with 4000 piastres, which the countess gave her as a dowry, and wants to buy Figaro out. Then she sees that he is hugging Marceline and slaps him. But after she realizes the surprising turn things have taken, all three embrace. Next, Antonio's opposition to Suzanne's marriage must be overcome, which he justified on the grounds that Figaro had no legitimate father. The women try to convince Bartholo of the advantages of marrying Marceline.
4th act (decorated gallery)
Scenes 1–8: Bartholo has agreed to take Marceline as his wife. But Figaro and Suzanne are still missing the Count's marriage license. At the behest of her mistress, Suzanne promises him a rendezvous under the chestnut trees that evening . She seals the letter with a decorative pin, which the count is supposed to send back to confirm the agreement. When the young women of the village bring flowers to the countess, she kisses Cherubin, disguised as a girl, on the forehead. Antonio then takes off the bell's hood, revealing his soldier's hairstyle . The Countess confesses to her husband that it was Cherubin who locked himself in her dressing room and jumped out the window. Fanchette says that the count promised her that if she loved him, he would grant her every wish. But her wish is that he marry her off to Cherubin and not punish him.
Scenes 9–11: Antonio leads Suzanne, Figaro Marceline to their future husband. While Count Suzanne is putting on the maiden's crown, she slips him the invitation to the shepherd's hour. Figaro only notices that the count drops the jewelry pin and picks it up again. - When Marceline is crowned bride by the count, Bazile storms in and lays claim to her hand. She had promised him marriage if she stayed single for four years. According to Marceline, however, this agreement only applies if he adopts her son who may appear. When Bazile learns that he would have to adopt Figaro, he waives his rights.
Scenes 12–16: The count has the fireworks moved from the chestnut trees to the palace terrace . Fanchette lost the needle. She tells Figaro about the Count's order to bring the piece of jewelery back to Suzanne - with the message that it is the “seal of the chestnut trees”. Figaro believes he has been betrayed. Marceline decides to warn Suzanne.
5th act (under the chestnuts)
Scenes 1–3: It has gotten dark. Fanchette slips into a pavilion to wait for Cherubin. Meanwhile Figaro lies in wait. In a self-talk he says to the count:
“ Nobility , wealth, rank, dignity, all of this makes you so proud! And what did you do for it? You took the trouble to be born, nothing more. "
As the author's alter ego , he recalls his adventurous life. He mocks the ancien régime , for example the censorship .
Scenes 4–11: The Countess and Suzanne have swapped clothes. When Cherubin appears in officer's uniform , he recognizes Suzanne's plumed hat. He wants to kiss her, but kisses the count in the dark, whereupon he flees into the pavilion. The count wants to slap him, but hits Figaro. Instead of Suzanne, he kisses his disguised wife. He gives her the money that he promised the maid as a dowry, plus a diamond . When torches become visible, he leads the supposed Suzanne into a pavilion opposite the other. Figaro believes that he has caught his fiancée and the count red-handed , but experiences a surprise: the real Suzanne slaps him in the face because he has doubted her loyalty. The fake Suzanne, on the other hand, escapes from the pavilion. As the count hurries after her, he sees Figaro kneeling in front of a woman he takes to be his wife.
Scenes 12–19: The wedding party gathers under the light of the torches. The count has the person who he suspects in the pavilion led out. He thinks it is his wife who is cheating on him with Figaro. But in their place Chérubin, Fanchette, Marceline and Suzanne appear. The Countess steps out of the other pavilion. She forgives the repentant husband. She gives the money she receives to Figaro, the diamond Suzanne. When the young men ask for the bride's garter , she tosses the hairband out of her bosom, and it returns to Chérubin's possession.
At the end, each of the main characters sings a short vaudeville . The comedy closes with a ballet .
Prelude to the Revolution
"This piece, where a cheeky servant shamelessly refuses to give his wife to the master," was Beaumarchais' greatest stage success. The premiere lasted four and a half hours. In the leading roles, François-René Molé (Count), Blanche Alziari de Roquefort called Mademoiselle Saint-Val the Younger (Countess), Joseph-Jean-Baptiste Albouy called Dazincourt (Figaro) and Louise Contat (Suzanne) shone. At the end of 1784 the comedy had already recorded 350,000 livres with 68 performances. Beaumarchais determined the yield of the 50th performance for nursing mothers.
