''L'Arlésienne'' is a

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

, written by

Alphonse Daudet Alphonse Daudet (; 13 May 184016 December 1897) was a French novelist. He was the husband of Julia Daudet and father of Edmée, Léon and Lucien Daudet. Early life Daudet was born in Nîmes, France. His family, on both sides, belonged to the ...

and first published in his collection ''

Letters From My Windmill ''Letters from My Windmill'' (french: Lettres de mon moulin) is a collection of short stories by Alphonse Daudet first published in its entirety in 1869. Some of the stories had been published earlier in newspapers or journals such as ''Le Figaro' ...

'' (''Lettres de mon moulin'') in 1869. On a commission from

Léon Carvalho Léon Carvalho (18 January 1825 – 29 December 1897) was a French impresario and stage director. Biography Born Léon Carvaille in Port Louis, British Mauritius, he came to France at an early age. He studied at the Paris Conservatory and ...

, the author transformed the story in 1872 into a

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

in three acts and five tableaux with music and chorus. Georges Bizet wrote incidental music for the play's first production on 1 October 1872, at the

Vaudeville Theatre The Vaudeville Theatre is a West End theatre on the Strand in the City of Westminster. As the name suggests, the theatre held mostly vaudeville shows and musical revues in its early days. It opened in 1870 and was rebuilt twice, although each ...

(now the Gaumont).musikmph
The play was not successful and closed after only 21 performances. The music score was later used for two suites of the same name, the first established by Bizet himself in November 1872, the second after Bizet's 1875 death, by

Ernest Guiraud Ernest is a given name derived from Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious". Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People *Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor *Ernest, M ...

. Another play was originally scheduled for the night of 1 October 1872, but it was withdrawn by the censors at the last minute and ''L'Arlésienne'' was substituted. Many of the patrons were less than happy with this change. Daudet's play formed the basis of the Italian opera ''

L'arlesiana () is an opera in three acts by Francesco Cilea to an Italian libretto by Leopoldo Marenco. It was originally written in four acts, and was first performed on 27 November 1897 at the Teatro Lirico in Milan. It was revised as a three-act opera i ...

'' (1897), text by

Leopoldo Marenco Leopoldo Marenco (Nov. 8, 1831 – April 30, 1899) was an Italian dramatic poet, now known as a librettist. Life Born at Ceva, his father was Carlo Marenco. Like his father he held a government post under the Treasury Department, one which took ...

, music by Francesco Cilea. On 8 March 1999, BBC Radio 4 broadcast an adaptation of Daudet's play entitled ''The Girl from Arles'', written by and translated from the French by Michael Robson and directed by Enyd Williams, with Frances Jeater as Rose Mamaï,

John Woodvine John Woodvine (born 21 July 1929) is an English actor who has appeared in more than 70 theatre productions, as well as a similar number of television and film roles. Early life Woodvine was born in Tyne Dock, South Shields, Tyne & Wear, Engla ...

as Balthazar,

Mary Wimbush Mary Wimbush (19 March 1924 – 31 October 2005) was an English actress whose career spanned 60 years. Active across film, television, theatre and radio, she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress for the 1969 film ''Oh! ...

as Madame Renaud,

Geoffrey Whitehead Geoffrey Whitehead (born 1 October 1939) is an English actor. He has appeared in a range of television, film and radio roles. In the theatre, he has played at Shakespeare's Globe, St Martin's Theatre and the Bristol Old Vic. Early life Whiteh ...

as Francet Mamaï, Gavin Muir as Mitifio, Giles Fagan as Frederi, Tilly Gaunt as Vivette and Ben Crowe as Marc.

Roles

Plot

The play is set in

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

, France. ''L’Arlésienne'', which translates to "the girl from

Arles Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province of ...

", is loved by a young peasant Fréderi. However, upon discovering her infidelity prior to their wedding date, Fréderi approaches madness. His family tries at great length to "save" their son, but eventually Fréderi commits suicide by jumping off a balcony.

Trivia

Because the title character is never shown in the play, ''Arlésienne'' is used in modern French to describe a person who is prominently absent from a place or a situation, especially an

unseen character An unseen character in theatre, comics, film, or television, or silent character in radio or literature, is a character that is mentioned but not directly known to the audience, but who advances the action of the plot in a significant way, and w ...

in a literary work.

References

1869 short stories 1872 plays Works by Alphonse Daudet Camargue {{1860s-novel-stub