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''Tite et Bérénice'' is a heroic comedy by the 17th-century French playwright Pierre Corneille.
It was premiered on 28 November 1670 by the troupe of Molière at the Palais Royal Theater in Paris, in the same month as the more famous tragedy on the same theme written by Corneille's rival
''Tite et Bérénice'' is a heroic comedy by the 17th-century French playwright Pierre Corneille.
It was premiered on 28 November 1670 by the troupe of Molière at the Palais Royal Theater in Paris, in the same month as the more famous tragedy on the same theme written by Corneille's rival Jean 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 traditi ...
, ''Bérénice
''Berenice'' (french: Bérénice) is a five-act tragedy by the French 17th-century playwright Jean Racine. ''Berenice'' was not played often between the 17th and the 20th centuries.
It was premiered on 21 November 1670 by the Comédiens du Roi ...
'', which was produced by the Comédiens du Roi at the Hôtel de Bourgogne on 21 November.Garreau, "Jean Racine" in Hochman 1984, vol. 4, p. 194.
It revolves around the situation of the Roman general Titus
Titus Caesar Vespasianus ( ; 30 December 39 – 13 September 81 AD) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death.
Before becoming emperor, Titus gained renown as a mili ...
, who brought Berenice of Cilicia
Berenice of Cilicia, also known as Julia Berenice and sometimes spelled Bernice (, ''Bereníkē'' or ''Berníkē''; 28 – after 81), was a Jewish client queen of the Roman Empire during the second half of the 1st century. Berenice was a membe ...
, the sister of Herod Agrippa
Herod Agrippa (Roman name Marcus Julius Agrippa; born around 11–10 BC – in Caesarea), also known as Herod II or Agrippa I (), was a grandson of Herod the Great and King of Judea from AD 41 to 44. He was the father of Herod Agrippa II, th ...
, back to Rome with him from the sack of Jerusalem in 70 CE. It was understood that she would become his wife, but when he became emperor the following year, he felt forced to renounce her and send her back home. The tragic situation is played out in the competing demands of love and duty.
References
* Hochman, Stanley, editor (1984). ''McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama'' (second edition, 5 volumes). New York: McGraw-Hill. . 1670 plays Plays by Pierre Corneille Roman Empire in art and culture Cultural depictions of Titus {{17thC-play-stub