William Tell [1] is a folk hero of Switzerland about whom a number of theatrical works have been produced over the years.

William Tell by Antoine-Marin Lemierre(1766)

Guillaume Tell is a popular French play written by Lemierre (1733–1793)[2]

William Tell by Schiller (1804)

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

Published the same year.

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.

William Tell by Knowles(1825)

William Tell is a five act play by James Sheridan Knowles (1784–1862)[3].

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.

Sources

Facsimile version of the original 1825 published text, The Internet Archive[4]

Facsimile version of the adapted 3 act version, Hathi Trust Digital Library[5]

F.C.L. Bosman. 1928. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel I: 1652-1855. Pretoria: J.H. de Bussy. [6]: pp. 425

Go to ESAT Bibliography

William Tell the opera by Rossini (1829)

The opera William Tell[7] by Gioachino Rossini (1792–1868)[8] was based on Schiller's play. The William Tell Overture is one of his best-known and most frequently imitated pieces of music.

For more see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Tell_(opera)