''The Lady of Lyons; or, Love and Pride'', commonly known as ''The Lady of Lyons'', is a five act romantic

melodrama A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exces ...

written in 1838 by

Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton, Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, PC (25 May 180318 January 1873) was an English writer and politician. He served as a Whigs (British political party), Whig member of Parl ...

. It was first produced in London at Covent Garden Theatre on 15 February 1838 and was revived many times over the rest of the 19th century. It was also adapted into two operas, and formed part of the plot of an operetta.

Plot

Pauline Deschapelles has jilted the Marquis Beauséant. Claude Melnotte, the son of Pauline's gardener, is in love with her. Beauséant persuades Melnotte to disguise himself as a foreign prince to trick Pauline into marrying him. When Melnotte takes Pauline to his widowed mother's home after the marriage, she discovers the ruse and gets the marriage annulled. Melnotte enlists in the army to assuage his remorse. Pauline's father is then threatened with bankruptcy, and Beauséant is willing to pay the debt if Pauline will marry him. Melnotte becomes a war hero, and Pauline realises that she is truly in love with Melnotte after all.

Production history

The play premiered at

Covent Garden Theatre The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...

in London on 15 February 1838.''The Cambridge bibliography of English literature, Volume 4; Volumes 1800-1900'', page 1153
/ref> Helen Faucit played Pauline, with William Charles Macready playing Melnotte. Its first production in America was in 1838 at New York's Park Theatre, with a cast including Mrs. Richardson as Pauline,

Edwin Forrest Edwin Forrest (March 9, 1806December 12, 1872) was a prominent nineteenth-century American Shakespearean actor. His feud with the British actor William Macready was the cause of the deadly Astor Place Riot of 1849. Early life Forrest was born i ...

as Melnotte,

Charlotte Cushman Charlotte Saunders Cushman (July 23, 1816 – February 18, 1876) was an American stage actress. Her voice was noted for its full contralto register, and she was able to play both male and female parts. She lived intermittently in Rome, in an expa ...

as the Widow Melnotte, and Peter Richings as Beauséant. The piece received critical praise and was revived many times. An article in 1899 in ''Hawaiian Star'' commented: "The play is Bulwer Lytton's masterpiece for the stage, and has held its place as a standard drama for near on to half a century, being as popular now as when it was first produced.""''The Lady of Lyons''", ''Hawaiian Star'', April 29, 1899

Musical adaptations

It formed the basis for the operas ''Leonora'' (1845) with music by

William Henry Fry William Henry Fry (August 10, 1813 – December 21, 1864) was an American composer, music critic, and journalist. Fry was the first known person born in the United States to write for a large symphony orchestra, and the first to compose a pub ...

, the first grand opera written in America; '' Pauline'' (1876) with music by Frederic H. Cowen; and for part of the plot of the operetta ''

Der Bettelstudent ''Der Bettelstudent'' (''The Beggar Student'') is an operetta in three acts by Carl Millöcker with a German libretto by Camillo Walzel (under the pseudonym of F. Zell) and Richard Genée, based on ''Les noces de Fernande'' by Victorien Sardou a ...

'' (1882) with music by

Carl Millöcker Carl (or Karl) Joseph Millöcker ( – ), was an Austrian composer of operettas and a conductor. __NOTOC__ He was born in Vienna, where he studied the flute at the Vienna Conservatory. While holding various conducting posts in the city, h ...

Sources

External links

* Melodramas 1838 plays Plays by Edward Bulwer-Lytton Plays adapted into operas {{1830s-play-stub