Difference between revisions of "Le Bossu"

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''[[Le Bossu]]'' ("the hunchback") is a French drama in five acts and twelve tableaux by  Auguste Anicet-Bourgeois (1806-1871)[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auguste_Anicet-Bourgeois] and Paul Féval.  
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''[[Le Bossu]]'' ("the hunchback") is a French drama in five acts and twelve tableaux by  Auguste Anicet-Bourgeois (1806-1871)[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auguste_Anicet-Bourgeois] and Paul Féval (1861-1887)[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_F%C3%A9val,_p%C3%A8re].  
  
 
==The original text==
 
==The original text==
 
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The play is set in France during the early eighteenth century, and has a complicated and melodramatic plot that involves among other things a murdered duke, the rescue of his infant daughter by ‘a wild daredevil’, a villainous prince’s scheme to secure the child’s inheritance, his hunchbacked henchman, gypsies on the Spanish border, and an Irish soldier of fortune.  
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The play is set in France during the early eighteenth century and tells of a prodigious swordsman, Henri de Lagardère, disguises himself as a hunchback to avenge his friend the Duke de Nevers, murdered by the villainous Prince de Gonzague.
  
 
First performed in Paris at the Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin on 8 September, 1862.  
 
First performed in Paris at the Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin on 8 September, 1862.  
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==Translations and adaptations==
 
==Translations and adaptations==
  
Adapted in English as ''[[The Duke's Motto, or I Am Here!]]'', a play in a prologue and four acts by John Brougham (1814-1880)[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brougham] and first presented with that title at the Royal Lyceum Theatre on Saturday 10 January 1863, with Charles Fechter as leading actor.  
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Adapted in English as '''''[[The Duke's Motto, or I Am Here!]]''''', a play in a prologue and four acts by John Brougham (1814-1880)[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brougham] and first presented with that title at the Royal Lyceum Theatre on Saturday 10 January 1863, with Charles Fechter as leading actor. According to one review, the English version has a complicated and melodramatic plot that involves among other things a murdered duke, the rescue of his infant daughter by ‘a wild daredevil’, a villainous prince’s scheme to secure the child’s inheritance, his hunchbacked henchman, gypsies on the Spanish border, and an Irish soldier of fortune.  
  
Only published by C. Whiting in 1870, now named ''[[The Duke's Motto]]'', and referred to as "a romantic drama in three acts, and a prologue". Though credited to John Brougham, the publication has the phrase "Adapted By, and the Property Of, Charles Fechter" on the title page.
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The English text only published by C. Whiting in 1870, now named ''[[The Duke's Motto]]'', and referred to as "a romantic drama in three acts, and a prologue". Though credited to John Brougham, the publication has the phrase "Adapted By, and the Property Of, Charles Fechter" on the title page.
  
 
== Performance history in South Africa ==
 
== Performance history in South Africa ==
  
 +
1875: Performed in English, as ''[[The Duke's Motto, or I'm Here]]'' (ascribed to Brougham), by [[Disney Roebuck]] and company in the [[Bijou Theatre]], Cape Town, on 29 May.
  
1884-5: Performed by the [[Henry Harper Company]] in the new [[Theatre Royal]], Cape Town, as part of [[Henry Harper]]'s  first season as lessee and manager of the venue.
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1878: Performed in English, as ''[[The Duke's Motto, or I'm Here]]'' (''[[Le Bossu]]'' now acknowledged as source), by [[Disney Roebuck]] and company in the [[Theatre Royal]], Cape Town, on 3 and 7 June.
 +
 
 +
1884-5: Performed in English, as ''[[The Duke's Motto]]'', by the [[Henry Harper Company]] in the new [[Theatre Royal]], Cape Town, as part of [[Henry Harper]]'s  first season as lessee and manager of the venue.
  