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Le mariage de Figaro caused a scandal that shook the very foundations of society. Napoleon , whom she amused at St. Helena , said when closing the book: "The revolution was already at work ..." In 1785 Beaumarchais made fun of a mandate from the Archbishop of Paris that forbade the faithful to attend the play. When he wrote in a letter to the editor that he had to defeat lions and tigers to get it on stage, Louis XVI let him. the Prison Saint-Lazare throw. But it does not correspond to the facts that his butt was spanked there, as a contemporary engraving shows. After a few days he was free again. The episode made the king appear despotic and weak at the same time . Beaumarchais was able to have the work printed together with a brilliant defense speech.
Template for Mozart and Da Ponte
Thanks to the freedom of the press introduced by Joseph II , the first German translation by Johann Rautenstrauch appeared before the French original. Although the Emperor forbade Emanuel Schikaneder to perform it , he allowed Mozart and the librettist Da Ponte to stage the play on May 1, 1786 in the form of the Italian opera Le nozze di Figaro . Suzanne became Susanna, Marceline became Marcellina, Fanchette became Barbarina (with Rautenstrauch Franzerl), Chérubin became Cherubino (with Rautenstrauch Liebetraut), Bazile became Basilio, Don Gusman Brid'oie became Don Curzio (with Rautenstrauch Gelbschnabel).
gallery
Eugène Baugnies: Act 1, Scene 8.
Eugène Baugnies: Act 2, Scene 6.
Eugène Baugnies: Act 3, Scene 16.
Eugène Baugnies: Act 4, Scene 7.
Eugène Baugnies: Act 5, Scene 7.
Émile Bayard : Figaro (1876).
Émile Bayard: Suzanne (1876).
Émile Bayard: Antonio (1876).
Émile Bayard: Fanchette (1876).
Émile Bayard: Cherubin with lady's hood (1876).
Émile Bayard: Don Gusman Brid'oison (1876).
Louis-Roland Trinquesse : Chérubin-inspired oath of love (1786).
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literature
- La folle journée ou Le mariage de Figaro, comédie en cinq actes, en prose, par M. de Beaumarchais, Représentée pour la première fois par les Comédiens Français ordinaires du Roi, le mardi 27 avril 1784, Ruault, Paris 1785 ( digitized ).
- ( Johann Rautenstrauch :) The foolish day or The Marriage of Figaro, a comedy in five acts from the French by Mr. Caron von Beaumarchais, Vienna 1785 ( digitalized ).
- ( Ludwig Ferdinand Huber :) The great day or Figaro's wedding, a comedy in five acts, translated from the French of the Lord of Beaumarchais according to the real edition . G (eorg) J (oachim) Göschen, Dessau / Leipzig 1785 ( digitized version ).
- Mme Campan : Mémoires sur la vie privée de Marie-Antoinette , pure de France et de Navarre (…), Volume 1, Baudoin frères, Paris 1822 ( digitized version), pp. 275–282.
- Anton Bettelheim : Beaumarchais, A Biography . 2nd, revised edition. C. H. Beck, Munich 1911, pp. 383-412.
- Pierre Larthomas , with the assistance of Jacqueline Larthomas (Ed.): Beaumarchais, Œuvres . Gallimard ( Bibliothèque de la Pléiade ), Paris 1988, ISBN 2-07-011137-7 , pp. 353-489, 1355-1427.
- Claude Petitfrère: Le scandale du “Mariage de Figaro”, Prelude à la Révolution Française? Éditions Complexe, Brussels 1989, ISBN 2-87027-268-5 .
- Maurice Lever : Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, 3 volumes, Fayard, Paris 1999-2004, ISBN 978-2-213-59561-0 , ISBN 978-2-213-61388-8 , ISBN 978-2-213-62140 -1 .
