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Leducq Maison de Ventes aux enchères
16
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A new interpretation of the myth of Don Juan.
See original version (French)
16
-
A new interpretation of the myth of Don Juan.
See original version (French)
Estimate €150 - €200
Voluntary lot
Description
A new interpretation of the myth of Don Juan.
Alexandre DUMAS. Don Juan de Marana, or The Fall of an Angel. A mystery in five acts. Music by M. Piccini; sets by Messrs Cicéri, Nolau, Devoir and Pourchet. Paris, Marchant, 1836.
In-8, half-maroquin with corner pieces, smooth spine, date gilded at the foot, covers preserved, untrimmed, 2 ex-libris.
[2] ff., 303 pp., with an added lithograph by Célestin Nanteuil.
First edition.
The play premiered on 30 April 1836 at the Théâtre de la Porte-Saint-Martin, with Ida Ferrier in the role of the angel. The actress’s corpulence drew much ridicule and the performance was a disaster.
It is a very loose adaptation of Mérimée’s short story *Les Âmes du Purgatoire*. Don Juan de Marana, a descendant of the heroes of Mozart and Molière, is a hardened libertine, a murderer and a debauchee, torn between good and evil and always succumbing to the latter. His guardian angel, in an attempt to save him, takes the form of Sister Marthe, a nun whom Don Juan also seduces.
The end of the play must have terrified the audience, for its final word – spoken by the angel of judgement after Don Juan has refused to repent – is ‘Justice’, whilst the curtain falls on the bodies of Don Juan and Marthe, trapped within a triangle of flames.
In 1864, Dumas altered the play’s ending, giving it an edifying conclusion with the hero’s last-minute remorse.
Vicaire III, 344–345; Talvart, 22; Carteret, 230; Munro, 55.
Spine worn with slight rubbing.
From the libraries of Ch. Morizet and Jean Meyer (ex-libris).
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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