''Mérope'' (original French title: ''La Mérope Française'') is a
tragedy
A tragedy is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a tragic hero, main character or cast of characters. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy is to invoke an accompanying catharsi ...
in five acts by
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...
. The text is a reworking by Voltaire of the Italian tragedy ''Merope'' (1713) by
Scipione Maffei, dating from 1736/1737.
The play premiered in 1743 and first appeared in print in 1744.
Background
Scipione Maffei worked the classical story into his tragedy ' in 1713. Voltaire met Maffei in
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 ...
in 1733 and secured his agreement that it should be adapted into a French tragedy.
[Siegfried Detemple: ''Die Französische Merope, in: Voltaire: Die Werke. Katalog zum 300. Geburtstag.'' Reichert, Wiesbaden 1994, S. 71.] Voltaire decided to premiere it only after the staging of his tragedy
Mahomet, although he had completed work on it in 1737.
Action
The action takes place at the court of
Messene
Messene (Greek language, Greek: Μεσσήνη 𐀕𐀼𐀙 ''Messini''), officially Ancient Messene, is a local community within the regional unit (''perifereiaki enotita'') of Messenia in the region (''perifereia'') of Peloponnese (region), P ...
. The queen
dowager
A dowager is a widow or widower who holds a title or property – a "dower" – derived from her or his deceased spouse. As an adjective, ''dowager'' usually appears in association with monarchical and aristocratic titles.
In popular usage, the n ...
Merope, mourning her murdered husband
Cresphonte regards the newcomer Egisthe as responsible for the murder of her son, when in fact he is her long-lost son. He presents himself at court and eventually deposes and kills the tyrannical usurper Polyphonte, who had killed his father. Egisthe then installs Mérope as queen.
Performance and critical reception
The play was put on at the
Comédie-Française. After the premiere the audience called Voltaire onto the stage in front of the curtain - the first time this had ever happened in the history of French theatre. With 29 subsequent performances the play was a great success. It was also a commercial success, with receipts exceeding those of any previous play by Voltaire. ''Merope'' was revived in February and March the following year, attracting even larger audiences.
Printed editions
The first printed edition of the play was ''La Mérope Française, avec quelques petites pièces de Litterature'', Paris, Chez Prault fils, Libraire, Quai de Conty, vis-à-vis la descente du Pont-Neuf, à la Charitè, M. DCC. XLIV, 8°, XXIV (II), 116 (II), 16 S.
When the play was printed Voltaire added a preface, ''Avis au lecteur'', in which he warned against pirate editions, and a letter of dedication to Scipione Maffei. The subtitle ''Pièces fugitives de littérature'' indicated that a number of other works were published together with the tragedy: ''Lettre sur l'esprit'', ''Nouvelles considérations sur l'histoire'' and ''Lettre à M. Norberg, chapelain du roy de Suède Charles XII, auteur de l`histoire de ce monarque''.
''Mérope'' was adapted into English by
Aaron Hill, who also translated other works by Voltaire, ''Zara'' (''Zaire'') and ''Alzira '' (''Alzire'') for the London stage.
translated the play into German in 1774.
References
External links
Literature on ''La Mérope Française'', Société des Etudes VoltairiennesThe Cultural Politics of Translation: The Case of Voltaire’s Mérope and Scipione Maffei’s Merope
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Plays by Voltaire
Tragedy plays
1743 in France
1740s plays