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''Madame Sans-Gêne'' is a historical comedy-drama by
Victorien Sardou Victorien Sardou ( , ; 5 September 1831 – 8 November 1908) was a French dramatist. He is best remembered today for his development, along with Eugène Scribe, of the well-made play. He also wrote several plays that were made into popular 19th-c ...
and Émile Moreau, concerning incidents in the life of
Catherine Hübscher :''Catherine Lefebvre re-directs here. For the curler, see Catherine Lefebvre (curler)'' Catherine Hübscher ( Goldbach-Altenbach, 2 February 1753 – 1835), also known by the name ''Maréchale Lefebvre'', was a French aristocrat, wife to Fran� ...
, an outspoken 18th-century laundress who became the Duchess of Danzig. The play is described by its authors as "three acts with a prologue" ("Comédie en trois Actes, précédée d'un prologue"). It premiered at the
Théâtre du Vaudeville The Théâtre du Vaudeville () was a theatre company in Paris. It opened on 12 January 1792 on rue de Chartres. Its directors, Pierre-Antoine-Augustin de Piis, Piis and Yves Barré, Barré, mainly put on "petites pièces mêlées de couplets s ...
,
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, on 27 October 1893, starring Réjane in the title role. The play was revived many times in France and toured in the English provinces in 1897. It was also adapted as an opera, in 1915, and several times for film.


Synopsis

The first scene of the play is set in Catherine Hübscher's laundry in the Rue Sainte-Anne, Paris, on 10 August 1792. Catherine, who always speaks her mind, is known as "Madame Sans-Gêne" of which an approximate English translation is "Madame Without-Embarrassment". She is engaged to Sergeant Lefebvre, a member of the
Revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates for, a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective to describe something producing a major and sudden impact on society. Definition The term—bot ...
forces. She rescues a young Austrian nobleman, Count Neipperg, from the pursuing militia. Lefebvre has the chance to betray Neipperg's hidden presence, but respects Catherine's desire to protect him. Once the hue and cry has died down they help him escape. The rest of the play is set at the
Château de Compiègne The Château de Compiègne is a French château, a former royal residence built for Louis XV and later restored by Napoleon. Compiègne was one of three seats of royal government, the others being Versailles and Fontainebleau. It is located i ...
in September 1811, during the reign of
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 ...
. Lefebvre, who has married Catherine, has distinguished himself in the army and has been appointed
Marshal of the Empire Marshal of the Empire () was a civil dignity during the First French Empire. It was established by on 18 May 1804 and to a large extent reinstated the formerly abolished title of Marshal of France. According to the ''Sénatus-consulte'', a Mar ...
and Duke of Danzig. He and his wife are visited by Neipperg, who has been at the French court (where the Empress,
Marie Louise Marie Louise or Marie-Louise is a French feminine given name, compound given name. In other languages, it may take one of several alternate forms: * Maria Luiza (Bulgarian, Portuguese) * Maria Luisa (Italian, Spanish) * Maria Luise (German) * Mari ...
, is Austrian) but is now obliged to leave, suspected of having an affair with the wife of a high-ranking Frenchman. At a soirée, Catherine – ''sans-gêne'' as ever – offends the emperor's sisters and the ladies of the court by her plain speaking. Napoleon tells Lefebvre that it is his duty to divorce Catherine and marry someone more suitable, reminding him that he himself renounced his beloved
Joséphine Josephine may refer to: People *Josephine (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) *Josephine (singer), a Greek pop singer Places *Josephine, Texas, United States *Josephine County, Oregon, a county located in the U. ...
to remarry for duty. Lefebvre refuses. Napoleon sends for Catherine, who reminds him of her past contributions to the Revolutionary cause in general and to Napoleon in particular: she nonplusses him by producing an old laundry bill of his that she had permitted to go unpaid when he was a penniless young soldier. She wins him round from anger to flirtatious good humour, and he agrees to drop the suggestion of divorce. Neipperg is apprehended in suspicious circumstances that make it seem that he is the lover of the empress. Napoleon orders his execution. The Lefebvres and their friend
Joseph Fouché Joseph Fouché, 1st Duc d'Otrante, 1st Comte Fouché (; 21 May 1759 – 26 December 1820) was a French statesman, revolutionary, and Minister of Police under First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte, who later became a subordinate of Emperor Napoleon. H ...
are compromised by their association with Neipperg. Fouché's enemy Savary hopes to encompass their disgrace, but proof of Neipperg's innocence comes to light at the last moment. Napoleon congratulates Fouché on his cleverness, but has to agree when Fouché tells him that in Catherine he has found someone still cleverer. The idea of a divorce is firmly ruled out, Fouché and the Lefebvres are restored to favour, and Savary is dismissed.


