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''Polyeucte'' is a drama in five acts by
The drama is set in ancient Armenia (in a city, Melitene, which is in present-day Turkey) during a time when Christians were persecuted there under the Roman Empire. Polyeucte, an Armenian nobleman, converts to Christianity to the great despair of his wife, Pauline, and of his father-in-law, Felix. Despite them, Polyeucte becomes a martyr, causing Pauline and Felix to finally convert as well. There is also a romantic subplot: the Roman Severus is in love with Pauline and hopes she will be his after the conversion of Polyeucte. However, she chooses to stay at the side of her husband. Before dying, Polyeucte entrusts Severus with Pauline. Polyeucte is one of the last 17th-century French dramas with a religious subject—Corneille did also write ''Théodore'' in 1645 and
''Polyeucte'' is a drama in five acts by French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
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writer Pierre Corneille
Pierre Corneille (; 6 June 1606 – 1 October 1684) was a French tragedian. He is generally considered one of the three great seventeenth-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine.
As a young man, he earned the valuable patronag ...
. It was finished in December 1642 and debuted in October 1643. It is based on the life of the martyr Saint Polyeuctus
Saint Polyeuctus (also Polyeuctes, Polyeuktos, Greek: Πολύευκτος) of Melitene (died 10 January 259) was an ancient Roman saint. Christian tradition states that he was a wealthy Roman army officer who was the first martyr in Melit ...
(Polyeucte).Project Gutenberg etext of ''Polyeucte''The drama is set in ancient Armenia (in a city, Melitene, which is in present-day Turkey) during a time when Christians were persecuted there under the Roman Empire. Polyeucte, an Armenian nobleman, converts to Christianity to the great despair of his wife, Pauline, and of his father-in-law, Felix. Despite them, Polyeucte becomes a martyr, causing Pauline and Felix to finally convert as well. There is also a romantic subplot: the Roman Severus is in love with Pauline and hopes she will be his after the conversion of Polyeucte. However, she chooses to stay at the side of her husband. Before dying, Polyeucte entrusts Severus with Pauline. Polyeucte is one of the last 17th-century French dramas with a religious subject—Corneille did also write ''Théodore'' in 1645 and
Racine
Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditio ...
wrote '' Esther'' (1689) and ''Athalie
''Athalie'' (, sometimes translated ''Athalia'') is a 1691 play, the final tragedy of Jean Racine, and has been described as the masterpiece of "one of the greatest literary artists known" and the "ripest work" of Racine's genius. Charles August ...
'' (1691), but these were not meant for public performance. Later playwrights were not as willing to mix religious and worldly themes.
One act of the opera was performed under the auspices of the Carthage Institute in the ancient Roman theatre at Carthage, Tunisia in 1906, making it the first modern performance to have taken place in that historic space (which had functioned as an active theatre from ca. AD 150 to AD 439 and was only unearthed in 1904).
Adaptations
In 1878, ''Polyeucte'' was adapted into an opera by Charles Gounod, with the assistance of the librettist Jules Barbier. The opera was not a success and is rarely performed except for a number of arias including "Source délicieuse" and the barcarolle "Nymphes attentives". Other works based on the play include a ballet by Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1679), the opera Poliuto (1838) by Donizetti (adapted into French byScribe
A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of automatic printing.
The profession of the scribe, previously widespread across cultures, lost most of its promi ...
as '' Les martyrs''), an overture by Paul Dukas (1891) and a composition by Edgar Tinel
Edgar Pierre Joseph Tinel (27 March 185428 October 1912) was a Belgian composer and pianist.
He was born in Sinaai, today part of Sint-Niklaas in East Flanders, Belgium, and died in Brussels. After studies at the Brussels Conservatory with Lou ...
.
References
{{Authority control 1643 plays Plays by Pierre Corneille Plays set in Armenia Plays set in ancient Rome Christian plays Plays adapted into operas