The Lady of Lyons; or, Love and Pride, commonly known as The Lady of Lyons, is a five-act romantic melodrama written in 1838 by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton. It was first produced in London at Covent Garden Theatre on 15 February 1838 and was revived many times over the rest of the 19th century. It was also adapted into two operas, and formed part of the plot of an operetta.
Pauline Deschapelles has jilted the Marquis Beauséant. Claude Melnotte, the son of Pauline's gardener, is in love with her. Beauséant persuades Melnotte to disguise himself as a foreign prince to trick Pauline into marrying him. When Melnotte takes Pauline to his widowed mother's home after the marriage, she discovers the ruse and gets the marriage annulled. Melnotte enlists in the army to assuage his remorse. Pauline's father is then threatened with bankruptcy, and Beauséant is willing to pay the debt if Pauline will marry him. Melnotte becomes a war hero, and Pauline realises that she is truly in love with Melnotte after all.
Production historyedit
The play premiered at Covent Garden Theatre in London on 15 February 1838.[1][2]Helena Faucit played Pauline, with William Macready as Melnotte. Its first production in America was in 1838 at New York's Park Theatre, with a cast including Mrs. Richardson as Pauline, Edwin Forrest as Melnotte, Charlotte Cushman as the Widow Melnotte, and Peter Richings as Beauséant.[3] The piece received critical praise[4] and was revived many times.[2] An article in 1899 in Hawaiian Star commented: "The play is Bulwer-Lytton's masterpiece for the stage, and has held its place as a standard drama for near on to half a century, being as popular now as when it was first produced."[5]
lady, lyons, love, pride, commonly, known, five, romantic, melodrama, written, 1838, edward, bulwer, lytton, baron, lytton, first, produced, london, covent, garden, theatre, february, 1838, revived, many, times, over, rest, 19th, century, also, adapted, into, . The Lady of Lyons or Love and Pride commonly known as The Lady of Lyons is a five act romantic melodrama written in 1838 by Edward Bulwer Lytton 1st Baron Lytton It was first produced in London at Covent Garden Theatre on 15 February 1838 and was revived many times over the rest of the 19th century It was also adapted into two operas and formed part of the plot of an operetta Helena Faucit as Pauline Contents 1 Plot 2 Production history 3 Musical adaptations 4 Sources 5 External linksPlot editPauline Deschapelles has jilted the Marquis Beauseant Claude Melnotte the son of Pauline s gardener is in love with her Beauseant persuades Melnotte to disguise himself as a foreign prince to trick Pauline into marrying him When Melnotte takes Pauline to his widowed mother s home after the marriage she discovers the ruse and gets the marriage annulled Melnotte enlists in the army to assuage his remorse Pauline s father is then threatened with bankruptcy and Beauseant is willing to pay the debt if Pauline will marry him Melnotte becomes a war hero and Pauline realises that she is truly in love with Melnotte after all Production history editThe play premiered at Covent Garden Theatre in London on 15 February 1838 1 2 Helena Faucit played Pauline with William Macready as Melnotte Its first production in America was in 1838 at New York s Park Theatre with a cast including Mrs Richardson as Pauline Edwin Forrest as Melnotte Charlotte Cushman as the Widow Melnotte and Peter Richings as Beauseant 3 The piece received critical praise 4 and was revived many times 2 An article in 1899 in Hawaiian Star commented The play is Bulwer Lytton s masterpiece for the stage and has held its place as a standard drama for near on to half a century being as popular now as when it was first produced 5 Musical adaptations editIt formed the basis for the operas Leonora 1845 with music by William Henry Fry the first grand opera written in America Pauline 1876 with music by Frederic H Cowen and for part of the plot of the operetta Der Bettelstudent 1882 with music by Carl Millocker citation needed Sources edit Bulwer Lytton Edward Preface The Lady of Lyons or Love and Pride Project Gutenberg 2008 accessed July 6 2015 a b The Cambridge bibliography of English literature Volume 4 Volumes 1800 1900 page 1153 Bordman Gerald and Thomas H Hischak The Oxford Companion to American Theatre Oxford University Press ISBN 0195169867 The Southern Literary Messenger 1838 p 478 accessed January 5 2013 The Lady of Lyons Hawaiian Star April 29 1899External links edit nbsp Media related to The Lady of Lyons at Wikimedia Commons nbsp Lady of Lyons public domain audiobook at LibriVox nbsp This article on a play from the 1830s is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Lady of Lyons amp oldid 1179593470, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
