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Ruy Blas
''Ruy Blas'' is a tragic drama by Victor Hugo. It was the first play presented at the Théâtre de la Renaissance and opened on November 8, 1838. Though considered by many to be Hugo’s best drama, the play was initially met with only average success. Characters * Ruy Blas * Don Salluste de Bazan, Marquis of Finlas * Don César de Bazan, Count Of Garofa * Don Guritan * The Count of Camporeal * The Marquis of Santa-Cruz * The Marquis of Basto * The Count of Albe * The Marquis of Priego * Don Manuel Arias * Montazgo * Don Antonio Ubilla * Covadenga * Gudiel * Doña Maria de Neubourg, Queen of Spain * The Duchess of Albuquerque * Casilda * A lackey, an alcalde, alguacils, pages, ladies, lords, privy councillors, chaperones, guards, chamber and court bailiffs Synopsis The scene is Madrid; the time 1699, during the reign of Charles II. Ruy Blas, an indentured commoner (and a poet), dares to love the Queen. The play is a thinly veiled cry for political reform. The story cen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not the head of state, but rather the head of government, serving under either a monarch in a democratic constitutional monarchy or under a president in a republican form of government. In parliamentary systems fashioned after the Westminster system, the prime minister is the presiding and actual head of government and head/owner of the executive power. In such systems, the head of state or their official representative (e.g., monarch, president, governor-general) usually holds a largely ceremonial position, although often with reserve powers. Under some presidential systems, such as South Korea and Peru, the prime minister is the leader or most senior member of the cabinet, not the head of government. In many systems, the prime minister ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edmund Falconer
Edmund Falconer (c.1814 – 29 September 1879), born Edmund O'Rourke, was an Irish poet, actor, theatre manager, songwriter and playwright, known for his keen wit and outstanding acting skills. Early life Edmund O'Rourke was born in Dublin around 1814. He entered the theatrical world as a child, however he did not achieve fame until he was over 40. The first half of his working life was spent playing in repertory theatre in Ireland and the provinces of England. While working as a jobbing actor, he published his first volume of poems – ''Man's Mission'' – in 1852. Midlife success O'Rourke finally achieved success at the age of 41, when he performed two very diverse roles in Hamlet and the comedy ''Three Fingered Jack'' on the same night at the Adelphi Theatre in Liverpool in 1854. He received such rave reviews that he never had to tour the provinces again. Two years later he changed his stage name to Edmund Falconer and wrote his first successful play, ''The Cagot'' or ''Hea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maxime De Redon Des Chapelles
Marquis Charles-François-Jean-Maxime de Redon des Chapelles was a theatrically-obsessed aristocrat under the French ''ancien régime'', and a former French cavalry officer, who in Napoleon's France became one of the more prolific authors for the popular stage, writing melodramas and vaudevilles for the boulevard theatres. Career Particularly in the earlier part of his dramatic career, he often worked in collaboration with others, many of them still obscure even now, including composers as well as writers: many of his dramas include songs and ensembles. Almost all survive in copies printed at the time. Maxime de Redon also wrote a small number of prose works, one of which touches on political themes. His dramatic career extended from 1805 until at least 1838, ending with a parody of Victor Hugo's ''Ruy Blas'', but almost all details of de Redon's personal life are obscure. His initial successes as a dramatist came in the brief period of Napoleon's Consulate and then Empire, before t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maxime De Redon
Marquis Charles-François-Jean-Maxime de Redon des Chapelles was a theatrically-obsessed aristocrat under the French ''ancien régime'', and a former French cavalry officer, who in Napoleon's France became one of the more prolific authors for the popular stage, writing melodramas and vaudevilles for the boulevard theatres. Career Particularly in the earlier part of his dramatic career, he often worked in collaboration with others, many of them still obscure even now, including composers as well as writers: many of his dramas include songs and ensembles. Almost all survive in copies printed at the time. Maxime de Redon also wrote a small number of prose works, one of which touches on political themes. His dramatic career extended from 1805 until at least 1838, ending with a parody of Victor Hugo's ''Ruy Blas'', but almost all details of de Redon's personal life are obscure. His initial successes as a dramatist came in the brief period of Napoleon's Consulate and then Empire, before t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include symphonies, concertos, piano music, organ music and chamber music. His best-known works include the overture and incidental music for '' A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (which includes his "Wedding March"), the '' Italian Symphony'', the '' Scottish Symphony'', the oratorio ''St. Paul'', the oratorio ''Elijah'', the overture ''The Hebrides'', the mature Violin Concerto and the String Octet. The melody for the Christmas carol "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" is also his. Mendelssohn's ''Songs Without Words'' are his most famous solo piano compositions. Mendelssohn's grandfather was the renowned Jewish philosopher Moses Mendelssohn, but Felix was initially raised without religion. He was baptised at the age of seven, becoming a Reformed Christi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Madame D'Aulnoy
