Le Ramoneur Prince et Le Prince Ramoneur

Le Ramoneur Prince et Le Prince Ramoneur ("The prince chimney sweep and the chimney sweep prince") is a one act French "comédie-proverbe" in prose by Beaunoir (Alexandre Louis Bertrand Robineau, 1746-1823)[1] and Maurin de Pompigny (1766-1828)[2]. (Accreditation varies, sometimes it is ascribed to both, sometimes to only one of the authors.)

The original text

First performed in Paris, at the Théâtre des Varietes Amusantes, on 11 December, 1784 and first published by Didor, 1786.

Translations and adaptations

Translated into Dutch as De Schoorsteenveger Prins en De Prins Schoorsteenveger ("The prince chimney sweep and the chimney sweep prince") by an unknown translator , and published by Jacob Petrus van Heel in Rotterdam, 1799.

A musical version of the play was created when Angelo Tarchi added some songs for a performance in Monza[3]. This apparently was the source of the comic opera Lo spazzacamino principe by Marcos António Portugal and Giuseppe Maria Foppa (first presented on 4th January, 1794 in the Teatro San Moisé di Venezia), and a number of subsequent versions in various languages[4].

Performance history in South Africa

1833: Performed in Dutch by Door Yver Bloeit de Kunst in the African Theatre on 7 September, as an afterpiece to Clavigo (Goethe). The title was apparently inverted to read De Prins Schoorsteenveger en de Schoorsteenveger Prins ("The chimney sweep prince and the prince chimney sweep") for this performance.