Le subterfuge de Chérubin

Watched the first episode of Franklin last night.

The usual dramatic liberties have been taken, of course, in things like condensing characters and events, but it has an authentic feel and shows a good deal of respect to its historical source material. The costumes and sets are just beautiful (we'll forgive a few wonky cravats and collars).

I'm surprised by how much I like Michael Douglas in the title role, though he's a little too serious most of the time. Since all the other characters are dialled to 11, it makes for a curious contrast since we're used to seeing Franklin as the stand-out wit. Hopefully he warms up!

Beaumarchais is delightfully camp, and Lafayette is entirely charming, spilling over with teenage enthusiasm and earnestness. Louis XVI tinkering at his workbench was a 11/10 detail. Vergennes is subtle and sensitive.

All in all, a very enjoyable viewing experience so far.

I don't really think I have a "type" but you could try guessing

Beaumarchais to Préville, 31 March 1784

French transcription

Paris ce 31 Mars 1784

Nous nous sommes trompés, tous les deux, mon vieil ami. Je tremblais que vous ne quittassiez le théâtre à Pâques ; et vous, mon vieil ami, vous étiez dans l'opinion que le Mariage de Figaro ne pouvait pas se jouer. Mais il ne faut jamais désespérer de garder un acteur que le public adore ni de voir vaincre un auteur courageux qui croit avoir raison et qui ne se dégoûte pas par les dégoûts. J'ai, mon vieil ami, le bon du Roi, le bon du Ministre, le bon du lieutenant de Police. Il ne manque plus que le vôtre pour voir un beau tapage à la rentrée. Allons mon ami. C'est bien peu de chose que ma pièce ; mais la voir au théâtre est le fruit de quatre ans de combats ; voilà ce qui m'y attache. Quel mal ils m'ont fait ces méchants ! Deux ans plus tôt, mon ami Préville aurait assuré le succès de mes cinq actes. Aujourd'hui le charme qu'il répandra sur un moindre rôle fera bien regretter qu'il ne joue pas le premier ! On me conseille l'étude et les répétitions sans éclat ; et nous sommes convenus d'agir, mais sans rien dire. D'azincourt et La Porte se sont chargés d'écrire à tout le monde, en recommandant le silence, afin que notre bonne fortune ne finisse pas encore une fois par en devenir une de capucin. Je vous salue, vous honore et vous aime. Beaumarchais 

My translation

Paris, this 31 March 1784

We erred, both of us, my old friend. I was shaken when you departed the theatre at Easter; and you, my old friend, you were of the opinion that The Marriage of Figaro could not be performed. But one must never despair of keeping an actor that the public adores nor of seeing victorious a courageous author who believes he is right and who is not disgusted by disgusts. I have, my old friend, the approval of the King, the approval of the Minister, the approval of the lieutenant of police. Nothing more is needed except yours to see a great commotion at the start of the season. Come on, my friend. It’s not very much, my piece; but to see it on stage is the fruit of four years of battle; that is what attaches me to it. What wrong these villains have done to me! Two years ago, my friend Préville would have assured the success of my five acts. Today the charm that he will bring to a lesser role will make us regret that he does not play the lead! Study and rehearsals without brilliance are advised to me; and we have agreed to act, but not to say anything. D'azincourt and La Porte took it upon themselves to write to everyone, in recommending silence, so that our good fortune does not once again end up becoming that of the capuchin. I salute you, honour you and love you. Beaumarchais

---

This letter was written just a few weeks before the first performance of Le Mariage de Figaro on 27 April 1784, and is filled both with Beaumarchais’s humour and his intensity. It’s addressed to the actor Préville, and gives an account of the struggles that Beaumarchais went through to get his play through the strict censorship board. 

Préville was a well-known comic actor who originated the role of Figaro in Beaumarchais’s previous work, Le Barbier de Séville, in 1775. In this letter, Beaumarchais is lamenting that Préville will not retake the role, instead embodying a much lesser one - the judge Brid’oison. Préville was 63 at the time, and only a few years from his final retirement, which probably explains why he declined the demanding role.

can we PLEASE talk about this production of barber of seville? (Zurich Opera House 2001)

they're just unhinged

also, Figaro has a motorbike and Almaviva has a scooter

Kings will be tyrants by policy when subjects are rebels from principle.

- Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France

John Corigliano’s The Ghosts of Versailles was first commissioned by the Met in 1980 but then put on in 2019. The new production was directed by Jay Lessenger to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Royal Opera of Versailles in Versailles.

In this historical journey, with hints of Mozart and Rossini are the French nobility who are trapped in limbo, as the victims of the French Revolution. They are still traumatised by their executions on Earth and await their ultimate fate with apprehension. To come to the aid of the unfortunate souls, the playwright Beaumarchais enlists his most famous creations to re-stage the revolution and offer a happier ending.

Quel est le personnage le plus con de la littérature française et pourquoi est-ce Almaviva ?

18 mai 1799 : mort de Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais ➽ http://bit.ly/Pierre-Caron-Beaumarchais Tour à tour horloger, professeur de musique, homme de cour, diplomate, écrivain, armateur de navires et éditeur, Beaumarchais, qui notamment imposa la reconnaissance du droit d’auteur, eut l’existence la plus agitée et la plus féconde qui soit en péripéties

Jean-Marc Nattier, Portrait of Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, 1755, oil on canvas, 82,3 x 64,5 cm, private collection, London

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Chaotic comedy plays for chaotic academics *

• Asinaria – Plautus (unknown date)

• The Frogs - Aristophanes (405 BC)

• As You Like It – William Shakespeare (1602)

• Volpone – Ben  Jonson(1605)

• The Miser – Molière (1668)

• The Servant of Two Masters - Carlo Goldoni (1746)

• The Marriage of Figaro - Pierre Beaumarchais (1784)

• The Importance of Being Earnest – Oscar Wilde (1895)

• The Seagull – Anton Chekhov (1896)

• Six Characters in Search of an Author – Luigi Pirandello (1925)

• The Threepenny Opera - Bertolt Brecht (1928)

*the years represent when the play was finished/published, not when it was performed for the first time

javier ambrossi para la obra de teatro "Beaumarchais" en 2010-2011 (x)

The bisexual duality of Cherubino.

Blushing babyboy twink vs "Why yes, I did fuck your wife. You want a turn too?"

the modern world is made infinitely more bearable when you lean into Beaumarchais's assurance that whatever is too silly to be said can always be sung

Because I watched Ben Franklin In Paris again and therefore I'm fixating on Beaumarchais again

Beaumarchais, Paris By Rurik Dmitrienko

Can we just acknowledge for a moment that Beaumarchais was a fucking legend?

He wrote this legend of a trilogy (true revolution in the classical French scene):

The Barber of Seville

The Marriage of Figaro

The Guilty Mother

While being a spy, a watchmaker, a diplomat, an arms dealer, a musician, Voltaire's publisher, AND PARTAKING IN REVOLUTION, BOTH IN AMERICA AND FRANCE??????