Video
- Don Kent: Le mariage de Figaro de Beaumarchais, with Michel Vuillermoz (Count), Elsa Lepoivre (Countess), Laurent Stocker (Figaro), Anne Kessler (Suzanne), Christophe Rauck (production), arte , Agat Films, Comédie-Française, 2008 ( video on YouTube , French).
Web link
References and comments
- ↑ Aguas frescas = fresh water. Fictional place three miles from Seville .
- ↑ Alma viva = living soul. Libertine who combines a depraved heart with impeccable manners . Unfaithful and jealous at the same time . Wears hunting clothes .
- ↑ The raisin (rosina = rose) of the barber de Séville , where she is supposed to marry her unloved guardian Bartholo and is kidnapped by the count with the help of Figaro. Noble origin. Amiable and virtuous, if not insensitive to the feelings that Cherubin has for her.
- ↑ Sounds like "fils Caron (Caron son)". In the tradition of Arlecchino in the Commedia dell'arte . Was a surgeon , veterinarian , actor , writer , journalist , game keeper . Main character of the Barber de Séville. Now 30 years old. Appears in the costume of the majos as Goya portrayed them. Turns out to be the child of Bartholo and Marceline, stolen by gypsies, with the baptismal name Emmanuel (Hebrew עִמָּנוּ אֵל = God with us; related to Jesus in the New Testament ).
- ↑ Susanna = lily ( symbol of chastity ); Pet form : Suzon. Recalls Susanna in the bath in the Bible and Colombina in the Commedia dell'arte. Clever, funny, cheerful, devoted to her mistress. Ward of her uncle Antonio, there will only be majorenn in a few months (25 years old).
- ↑ Family name: de Verte-Allure ≈ of resolute nature. Former employees of Bartholo. Witty, a little lively Did Figaro once accept a marriage vow for a loan . But finally turns out to be his mother.
- ↑ Half gray, at the beginning drunk, in peasant clothes.
- ^ Fanchette = diminutive of Françoise. Twelve years old, very naive.
- ↑ Chérubin = cherub ( Hebrew כרוב), cupid , angel . Charming thirteen-year-old rascal, budding libertine . Raves about his godmother , the countess, of whom he is very shy. According to Beaumarchais, it can only be played by a young, very pretty woman.
- ↑ In the tradition of Pantalone in the Commedia dell'arte, thick. In the Barber de Séville, guardian of Rosine (the current countess), whom he wants to marry against her will. Turns out to be the father of Figaro.
- ↑ An appeal to Basilisk = King of the Serpents. Organist of the clergy, in the Barbier de Séville singing teacher for Rosine, here the chambermaid (Suzanne teaches daily), mandolin teacher for the pages and guitarist . For sale, plays the matchmaker for the count .
- ↑ Caricature of the judge Goëzman (actually Götzmann), whom Beaumarchais had successfully sued for the return of bribes during his trial against Count de La Blache . Oison bridé = gosling with a feather pulled through its nose to prevent it from slipping through the hedge. Brid'oison = stupid goose. Grave, hardly noticeable stuttering. Wears official costume, with a large wig and a long staff.
- ↑ Double main = double hand. Probably called that because he keeps the hand on both sides. Dressed like the judge, but with a shorter staff.
- ↑ Spanish Alguazil (from Arabic اَلْوَزِير).
- ↑ Arouses the association : prendre en grippe le soleil = to grasp an aversion to the sun. Shepherd goats.
- ↑ Dressed like Fanchette.
- ↑ The other parts are Le barbier de Séville ou La précaution inutile (The barber of Seville or The useless caution) and L'autre Tartuffe ou La mère coupable (The new T. or The guilty mother).
- ^ Anton Bettelheim : Beaumarchais, Eine Biographie, 2nd, revised edition, C. H. Beck , Munich 1911, p. 395.
- ↑ Le barbier de Séville ou La précaution inutile , comédie en quatre actes par M. de Beaumarchais, représentée & tombée sur le Théâtre de la Comédie Françoise aux Tuileries le 23 de février 1775, Ruault, Paris 1775, pp. 20-23 ( digitized ).