Productions


France

The original cast included Réjane as Catherine, a role she continued to play throughout her career. Other leading roles were taken by Madeleine Verneuil (Caroline of Naples), Edmond Duquesne (Napoleon), Léon Lérand (Fouché), Adolphe Candé (Lefevbre) and Georges Grand (Neipperg). Later performers of the title role in French revivals included
Marguerite Pierry Marguerite Pierry (26 December 1887, Paris – 20 January 1963, Paris) was a French actress. Selected filmography * ''On purge bébé'' (1931) * '' Adémaï in the Middle Ages'' (1935) * '' Paris Camargue'' (1935) * '' The Two Boys'' (1936) * ...
,
Mistinguett Jeanne Florentine Bourgeois (5 April 1873 – 5 January 1956), known professionally as Mistinguett (), was a French actress and singer. She was at one time the highest-paid female entertainer in the world. Early life The daughter of Antoine Bo ...
,
Lise Delamare Lise Delamare (born Jolyse Effrey Jeanne Delamare; 9 April 1913 – 25 July 2006) was a French stage and film actress. Partial filmography * ''George and Georgette'' (1934) * ''Les précieuses ridicules'' (1934) * '' Pension Mimosas'' (1935) � ...
and
Madeleine Renaud Lucie Madeleine Renaud (; 21 February 1900 – 23 September 1994) was a French actress best remembered for her work in the theatre. She did though appear in several films directed by Jean Grémillon including '' Remorques'' (''Stormy Waters'', 1 ...
. Actors playing Napoleon have included
Jean Desailly Jean Desailly (24 August 1920 – 11 June 2008) was a French actor. He was a member of the Comédie-Française from 1942 to 1946, and later participated in about 90 movies. Life and career Desailly studied at the École nationale supérieure des ...
and
Henri Rollan Henri Rollan (23 March 1888 – 23 June 1967) was a French film actor. He appeared in more than 40 films between 1910 and 1962. Selected filmography * '' De afwezige'' (1913) * ''Les Trois Mousquetaires'' (1921) * '' The Three Masks'' (192 ...
. Among the best-known actors to play Fouché was
Jean-Louis Barrault Jean-Louis Bernard Barrault (; 8 September 1910 – 22 January 1994) was a French actor, director and mime artist who worked on both screen and stage. Biography Barrault was born in Le Vésinet in France in 1910. His father was 'a Burgundi ...
(1957)."Les interprètes"
La troupe du Roy, accessed 21 August 2013


International

Réjane led a company to London in 1894, giving the play in the original French at the Gaiety Theatre from 24 June 1894. Duquesne (Napoleon), Candé (Lefebvre), Lérand (Fouché) and Verneuil (Caroline of Naples) repeated the roles they had created the previous year. The first British production of an English translation was given at the Lyceum Theatre in April 1897. The translation was by JComyns Carr.
Ellen Terry Dame Alice Ellen Terry (27 February 184721 July 1928) was a leading English actress of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born into a family of actors, Terry began performing as a child, acting in Shakespeare plays in London, and toured ...
starred as Catherine with
Henry Irving Sir Henry Irving (6 February 1838 â€“ 13 October 1905), christened John Henry Brodribb, sometimes known as J. H. Irving, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility ( ...
as Napoleon. The first
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...
production was given on 14 January 1895 in an English translation at the
Broadway Theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, American and British English spelling differences), many of the List of ...
on 41st Street. The cast, headed by
Kathryn Kidder Kathryn Kidder (Mrs. L. K. Anspacher) (1868 – September 7, 1939) was an American actress. Born at Newark, N. J., the daughter of Henry Martyn Kidder and Sarah Ravenhill, she studied dramatic art in New York, London, and Paris, made her ...
as Catherine, included James Keteltas Hackett as Neipperg.(6 April 1895)
Broadway Theatre advertisement
''
The Sun (New York) ''The Sun'' was a New York newspaper published from 1833 until 1950. It was considered a serious paper, like the city's two more successful broadsheets, ''The New York Times'' and the ''New York Herald Tribune''. ''The Sun'' was the first succ ...
'' (the play closed at the Broadway Theatre on April 6, 1895)
Réjane later performed in the US premiere of the original French version, and Terry and Irving brought their production to the Knickerbocker Theatre in October 1901. The Australian premiere was given by Mr and Mrs Robert Brough's company at the
Bijou Theatre, Melbourne The first theatre on the site at 217-223 Bourke Street, Melbourne was the Victorian Academy of Music, built for Samuel Aarons, which opened with a performance by Ilma de Murska on 6 November 1876. Seating about 1600, it was designed by Reed & B ...
, on 26 December 1898. Florence Brough played Catherine, and her husband played Napoleon.


