William Tell

William Tell is a folk hero of Switzerland about whom a number of theatrical works have been produced over the years.

=Guillaume Tell by Lemierre (1766)=

Guillaume Tell is a French tragedy written by Antoine-Marin Lemierre (1733–1793) and first produced by the author in 1766, repeated with great success in 1786.

The original text
Originally written in German as Wilhelm Tell and first was staged in Weimar under the direction of Johann Wolfgang Goethe on March 17, 1804.

Published the same year.

Translations and adaptations
Schiller's version translated into English by **

Schiller's version translated into Afrikaans as Wilhelm Tell by D.F. Malherbe and published by Nasionale Pers in the collection Die Meul Dreun en Ander Toneelwerk, 1943.

The original text
First performed at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on May 11 1825 with William Charles Macready as Tell. Published by Thomas Dolby in 1825.

Translations and adaptations
Later a three act version was created by omitting the sub-plot entirely, and performed by Macready in London and Forrest in New York. Published round about 1845.

Performance history in South Africa
1850: Performed (apparently in the original 5 act version) by James Lycett's Company of amateurs at the Drury Lane Theatre, Cape Town, on 6 September, with The Party Wall (Anon) and music from Rossini's opera of William Tell, by the orchestra of the 73rd Regiment.