''Ruy Blas'' () is a tragic drama by

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

. 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 Marquess of Priego ( es, marqués de Priego) is a hereditary noble title of the Kingdom of Spain that Ferdinand II of Aragon, Ferdinand the Catholic granted on 9 December 1501 to Pedro Fernández de Córdoba y Pacheco, 7th Lord of Aguilar in Cór ...

* Don Manuel Arias * Montazgo * Don Antonio Ubilla * Covadenga * Gudiel * Doña Maria de Neubourg, Queen of Spain * The Duchess of Albuquerque * Casilda * A

lackey Lackey may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places * Lackey, Kentucky, United States, an unincorporated community * Lackey, Mississippi, United States, an unincorporated community * Lackey, Virginia, United States, an unincorporated community * Lackey Ridge, ...

, an

alcalde Alcalde (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian '' cabildo'' (the municipal council) a ...

, alguacils,

pages Page most commonly refers to: * Page (paper), one side of a leaf of paper, as in a book Page, PAGE, pages, or paging may also refer to: Roles * Page (assistance occupation), a professional occupation * Page (servant), traditionally a young mal ...

, ladies, lords,

privy councillors A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

, 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 centers around a practical joke played on the Queen, Maria de Neubourg, by Don Salluste de Bazan, in revenge for being scorned by her. Knowing that his valet Ruy Blas has secretly fallen in love with the Queen, and having previously failed to enlist the aid of his scapegrace but chivalrous cousin Don César in his scheme, Don Salluste disguises Blas as a nobleman and takes him to court. Intelligent and generous, Blas becomes popular, is appointed prime minister, and begins useful political and fiscal reforms, and conquers the Queen's heart. A long speech, 101 lines, in which he contrasts the sordid struggle for sinecures in a decaying monarchy with the glories of Emperor Charles V (King Charles I of Spain), is notable. Don Salluste returns to take his revenge. The Queen and Ruy Blas are betrayed into a compromising situation by Don Salluste, who, when Don César threatens to frustrate his revenge, ruthlessly sacrifices his cousin to his injured vanity. Don Salluste discloses the masquerade by cruelly humiliating Blas – he commands Blas to close the window and pick up his handkerchief, while trying to explain the condition of Spanish politics. Blas kills him and decides to commit suicide with poison. At his dying moment, he is forgiven by the Queen who openly declares her love for him.Franco Manzoni, "Il Teatro Romantico di Victor Hugo (Victor Hugo's Romantic Theatre)" on cesil.com in English
Retrieved 3 February 2011

Antecedents

Hugo says he began to write the play on 4 July 1838. The play has, except for the dénouement, constant and perplexing likeness to

Edward Bulwer-Lytton Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton, PC (25 May 180318 January 1873) was an English writer and politician. He served as a Whig member of Parliament from 1831 to 1841 and a Conservative from 1851 to 1866. He was Secret ...

's '' The Lady of Lyons'', first acted on 14 February 1838. The idea of a valet set by a scorned lover to woo a fine lady had been turned to dramatic account in Molière's '' Les Précieuses ridicules''. Hugo certainly used Henri de Latouche's ''La Reine d'Espagne'' (1831). In his very inaccurate autobiography, ''Victor Hugo raconté par un témoin de sa vie'', Hugo notes as sources for the play Madame d'Aulnoy's ''Memoirs de la cour d'Espagne, Relation du voyage d'Espagne'' (1690), Alonso Nuñez de Castro's ''Solo Madrid es corte'' (1675) and Jean de Vayrac's ''État présent d'Espagne'' (1718).

Adaptations

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 sy ...

wrote a song from and an overture to ''Ruy Blas'' on commission in 1839. Mendelssohn however detested the play. The overture is his opus 95, the song is ''La chanson des lavandières'' in his ''3 Lieder'' (Op. 77) in a translation by the Austrian poet Karl Ferdinand Dräxler. * Maxime de Redon created a parody, ''Ruy Brac'', first performed in 1838 Maxime de Redon des Chapelles * Irish actor and dramatist Edmund Falconer translated ''Ruy Blas'' in 1858. It was performed at the Princess Theatre, London, in late 1858. * W. S. Gilbert wrote a

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

of the play, by the same name, in Warne's ''Christmas Annual'' for 1866. * An opera of the same name, by

Filippo Marchetti Filippo Marchetti (26 February 1831, Bolognola, Macerata – 18 January 1902, Rome) was an Italian opera composer. After studying in Naples, his first opera was "successfully premiered"Holden, Amanda (Ed.), pp. 528/29 in Turin in 1856. With ...

with a libretto by

Carlo d'Ormeville Carlo is a given name. It is an Italian form of Charles. It can refer to: *Carlo (name) *Monte Carlo *Carlingford, New South Wales, a suburb in north-west Sydney, New South Wales, Australia *A satirical song written by Dafydd Iwan about Prince Char ...

was produced at

La Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

in Milan in 1869. * A musical comedy, '' Ruy Blas and the Blasé Roué,'' by

A. C. Torr Frederick George Hobson, known as Fred Leslie (1 April 1855 – 7 December 1892), was an English actor, singer, comedian and dramatist. Beginning his career in operetta, Leslie became best known for starring in, and writing (under the pseudon ...

and Herbert F. Clark with music by Meyer Lutz, premiered in 1889. * A 1948 movie, again called '' Ruy Blas'', was directed by Pierre Billon, adapted by Jean Cocteau, and starring

Jean Marais Jean-Alfred Villain-Marais (11 December 1913 – 8 November 1998), known professionally as Jean Marais (), was a French actor, film director, theatre director, painter, sculptor, visual artist, writer and photographer. He performed in over 100 f ...

, Danielle Darrieux and Marcel Herrand. * A 1971 movie, ''

La folie des grandeurs ''Delusions of Grandeur'' (french: La Folie des grandeurs) is a 1971 Cinema of France, French comedy film directed by Gérard Oury. It is a comedic adaptation of the play ''Ruy Blas'' by Victor Hugo. Plot In the 17th century Spanish Empire, Don ...

,'' directed by

Gérard Oury Gérard Oury (born Max-Gérard Houry Tannenbaum; 29 April 1919 – 20 July 2006) was a French film director, actor and writer. Life and career Max-Gérard Houry-Tannenbaum was the only son of Serge Tannenbaum, a violinist of Russian-Jewish orig ...

, adapted by Danièle Thomson, and starring

Alice Sapritch Alice Sapritch (29 July 1916 – 24 March 1990) was a French film actress. She appeared in 66 films between 1950 and 1989. Partial filmography * ''Le tampon du capiston'' (1950) - La pharmacienne * ''Le crime du Bouif'' (1952) * ''If Pari ...

, Louis de Funès and Yves Montand, is also based on the play. * It also formed the basis for a 2002 telefilm by Jacques Weber, again called ''Ruy Blas''.

Notes

References

*Holden, Amanda (Ed.), ''The New Penguin Opera Guide'', New York: Penguin Putnam, 2001.
Information about the background of the play on hugo-online
*Lancaster, H. Carrington. "The Genesis of ''Ruy Blas''" in ''Modern Philology'', Vol. 14, No. 11 (March 1917), pp. 641–46

External links

{{Authority control Plays by Victor Hugo 1838 plays Plays set in Spain Fiction set in 1699 Plays adapted into operas French plays adapted into films