Artaxerxes

Artaxerxes I of Persia (اردشیر یکم‎‎), the son of Xerxes I, has been the object of a number of literary and dramatic works over the years.

His name is written Artaxerxes in English and Dutch, Artaxerce in French and Artaserse in Italian.

Among the dramatic works about Artaxerxes are:

Artaxerce by Claude Boyer

Artaxerce is a French tragedy in 5 acts by Claude Boyer (1618-1698)[1]

Published with a commentary by the author in 1683.

Artaserse by Pietro Metastasio and Leonardo Vinci

Artaserse is an Italian opera by Pietro Metastasio and Leonardo Vinci, first performed in 1730.

Artaxerce by Antoine Marin Lemierre

Artaxerce is a tragedy by Antoine Marin Lemierre (1733–1793)[2].

The original text

Modelled on the opera Artaserse (1730) by Pietro Metastasio and Leonardo Vinci. It was first produced in Paris in 1766. Published under the name Antoine-Marin Le Mierre, in Paris by Valat-la-Chapelle, 1773.

Translations and adaptations

Translated into Dutch as Artaxerxes, of De Bezoedelde Onschuld ("Artaxerxes, or the sullied innocence") by Nicolaas Willem Op den Hooff and published in Amsterdam in 1767 by Izaak Duim. (It appears that there are also versions of Duim's publication without an atttribution, and the text is then attributed to Antoine Marin Lemierre (1733–1793)[3] by the particular library holding the text.)

This is possibly the text performed in South Africa as Artaxerxes, of De Vader Rechter over zijn Zoon ("Artaxerxes, or the father judge of the son").

Artaxerxes, of De Vader Rechter over zijn Zoon by an unknown author

The title Artaxerxes, of De Vader Rechter over zijn Zoon is found in relation to a Dutch performance in Cape Town and was billed as a tragedy in 3 acts. It would appear from Bosman (1980) to have been a version of Nicolaas Willem Op den Hooff's Dutch play Artaxerxes, of De Bezoedelde Onschuld ("Artaxerxes, or the sullied innocence").

Performance history in South Africa

1868: Performed by Door Yver Bloeit de Kunst in the Oddfellows Hall, Cape Town on 16 and 23 July, with De Helleveeg (Loosjes). Set design and construction by C.J.M. Smith.

1868: Performed by Door Yver Bloeit de Kunst in Stellenbosch on 9 and 10 September, under the protection of the magistrate G. Van Rheede van Oudtshoorn, with Het Zal Laat Worden (Meyer).

Artaxerce by Etienne-Joseph-Bernard Delrieu

Artaxerce tragédie en V actes Etienne-Joseph-Bernard Delrieu, (ca. 1760-1836). Représentée, pour la première fois, à Paris, sur le Théâtre français, par les comédiens ordinaires de S. M. l'empereur et roi, le 30 avril 1808, et à St.-Cloud, devant Leurs Majestés impériales et royales, le 18 août de la même année. Published Paris : chez Giguet et Michaud, 1808.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artaxerxes_I_of_Persia

Facsimile version of the original Dutch play of 1767, attributed to Hooff, Google E-book[4]

Facsimile version of the original Dutch play of 1767, attributed to Lemierre, Google E-book[5]

http://bibdramatique.paris-sorbonne.fr/boyer_artaxerce

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoine-Marin_Lemierre

F.C.L. Bosman. 1980. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel II, 1856-1916. Pretoria: J.L. van Schaik: p. 444

Go to ESAT Bibliography

Return to

Return to PLAYS I: Original SA plays

Return to PLAYS II: Foreign plays

Return to PLAYS III: Collections

Return to PLAYS IV: Pageants and public performances

Return to South African Festivals and Competitions

Return to The ESAT Entries

Return to Main Page