Marie-Catherine Le Jumel de Barneville, Baroness d'Aulnoy (1650/1651 – 14 January 1705), also known as Countess d'Aulnoy, was a French author known for her literary fairy tales. When she termed her works ''contes de fées'' (fairy tales), she originated the term that is now generally used for the genre. Biography D'Aulnoy was born in Barneville-la-Bertran, in Normandy, as a member of the noble family of Le Jumel de Barneville. She was the niece of Marie Bruneau des Loges, the friend of François de Malherbe and of Jean-Louis Guez de Balzac. In 1666, she was given at the age of fifteen (by her father) in an arranged marriage to a Parisian thirty years older—François de la Motte, Baron d'Aulnoy, of the household of the Duke of Vendôme. The baron was a freethinker and a known gambler. In 1669, the Baron d'Aulnoy was accused of treason (speaking out against imposed taxes by the King) by two men who may have been the lovers of Mme d'Aulnoy (aged nineteen) and her mother, who ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henri De Latouche
Hyacinthe-Joseph Alexandre Thabaud de Latouche, commonly known as Henri de Latouche (2 February 1785 – 9 March 1851) was a French poet and novelist known for his publication of André Chénier and early encouragement of George Sand. (His family name is also seen as "Thabaud de La Touche" and even sometimes "Delatouche".) Life He was born at La Châtre (Indre). Among his works may be distinguished his comedies: ''Projets de sagesse'' (1811), and, in collaboration with Émile Deschamps, ''Selmours de Florian'' (1818), which ran for a hundred nights; also ''La Reine d'Espagne'' (1831), which proved too indecent for the public taste; a novel, ''Fragoletta ou Naples et Paris en 1799'' (1829), which attained a success of notoriety; ''La Vallée aux loups'' (1833), a volume of prose essays and verse; and two volumes of poems, ''Les Adieus'', (1843) and ''Les Agrestes'' (1844). Latouche's chief claim to remembrance is that he revealed to the world the genius of André Chénier, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Les Précieuses Ridicules
''Les Précieuses ridicules'' (, ''The Absurd Précieuses'' or ''The Affected Ladies'') is a one-act satire by Molière in prose. It takes aim at the ''précieuses'', the ultra-witty ladies who indulged in lively conversations, word games and, in a word, ''préciosité'' (preciousness). ''Les Précieuses ridicules'' is a biting comedy of manners that brought Molière and his company to the attention of Parisians, after they had toured the provinces for years. The play received its Paris premiere on 18 November 1659 at the Théâtre du Petit-Bourbon. It seems not to have been staged before that in the provinces. It was highly successful and attracted the patronage of Louis XIV of France, Louis XIV to Molière and company. ''Les Précieuses ridicules'' still plays well today. Plot Magdelon and Cathos are the aspiring ''précieuses'', two young women from the provinces who have come to Paris in search of love and ''jeux d'esprit''. Gorgibus, the father of Magdelon and uncle of Cat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world literature. His extant works include comedies, farces, tragicomedies, comédie-ballets, and more. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed at the Comédie-Française more often than those of any other playwright today. His influence is such that the French language is often referred to as the "language of Molière". Born into a prosperous family and having studied at the Collège de Clermont (now Lycée Louis-le-Grand), Molière was well suited to begin a life in the theatre. Thirteen years as an itinerant actor helped him polish his comedic abilities while he began writing, combining Commedia dell'arte elements with the more refined French comedy. Through the patronage of aristocrats including ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Lady Of Lyons
''The Lady of Lyons; or, Love and Pride'', commonly known as ''The Lady of Lyons'', is a five act romantic melodrama written in 1838 by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton. It was first produced in London at Covent Garden Theatre on 15 February 1838 and was revived many times over the rest of the 19th century. It was also adapted into two operas, and formed part of the plot of an operetta. Plot Pauline Deschapelles has jilted the Marquis Beauséant. Claude Melnotte, the son of Pauline's gardener, is in love with her. Beauséant persuades Melnotte to disguise himself as a foreign prince to trick Pauline into marrying him. When Melnotte takes Pauline to his widowed mother's home after the marriage, she discovers the ruse and gets the marriage annulled. Melnotte enlists in the army to assuage his remorse. Pauline's father is then threatened with bankruptcy, and Beauséant is willing to pay the debt if Pauline will marry him. Melnotte becomes a war hero, and Pauline realises ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton
Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton, Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, PC (25 May 180318 January 1873) was an English writer and politician. He served as a Whigs (British political party), Whig member of Parliament from 1831 to 1841 and a Conservative Party (UK), Conservative from 1851 to 1866. He was Secretary of State for the Colonies from June 1858 to June 1859, choosing Richard Clement Moody as founder of British Columbia. He was created Baron Lytton of Knebworth in 1866. Bulwer-Lytton's works sold and paid him well. He coined famous phrases like "the great unwashed", "pursuit of the almighty dollar", "the pen is mightier than the sword", "Guardian of the Threshold, dweller on the threshold", and the opening phrase "It was a dark and stormy night." The sardonic Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest, held annually since 1982, claims to seek the "opening sentence of the worst of all possible novels". Life Bulwer was born on 25 May 1803 to General ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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