''Le Livre de Christophe Colomb'' (The Book of Christopher Columbus) is a

theatre play A play is a work of drama, usually consisting mostly of dialogue between characters and intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. The writer of a play is called a playwright. Plays are performed at a variety of levels, from ...

in two parts by the French author

Paul Claudel Paul Claudel (; 6 August 1868 – 23 February 1955) was a French poet, dramatist and diplomat, and the younger brother of the sculptor Camille Claudel. He was most famous for his verse dramas, which often convey his devout Catholicism. Early lif ...

. The play was commissioned by the German theatre director

Max Reinhardt Max Reinhardt (; born Maximilian Goldmann; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born Theatre director, theatre and film director, theater manager, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his innovative stage productions, he i ...

, and originally conceived as an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

. A first version written in 1927 was premiered at the

Staatsoper Unter den Linden The (), also known as the Berlin State Opera (german: Staatsoper Berlin), is a listed building on Unter den Linden boulevard in the historic center of Berlin, Germany. The opera house was built by order of Prussian king Frederick the Great from ...

on 30 June 1930 with music by

Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions ...

. In 1953, for the

mise-en-scène ''Mise-en-scène'' (; en, "placing on stage" or "what is put into the scene") is the stage design and arrangement of actors in scenes for a theatre or film production, both in visual arts through storyboarding, visual theme, and cinematography, ...

Jean-Louis Barrault Jean-Louis Bernard Barrault (; 8 September 1910 – 22 January 1994) was a French actor, director and mime artist who worked on both screen and stage. Biography Barrault was born in Le Vésinet in France in 1910. His father was 'a Burgundia ...

at the

théâtre Marigny The Théâtre Marigny is a theatre in Paris, situated near the junction of the Champs-Élysées and the Avenue Marigny in the 8th arrondissement. It was originally built to designs of the architect Charles Garnier for the display of a panoram ...

, Darius Milhaud composed new incidental music different from that of the opera.

Notable mises en scène

* 1960 : ''Christophe Colomb'', directed by Jean-Louis Barrault, théâtre de l'Odéon * 1975 : ''Christophe Colomb'', directed by Jean-Louis Barrault,

théâtre d'Orsay The théâtre d'Orsay was a theater located on the rive gauche of the Seine, in the 7th arrondissement of Paris It was inaugurated in 1972 in the former gare d'Orsay originally conceived by the architect Victor Laloux in 1898. Jean-Louis Barra ...

External links

Les Archives du Spectacle
2 October 1960 creation
Les Archives du Spectacle
5 March 1975 creation French plays 1927 plays Cultural depictions of Christopher Columbus {{1920s-play-stub