- ↑ Mme Campan : Mémoires sur la vie privée de Marie-Antoinette, pure de France et de Navarre (…), Volume 1, Baudoin frères, Paris 1822 ( digitized ), p. 278. The king's comment referred to in particular Figaro's monologue in scene 3 of act 5 . The aforementioned state prison was stormed and torn down in 1789 as a prelude to the French Revolution .
- ↑ Cf. Anton Bettelheim: Beaumarchais, Eine Biographie, 2nd, revised edition, C. H. Beck, Munich 1911, pp. 383–393.
- ↑ In the Théâtre de la Reine near the Petit Trianon ( Versailles ).
- ↑ From left: Chérubin, Graf, Suzanne, Bazile.
- ↑ From left: Countess, Count, Suzanne.
- ↑ Front left: Bartholo, Doublemain; back center: Graf; front right: Brid'oison, Figaro.
- ↑ “Even in the highest social classes, women get ridiculously little attention from you. With feigned respect baited , in reality slaves , our merits, our failure treated for a minor because of the age of majority - alas! Your behavior towards us arouses horror or pity under all aspects. ”Quoted from: La folle journée ou Le mariage de Figaro, comédie en cinq actes, en prose, par M. de Beaumarchais, Ruault, Paris 1785, p. 148 ( digitized version ) .
- ↑ Front, from left: Figaro, Marceline, Countess, Suzanne, Graf.
- ↑ In pre- revolutionary France, girls could be married at 12 and boys at 14.
- ↑ Front, from left: Chérubin, Brid'oison, Countess (as Suzanne), Graf, Suzanne (as Countess), Marceline, Pédrille.
- ↑ La folle journée ou Le mariage de Figaro, comédie en cinq actes, en prose, par M. de Beaumarchais, Ruault, Paris 1785, p. 195 ( digitized version ).
- ↑ “Lord there, servant there, as luck would please! Ambitious out of vanity, hardworking out of necessity, but sluggish ... with delight! Speaker depending on the danger, poet for recreation, musician on occasion, wholeheartedly lover, I've seen everything, done everything, made use of everything. "Quoted from: La folle journée ou Le mariage de Figaro, comédie en cinq actes, en prose, par M. de Beaumarchais, Ruault, Paris 1785, p. 198 f. ( Digitized version ).
- ↑ “(...) printed stupidities only have meaning where their dissemination is hindered; Without criticizing freedom, eulogies are worthless; only small people fear small writings. ”Quoted from: La folle journée ou Le mariage de Figaro, comédie en cinq actes, en prose, par M. de Beaumarchais, Ruault, Paris 1785, p. 197 ( digitized ).
- ↑ In doing so, they show that the class differences are only based on external appearances.
- ^ Paul-Philippe Gudin de La Brenellerie, quoted by Beaumarchais in: La folle journée ou Le mariage de Figaro, comédie en cinq actes, en prose, par M. de Beaumarchais, Ruault, Paris 1785, p. XVI ( digitized version ).
- ↑ The title of the engraving is: “Voilà où nous réduit l'Aristocratie (Where the aristocracy leads us )”.
- ↑ Emmanuel-Auguste-Dieudonné comte de Las Cases : Mémorial de Sainte-Hélène ou Journal où se trouve consigné, jour par jour, ce qu'a dit et fait Napoléon durant dix-huit mois, revised edition, 5th volume, Dépôt du Mémorial, Paris 1824, p. 148 ( digitized version ).
- ↑ Cf. Anton Bettelheim: Beaumarchais, Eine Biographie, 2nd, revised edition, C. H. Beck, Munich 1911, pp. 393–412; Maurice Lever: Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, Volume 3, Fayard, Paris 2004, pp. 9–36.
- ↑ The foolish day or The Marriage of Figaro, A comedy in five acts from the French by Mr. Caron von Beaumarchais, Vienna 1785 ( digitized ).
- ↑ From left: Graf, Chérubin, Suzanne, Bazile.
- ↑ From left: Countess, Chérubin, Suzanne.
- ↑ From left: Graf, Bartholo, Figaro, Marceline, Brid'oison.
- ↑ From left: Suzanne, Countess.
- ↑ From left: Figaro, Graf, Countess, Suzanne.