Adaptations

Ivan Caryll Félix Marie Henri Tilkin (12 May 1861 – 29 November 1921), better known by his pen name Ivan Caryll, was a Belgian-born composer of operettas and Edwardian musical comedies in the English language, who made his career in London and later N ...
and
Henry Hamilton (playwright) Henry Hamilton (c. 1854 – 4 September 1918) was an English playwright, lyricist and actor. He is best remembered for his musical theatre libretti, including ''The Duchess of Dantzic'' (1903), ''The School Girl'' (1903), ''Véronique (operetta), ...
adapted the play into the 1903 comic opera ''
The Duchess of Dantzic ''The Duchess of Dаntzic'' is a comic opera in three acts, set in Paris, with music by Ivan Caryll and a book and lyrics by Henry Hamilton (playwright), Henry Hamilton, based on the play ''Madame Sans-Gêne (play), Madame Sans-Gêne'' by Victori ...
'', with additional lyrics by
Adrian Ross Arthur Reed Ropes (23 December 1859 – 11 September 1933), better known under the pseudonym Adrian Ross, was a prolific English writer of lyrics, contributing songs to more than sixty British musical comedies in the late 19th and early 20th ...
, which premiered at the Lyric Theatre, London. The play was adapted as an opera of the same name, composed by
Umberto Giordano Umberto Menotti Maria Giordano (28 August 186712 November 1948) was an Italian composer, mainly of operas. His best-known work in that genre was Andrea Chénier (1896). He was born in Foggia in Apulia, southern Italy, and studied under Paolo Se ...
with a libretto by
Renato Simoni Renato Simoni (Verona, 5 September 1875 – Milan, 5 July 1952) was an Italians, Italian journalist, playwright, writer and theatrical critic noted for his collaboration work with Giuseppe Adami for Giacomo Puccini's ''Turandot (Puccini), Turandot ...
. It premiered at the
Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...
on 25 January 1915, conducted by
Arturo Toscanini Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orche ...
with
Geraldine Farrar Alice Geraldine Farrar (February 28, 1882 – March 11, 1967) was an American lyric soprano who could also sing Dramatic soprano, dramatic roles. She was noted for her beauty, acting ability, and "the intimate timbre of her voice." In the 191 ...
in the title role. The first
silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...
adaptation was in 1900, starring Réjane; in 1911 she starred in a remake directed by
Henri Desfontaines Henri Desfontaines (12 November 1876, Paris – 7 January 1931, Paris) was a French film director, actor, and scriptwriter. Filmography As director * 1908 : ''Hamlet'' * 1909 : '' Le Puits et le pendule'' * 1910 : '' Un invité gênant' ...
. The last silent film version was made in 1925, starring
Gloria Swanson Gloria Mae Josephine Swanson (March 27, 1899April 4, 1983) was an American actress. She first achieved fame acting in dozens of silent films in the 1920s and was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, most famously for h ...
. Sound versions were made in 1941 by
Roger Richebé Roger Richebé (3 December 1897 – 10 July 1989), born Roger Gustave Richebé, was a French film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was born in Marseille and died in Ville-d'Avray. Selected filmography * ' (1930) (producer) * '' La donn ...
, starring
Arletty Léonie Marie Julie Bathiat (15 May 1898 – 23 July 1992), known professionally as Arletty, was a French actress, singer, and fashion model. As an actress she is particularly known for classics directed by Marcel Carné, including '' Hotel du ...
, and in 1945 in Argentina, featuring
José Maurer José Maurer (; 6 May 1906 – 23 May 1968) was an Austro-Hungarian-Argentine actor. He was regarded as one of the leading actors in Yiddish theatre. Early life He was born Yoshe Maurer Neumann in the town of Boryslav, then a thriving Oil town i ...
. A version starring
Sophia Loren Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone (; born 20 September 1934), known professionally as Sophia Loren ( , ), is an Italian actress, active in her native country and the United States. With a career spanning over 70 years, she is one of the ...
was released in 1961. The play was serialised in novel form by Raymond Lepelletier in ''Le Radical'' and published in 1894 by Librairie illustrée, Paris.Lepelletier, Raymond
"''Madame Sans-Gêne''"
Open Library, accessed 21 August 2013


Notes


References

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External links


Numerous images relating to the play
serializing the novelisation. {{DEFAULTSORT:Madame Sans-Gene (play) 1893 plays Plays by Victorien Sardou Plays set in the 1790s Fiction set in 1792 Fiction set in 1811 Cultural depictions of Napoleon Cultural depictions of Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma Plays set in France Plays based on real people Cultural depictions of French people Plays set in the 19th century