 
== Sources ==
 
== Sources ==
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Facsimile version of the 1862 French text, ''[[The Internet Archive]]''[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_JOfTCgO9UycC]
 
Facsimile version of the 1862 French text, ''[[The Internet Archive]]''[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_JOfTCgO9UycC]
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 +
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auguste_Anicet-Bourgeois
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 +
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_F%C3%A9val,_p%C3%A8re
  
 
https://books.google.co.za/books/about/The_Duke_s_Motto_A_Romantic_Drama_In_Thr.html?id=bCW5IBEwHkUC&redir_esc=y
 
https://books.google.co.za/books/about/The_Duke_s_Motto_A_Romantic_Drama_In_Thr.html?id=bCW5IBEwHkUC&redir_esc=y
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 +
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brougham
  
 
http://www.19thcenturyphotos.com/Charles-Fechter-in-'The-Duke's-Motto'-126159.htm
 
http://www.19thcenturyphotos.com/Charles-Fechter-in-'The-Duke's-Motto'-126159.htm
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[[D.C. Boonzaier]]. 1923. "My playgoing days – 30 years in the history of the Cape Town stage",  in ''SA Review'', 9 March and 24 August 1923. (Reprinted in [[F.C.L. Bosman|Bosman]] 1980: pp. 374-439.)
 
[[D.C. Boonzaier]]. 1923. "My playgoing days – 30 years in the history of the Cape Town stage",  in ''SA Review'', 9 March and 24 August 1923. (Reprinted in [[F.C.L. Bosman|Bosman]] 1980: pp. 374-439.)
  
 
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[[F.C.L. Bosman]]. 1980. ''Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel II, 1856-1912''. Pretoria: [[J.L. van Schaik]]: pp.324, 328, 336, 369, 380.
[[F.C.L. Bosman]]. 1980. ''Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel II, 1856-1912''. Pretoria: [[J.L. van Schaik]]: pp.325
 
  
 
Go to [[ESAT Bibliography]]
 
Go to [[ESAT Bibliography]]

Revision as of 06:52, 24 September 2019

Le Bossu ("the hunchback") is a French drama in five acts and twelve tableaux by Auguste Anicet-Bourgeois (1806-1871)[1] and Paul Féval (1861-1887)[2].

The original text

The play is set in France during the early eighteenth century and tells of a prodigious swordsman, Henri de Lagardère, disguises himself as a hunchback to avenge his friend the Duke de Nevers, murdered by the villainous Prince de Gonzague.

First performed in Paris at the Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin on 8 September, 1862.

Published in Paris by Michel Levy Freres in 1862

Translations and adaptations

Adapted in English as The Duke's Motto, or I Am Here!, a play in a prologue and four acts by John Brougham (1814-1880)[3] and first presented with that title at the Royal Lyceum Theatre on Saturday 10 January 1863, with Charles Fechter as leading actor. According to one review, the English version has a complicated and melodramatic plot that involves among other things a murdered duke, the rescue of his infant daughter by ‘a wild daredevil’, a villainous prince’s scheme to secure the child’s inheritance, his hunchbacked henchman, gypsies on the Spanish border, and an Irish soldier of fortune.

The English text only published by C. Whiting in 1870, now named The Duke's Motto, and referred to as "a romantic drama in three acts, and a prologue". Though credited to John Brougham, the publication has the phrase "Adapted By, and the Property Of, Charles Fechter" on the title page.

Performance history in South Africa

1875: Performed in English, as The Duke's Motto, or I'm Here (ascribed to Brougham), by Disney Roebuck and company in the Bijou Theatre, Cape Town, on 29 May.

1878: Performed in English, as The Duke's Motto, or I'm Here (Le Bossu now acknowledged as source), by Disney Roebuck and company in the Theatre Royal, Cape Town, on 3 and 7 June.

1884-5: Performed in English, as The Duke's Motto, by the Henry Harper Company in the new Theatre Royal, Cape Town, as part of Henry Harper's first season as lessee and manager of the venue.

Sources

Facsimile version of the 1862 French text, The Internet Archive[4]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auguste_Anicet-Bourgeois

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_F%C3%A9val,_p%C3%A8re

https://books.google.co.za/books/about/The_Duke_s_Motto_A_Romantic_Drama_In_Thr.html?id=bCW5IBEwHkUC&redir_esc=y

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

http://www.19thcenturyphotos.com/Charles-Fechter-in-'The-Duke's-Motto'-126159.htm

David Neumeyer. 2014. The Oxford Handbook of Film Music Studies, Oxford University Press: pp. 565-6.[5]

D.C. Boonzaier. 1923. "My playgoing days – 30 years in the history of the Cape Town stage", in SA Review, 9 March and 24 August 1923. (Reprinted in Bosman 1980: pp. 374-439.)

F.C.L. Bosman. 1980. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel II, 1856-1912. Pretoria: J.L. van Schaik: pp.324, 328, 336, 369, 380.

Go to ESAT Bibliography

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