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The Figaro Plays (Paperback)
Beaumarchais; Translated by John Wells; Edited by John Leigh
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R400
Discovery Miles 4 000
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Ships in 12 - 17 working days
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[Beaumarchais'] fame rests on Le Barbier de Seville (1775) and Le
Mariage de Figaro (1784), the only French plays which his
stage-struck century bequeathed to the international repertoire.
But his achievement has been adulterated, for 'Beaumarchais' has
long been the brand name of a product variously reprocessed by
Mozart, Rossini, and the score or so librettists and musicians who
have perpetuated his plots, his characters, and his name. The most
intriguing question of all has centered on his role as catalyst of
the Revolution. Was his impertinent barber the Sweeney Todd of the
Ancien Regime, the true begetter of the guillotine? . . .
Beaumarchais' plays have often seemed to need the same kind of
shoring up as his reputation, as though they couldn't stand on
their own without a scaffolding of good tunes. Yet, as John Wells'
lively and splendidly speakable translations of the Barber , the
Marriage , and A Mother's Guilt demonstrate, they need assistance
from no one. [Beaumarchais] thought of the three plays as a
trilogy. Taken together, they reflect, as John Leigh's commentaries
make clear, the Ancien Regime's unstoppable slide into revolution.
--David Coward in The London Review of Books
Eighteenth-century France produced only one truly international
theater star, Beaumarchais, and only one name, Figaro, to combine
with Don Quixote and D'Artagnan in the ranks of popular myth. But
who was Figaro? He was quickly appropriated by Mozart and Rossini
who tamed the original impertinent, bustling servant for their own
purposes. On the eve of the French Revolution Figaro was seen as a
threat to the establishment and Louis XIV even banned The Marriage
of Figaro.
Was the barber of Seville really a threat to aristocratic heads, or
a bourgeois individualist like his creator? The three plays in
which he plots and schemes chronicle the slide of the ancien regime
into revolution but they also chart the growth of Beaumarchais'
humanitarianism. They are exuberant theatrical entertainments,
masterpieces of skill, invention, and social satire which helped
shape the direction of French theater for a hundred years. This
lively new translation catches all the zest and energy of the most
famous valet in French literature.
About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has
made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the
globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to
scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of
other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading
authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date
bibliographies for further study, and much more."
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The Figaro Plays (Hardcover)
Beaumarchais; Translated by John Wells; Edited by John Leigh
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R1,186
R1,067
Discovery Miles 10 670
Save R119 (10%)
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Ships in 12 - 17 working days
|
[Beaumarchais'] fame rests on Le Barbier de Seville (1775) and Le
Mariage de Figaro (1784), the only French plays which his
stage-struck century bequeathed to the international repertoire.
But his achievement has been adulterated, for 'Beaumarchais' has
long been the brand name of a product variously reprocessed by
Mozart, Rossini, and the score or so librettists and musicians who
have perpetuated his plots, his characters, and his name. The most
intriguing question of all has centered on his role as catalyst of
the Revolution. Was his impertinent barber the Sweeney Todd of the
Ancien Regime, the true begetter of the guillotine? . . .
Beaumarchais' plays have often seemed to need the same kind of
shoring up as his reputation, as though they couldn't stand on
their own without a scaffolding of good tunes. Yet, as John Wells'
lively and splendidly speakable translations of the Barber , the
Marriage , and A Mother's Guilt demonstrate, they need assistance
from no one. [Beaumarchais] thought of the three plays as a
trilogy. Taken together, they reflect, as John Leigh's commentaries
make clear, the Ancien Regime's unstoppable slide into revolution.
--David Coward in The London Review of Books
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