Zulime
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| Title: | Zulime |
| Genus: | tragedy |
| Original language: | French |
| Author: | Voltaire |
| Literary source: | Bajazet by Racine and l'Ariane by Corneille |
| Publishing year: | 1761 |
| Premiere: | June 8, 1740 |
| Place of premiere: | Comédie-Française Paris |
| Place and time of the action: | Trémizène |
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Zulime is a tragedy in five acts by Voltaire . The text, written in just eight days in January 1740, was repeatedly revised by Voltaire under the working titles Medimé and Fanine and, at the request of Mademoiselle Clairon, put back on the schedule of the Comédie-Française in 1761 . An unauthorized edition of the book, which Voltaire had rejected, appeared in 1761.
action
The action takes place in the Moorish province of Trémizène. Zulime, the daughter of the Sherif Bénassar, falls in love with the enslaved Christian son of the king, Ramire, who was wedded in childhood according to the Christian rite atide. Following the voice of your heart, Zulime rebels against his father and prepares Ramire's escape. However, he only wants to flee with Atide. Zulime becomes more and more entangled in her intrigues and ends in suicide when she realizes the hopelessness of her love.
Literary source and biographical references
Voltaire adapted motifs from Racine's Bajazet and Corneilles l'Ariane . Voltaire wrote the text in January 1740, according to his own statements, within just eight days. After the unsuccessful premiere, Voltaire initially planned an eight-week revision. By 1760 Voltaire reworked the piece several times under different titles, without being able to decide to publish it.
Performances and contemporary reception
The tragedy premiered on June 8, 1740 at the Comédie-Française without naming the author. It fell through with the audience and was taken off the schedule the following week. There were various reasons for the withdrawal. On the one hand, Voltaire recognized stylistic and dramaturgical errors in the text. On the other hand, the private dedication to the dying Marie Elisabeth Sophie, Mademoiselle de Guise, second wife of the Duc de Richelieu, turned out to be a faux pas that annoyed the Duke. The play was performed again under the title Fanine in 1757 in Lausanne and in 1760 in Voltaire's private theater in Les Délices . Reluctantly, at the request of Mlle Clairon, Voltaire allowed the Zulime to be performed again at the Comédie-Française in August 1761 . He himself attributed the considerable success of the performance primarily to the performance of Clairon.
Going to press
Zulime appeared in 1761 in a presumably Parisian pirated print rejected by Voltaire with a false imprint Geneva. Part of the edition has been re-dated to MDCCLXII by adding an I with a stamp. There is another pirated print with 47 pages (recte 55), presumably printing location Avignon . The first authorized version appeared in 1763 in volume 10, part two, of the Cramer edition.
Additions
In 1762, Voltaire added an Èpitre dédicatoire á Mlle Clairon in front of the first authorized print within the Cramer edition .
First editions
- Zulime , Tragedy En Cinq Actes, Par M. de Voltaire. Représentée par les Comédiens Français ordinaires du Roi, Genève (probably Paris), 1761, 8 °, 71 p., Pirated print rejected by Voltaire
- Zulime , Tragedy En Cinq Actes, Par M. de Voltaire. Représentée par les Comédiens Français ordinaires du Roi, Genève (probably Avignon), 1761, 8 °, 47 (recte 55) p.
- Zulime , Tragedy En Cinq Actes, Par M. de Voltaire. A Dresde, chez George Conr. Walther, 1770, 8 °, 80 S., reprint of the authorized edition from 1763.
literature
- Éric van der Schueren: Zulime, in: Dictionnaire Voltaire, Hachette Livre, 1994, p. 247f.