''L'Aiglon'' is a play in six acts by
Edmond Rostand based on the life of
Napoleon II
Napoleon II (Napoléon François Joseph Charles Bonaparte; 20 March 181122 July 1832) was the disputed Emperor of the French for a few weeks in 1815. He was the son of Emperor Napoleon I and Empress Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma, Marie Louise, d ...
, who was the son of Emperor
Napoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
and his second wife, Empress
Marie Louise. The title of the play comes from a nickname for Napoleon II, the
French word for "eaglet" (a young
eagle
Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...
).
The title role was created by
Sarah Bernhardt
Sarah Bernhardt (; born Henriette-Rosine Bernard; 22 October 1844 – 26 March 1923) was a French stage actress who starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including by Alexandre Dumas fils, ...
in the play's premiere on 15 March 1900 at the
Théàtre Sarah Bernhardt.
Fashion designer
Jacques Doucet designed her famous white costume.
In October of the same year, the play (in an English translation by
Louis N. Parker) premiered at New York's
Knickerbocker Theatre, with
Maude Adams in the title role.
Its first performance in London was at
His Majesty's Theatre in 1901, with Bernhardt again playing the leading role. Rostand had written ''L'Aiglon'' specifically for Bernhardt, and it became one of her signature roles.
Clemence Dane made an English translation which was broadcast by the BBC on National Radio in 15 November 1936 and regionally the following day.
Marius Goring
Marius Re Goring (23 May 191230 September 1998) was an English stage and screen actor. He is best remembered for the four films he made with Powell and Pressburger, Powell & Pressburger, particularly as Conductor 71 in ''A Matter of Life and D ...
performed the leading role in this production.
Arthur Honegger
Arthur Honegger (; 10 March 1892 – 27 November 1955) was a Swiss-French composer who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. Honegger was a member of Les Six. For Halbreich, '' Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher'' is "more even ...
and
Jacques Ibert composed an
opera
Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...
in five acts, also with the title ''
L'Aiglon'', to a libretto by
Henri Cain, based on Rostand's play. It was first performed at the
Opéra de Monte-Carlo
The Opéra de Monte-Carlo is an opera house which is part of the Monte Carlo Casino located in the Monaco, Principality of Monaco.
With the lack of cultural diversions available in Monaco in the 1870s, Charles III, Prince of Monaco, Prince Charl ...
in
1937
Events
January
* January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua.
* January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Feb ...
.
Plot
References
*''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''
"Rostand's New Play a Success" 16 March 1900
*''New York Times''
"Maude Adams as the Stricken Eaglet" 23 October 1900
*Spratt, Geoffrey K.
''The music of Arthur Honegger'' Cork University Press, 1987, p. 544.
*V&A Archive L'Aiglon radio scrip
External links
''L'Aiglon'' – complete text in the original French''L'Aiglon'' – complete text of the English translation by Louis N. ParkerRecording of Sarah Bernhardt in a 4 minute excerpt from ''L'Aiglon''
Vincent Voice Library, Michigan State University
Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...
Aiglon
Aiglon
Cultural depictions of Napoleon II
{{1900s-play-stub