Georges Feydeau (1862-1921) wrote some 60 comedies, farces, and comic monologues; I Never Cheat on My Husband was one of his last productions (1914). Often considered the greatest French comic genius since Moliere, Feydeau wrote frequently about the relations between men and women in modern society. In this play, the professional artist and sexual predator, Saint Franquet, begins his pursuit of Micheline, the hitherto faithful wife of Plantaredi ...
Two opera libretti focusing on the theme of the fiery sacrifice of the protagonists. HERCULANEUM, by Joseph Mery, a friend of Alexandre Dumas, is set in 79 A.D. in the doomed city of Herculaneum. Olympia, an oriental queen, sister of the Proconsul Nicanor, falls in love with Helios, a Christian. The queen seduces Helios and takes him from his betrothed, Lilia. Nicanor then tries to seduce and rape Lilia, but is thwarted when Mount Vesuvius erupt ...
Three French comedies revolving around marriage, misidentification, medicine–and money! <P> DOCTOR SCRATCH, by Noel le Breton, is a clever and hilarious farce, in which love becomes hopelessly entangled in the attempts by the characters to improve their declining financial situations. <P> THE SERVANT PROBLEM, by Alain-Rene Lesage, the well-known novelist, two criminals manage to insert themselves as valets to several young men lo ...
In CASTOR AND POLLUX, by Pierre Bernard, one of the twins from ancient myth attempts to rescue his brother from the underworld. The freshness and charm of this French dramatization is remarkable. ...
PENELOPE, by Jean-Francois Marmontel, tells the story of Ulysses' return to Ithaca after his long journey home from Troy, and how he takes revenge on the boorish suitors of his wife, Penelope, who have browbeaten her for years. The freshness and charm of this French dramatization is remarkable. ...
Emile Augier presents the story of SAPPHO, another tragedy set in classical times, full of betrayal and self-sacrifice. Ancient Greek drama had much in common with modern opera, emphasizing story lines that have been simplified to focus very tightly on particular emotional themes. The freshness and charm of this French dramatization is remarkable. ...
Voltaire's classic novel CANDIDE has been adapted many times through many different forms of media, but this 20th-century dramatic version is one of the best. Voltaire's story endures because the character of Candide is capable of being moved to any time or place, and still be understood–and enjoyed–by a brand new audience. In an irrational world where only diehard optimists like Dr. Pangloss can believe that everything is for the best ...
Adapted by Alexandre Dumas from a script by Auguste Maquet, BATHILDA tells the story of a woman who's raped by Marcel, and becomes his lover for a time. After she leaves him and moves to Paris, she meets Deworde, her deceased spouse's nephew, and plans to marry him. But Marcel pursues her, determined that if he can't have her, no one else will either. He plays a cat-and-mouse game with Bathilda, Deworde, and his friend Guilaumin, ...
In THE TWO WINE CASKS, a spurned priest of Bacchus switches the wine cups at a wedding to avenge himself on the woman he loves, who's marrying another. The enchanted vintage makes her hate her husband-to-be. Three great dramas of jealousy and its corrosive effects on the relations between men and women. ...
